Damage management in the vehicle fleet - what you need to pay attention to
Sooner or later, damage is recorded and accidents are dealt with in every vehicle fleet. Depending on the frequency and severity, this takes more or less time and money. Since fleet managers have to perform numerous tasks in parallel, it is advisable to automate damage management as much as possible. It is important to remain calm and to set the steps in the right order.
#1: First aid in case of personal injury
Regardless of whether driver, fleet manager or pedestrian: physical integrity is paramount and must be ensured. Therefore, should an accident occur with personal injury, first aid must be provided immediately. This also applies to car journeys abroad.
#2: Record damage
For optimal claims settlement, the damage must be recorded as quickly as possible. Both for the insurance company and for future prevention. As an entrepreneurial customer of Porsche Bank, you have the option of reporting damage online. In doing so, the information base must be as complete as possible. This is the only way for claims settlement to work.
Tip: In the event of property damage, injured persons, unsecured accident sites or suspected criminal offences, please notify the police. This will ensure the proper and safe processing of the facts.
#3: Contact insurance company
The third step is to contact the motor insurance company. The data collected is deposited with the insurers of the parties involved, so that the fastest possible coverage of benefits is guaranteed. In the course of this, the use of experts often follows.
#4: Repairing & ensuring mobility
In order for economic operations to continue, prompt repair of the damage is essential. In the case of Porsche Bank, a dense network of partners is helping to repair the damage quickly. At the same time, the mobility of the employees must be maintained. In addition to a classic replacement car, this can be achieved with corporate car sharing, fleet on demand or a car subscription. With these innovative forms of mobility, the introduction of electric mobility can also be tested if necessary.
#5: Reporting & Controlling
The last step is to record and archive the damage in the accounts. Within this process, invoices, cost estimates and sometimes even reminders are checked and released. The use of fleet information systems that support human decisions with data can be useful here.
What preventive measures can be taken?
In many cases, company cars may also be used during free time. This is usually regulated by a so-called company car transfer agreement between employer and employee. If employees drive not only during working hours, but also afterwards and before, the risk of damage increases. In order to minimise this, so-called accident prevention regulations (UVV) come into play. It is the task of fleet managers to train the drivers. This includes the following points, among others:
The following points are included
Initial instruction for new vehicles
When employees receive new company cars, they must be instructed by the fleet manager. Part of the briefing is a check whether all safety precautions have been taken (first-aid kit, breakdown triangle, etc.).
Annual training
Once a year, all drivers should be trained on the dangers of traffic. It is a good idea to demonstrate examples that are as close to reality as possible in order to increase awareness.
Load securing device
In some cases, the wrong securing of goods is the reason for damage. If employees regularly transport goods, then further training in this area is advisable.
Should claims management be outsourced?
This question can only be answered individually. In any case, it should be ensured that sufficient resources are available for claims management. If these are not sufficient within the company itself, outsourcing to an external service provider makes absolute sense. The same applies if the necessary know-how is lacking. Especially in the area of claims, where legal skills are often required, competent partners can close the gap and guarantee holistic claims management.
