Significant increases to insurance premiums are on the cards for fleet operators if they do not take crucial steps to improve their risk management and reporting, according to Teletrac Navman which is launching a new campaign alongside its insurance consultancy partner, Jelf. The cause is to demonstrate the value of risk management and encourage prominent professionals within the fleet industry to take action and limit the impact of recent changes to the Ogden rate; the discount rate or personal injury rate used to calculate future losses in personal injury and fatal accident cases. During a court's assessment of compensation awards, they consider the amount of interest that could be earned based on the discount rate. For the last 16 years, this figure has been set at 2.5% - a figure which would be discounted from the compensation insurers pay out. However, from March 2017, the Ministry of Justice amended the discount rate to -0.75%, resulting in significantly higher payments for insurers. John Marks, sales director, Jelf, said: 'This change makes it inevitable that there will be an increase in premiums. 'No business wants to incur additional unexpected costs. With proper planning and a positive approach towards risk management there are steps that can be taken to help reduce the potential impact.î As part of the campaign led by Teletrac Navman and Jelf, the organisations have put together the following five-point plan for fleet operators to help control insurance costs: 1. Look to adopt telematics software in a bid to gather evidence on how you've improved risk management of your vehicles. 2. Consider installing integrated cameras within fleet vehicles _ a move that can help prevent accidents and provide evidence for not-at-fault drivers in the event of an incident. 3. Encourage better driving _ consider review meetings with your drivers to coax them to reduce speeding and excessive braking and cornering. 4. Assess whether your fleet would be better served using smaller vehicles i.e. if your drivers operate on narrower roads and utilise modest-sized depots, thus reducing the percentage risk of an accident. 5. Improved risk management reporting when renewing insurance premiums. Peter Millichap, UK marketing director, Teletrac Navman, said: 'Insurance premiums remain one of the largest overheads for fleets, however many operators will not become aware of rising premiums until they come to renew their policy. 'Our campaign highlights how businesses can take immediate steps to minimise costs, as well as improve the overall safety and performance of their fleet.î