How to index your car policy

Vehicle leasing prices have changed significantly. Many fleet managers wonder these days whether to review their car policy in order to align it with the current market, or perhaps wait a little longer until markets stabilize. Revising the car policy often feels inevitable. But, what is the actual cause of the fact that the current car policy budget doesn´t fit with the changed market? In many countries, multiple causes can be pointed out, such as higher investment value or inflation.

We may carefully presume that the figures will not go back to where they were, any time soon. What is the impact on your lease price? An what actions are expected from Fleet Managers?

Price indexation

To make the complexity of the current price developments more tangible, a lease price index has been developed called the “Car Policy Index”. It monitors the behavior of your Car Policy categories. And with categories we mean the job levels and the corresponding lease price that the employee is eligible to have. This so called Car Policy Index enables companies to adjust their Car Policy categories based on actual facts from the market.

All developments at a glance

The Car Policy Index is a dashboard with graphs which simply can be filtered by year or brand, giving insight in the development of the monthly lease rate since your car policy was last revised. Besides that, it also displays the development of list prices, interest rates, cost of maintenance and dealer discounts – all per car policy category.

The Car Policy Index was launched on 1 September 2022 and is initially applicable for Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

Additionally, Fleet Europe has hosted a live webinar about the Car Policy Index, which was moderated by Steven Schoefs, including a Q & A session with the audience. A recording of the webinar is available on YouTube:  LINK TO WEBINAR.

How to index your car policy

Vehicle leasing prices have changed significantly. Many fleet managers wonder these days whether to review their car policy in order to align it with the current market, or perhaps wait a little longer until markets stabilize. What is the actual cause of the fact that the current car policy budget doesn´t fit with the changed market? In many countries, multiple causes can be pointed out, such as higher investment value or inflation.

We may carefully presume that the figures will not go back to where they were, any time soon. What is the impact on your lease price?

Price indexation

To make the complexity of the current price developments more tangible, Business Lease has developed an Index which monitors the behavior of your Car Policy categories. With categories we mean the job levels and the corresponding lease price that the employee is eligible to have. The so called Car Policy Index enables Business Lease’ clients to adjust their Car Policy categories based on actual facts from the market.

All developments at a glance

The result is a dashboard with graphs which simply can be filtered by year or brand and giving insight in the development of the monthly lease rate. Besides that, it also displays the development of list prices, interest rates, cost of maintenance and dealer discounts – all per car policy category.

The Car Policy Index will be operational as of 1 September 2022 in all Business Lease offices (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania).

Additionally, the Fleet Europe platform has hosted a live webinar on September 28 2022, which was moderated by Steven Schoefs, followed by a Q & A session with the audience. A recording of the webinar is available on YouTube here.

Contact us

Whether you’re thinking about revising your car policy or you need to budget your fleet costs for next year, engage with the Business Lease International team for an open talk, via e.korver@businesslease.com.

Car Insurance and new technologies

Insurance and Risk management are not the easiest elements to manage in a fleet’s total cost of ownership. It can be challenging for fleet managers to develop a strategic view on their insurance portfolio and on the risks their drivers face or indeed the risks they may already have insurance for.

Account managers at Business Lease have noticed that fleet managers often do not have an overview of their claims history. Nevertheless, claims data analysis can often reveal particular types of accidents that occur more often than others. For instance, a high frequency of damage to front bumpers, can be countered by adding parking sensors to a car policy’s standard equipment. In turn, this could lead to lower premiums.

Autonomous Emergency Braking

Technological developments enable fleet operators to analyse their insurance needs in great detail. Research in the United States, the UK and Germany all indicate that Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) like Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) reduce the crash incidence by 30%, making it worthwhile to invest in fleets that are equipped with these systems. Modern cars are often pre-equipped with ADAS but retrofit options are available for older vehicles, too, offered by companies like Mobileye.

As an additional bonus, as a driver’s behavior improves, the vehicle’s maintenance and repair bills go down. Drivers who record more than one incident of harsh cornering per 100km, for instance, experience much greater tire wear, which can increase tire costs by 73% according to findings of DriveTech.

It can be cost-effective for companies to invest in vehicles with driver assistance systems to renegotiate their insurance premiums. Nevertheless, it is essential for drivers to turn on the safety features their cars are equipped with and it may make sense to add this requirement in the company car policy.

Companies can also increase the deductible they hold their drivers liable for, but such measures can be controversial from a human resources point of view.

Double coverage

Another important step is to have a full view of all insurance policies a company has obtained. If theft of objects from a car is already covered by a company-wide policy, it can easily be removed from insurance policies associated with leased cars.

Understanding your claims history can help companies keep their TCO down and it can help define a car policy. Indeed, companies looking for ways to optimize their TCO should also have a view on their insurance needs. And this is something their fleet management or leasing company can offer assistance with.

Summary to improve your management on fleet insurance:

  • Know your claims history
  • Monitor your drivers’ behavior
  • Check for double Insurance coverage
  • Update your car policy to be ready for new technology
  • Set up a meeting with Business Lease what insurance coverage is needed