In SambaSafety's webinar, "The Future of Telematics: How Fleets and Insurers Can Collaborate to Create Safer Roadways," we brought industry leaders together to discuss the latest telematics trends and their current and future role in transforming fleet safety. Based on findings from SambaSafety's 2024 Telematics Report, the discussion emphasizes how insurers, brokers and fleets can work together to leverage telematics data – reducing risk and gaining better control over insurance costs.
Our panel of experts includes representatives from Aon Global Risk Consulting, Liberty Energy, Verizon Connect and Sunbelt Rentals – each sharing unique insights from their experiences with telematics and highlighting best practices for maximizing its impact.
Watch "The Future of Telematics" Webinar On Demand!
Unpacking Current and Anticipated Telematics Trends
Our host, Kris Gault, Global Partnerships, Insurance & Data Expert at SambaSafety, opens the webinar by sharing key insights into the evolving landscape of telematics.
Crashes are now the leading cause of workplace fatalities. In 2019, the total value of societal harm from motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States was an estimated $1.37 trillion, $395 billion of which resulted from distracted-driving crashes. This alone underscores the urgent need for safety-driven innovations like telematics to reduce fleet risk and protect orgnaizations' bottom lines.
Telematics has become a critical aspect of fleet operations, with the market projected to grow from $79.17 billion in 2023 to $170.35 billion by 2032. SambaSafety’s 2024 survey of fleets, brokers and insurers revealed that 77% of fleets use GPS tracking and over 50% have implemented cameras. An additional 27% of fleets plan to add telematics to their safety program in 2025, indicating growing adoption.
Implementing Telematics as a Proactive Safety Tool
74% of our survey respondents said that improving safety was the number one reason they introduced telematics.
Throughout the webinar, our experts highlight how telematics provides data-driven insights that help fleets reduce risk and increase driver accountability. By tracking key behaviors such as distracted driving, following distance, speeding and fatigue, telematics enables targeted coaching and training. The approach allows fleets to address their biggest risks rather than applying blanket strategies.
When it comes to implementing these solutions, Nancy Bendickson, Managing Consultant and Aon, emphasizes the importance of a strategic approach. She expresses how companies "need to have a process in place that answers 'What's my strategy?', 'How am I going to implement this?', 'What is my use?' and understand that communication and management support are key. You have to have a strong basis for fleet safety for it to be effective."
Sean O'Bryan, Professional Safety Consultant at Verizon Connect, notes the importance of building a sustainable process. "When you think about technology, less is more," he states. "You have to have a simple approach to how you drive process forward. Otherwise, you're going to have a hard time engaging with the technology beyond that 'honeymoon period,' where everything's fresh and new. You need to take a methodical approach to incrementally build success and get where you want to go."
Michael Tuomi, Director of HSE and Training at Liberty Energy, suggests finding two or three behaviors that are most important to you and creating a targeted strategy to mitigate them. This will enable you to gain some momentum as you tackle the new data coming in. "For example," Tuomi says, "if distracted driving is making up 5 to 10% of your behaviors but 50% of the wrecks, you start with those metrics to build on – rather than trying to fix too much too soon."
Elevating Coaching and Intervention Strategies
Our survey showed that 74% of fleets use telematics to inform their training and coaching.
The webinar highlights how telematics can significantly enhance coaching and interventions by providing precise data on driver behavior, allowing for a more targeted and effective approach. Those that combine telematics with driver training see significant results: 72% report reduced crashes or claims, and 25% report premium reductions.
O'Bryan emphasizes how “coaching is that stabilizing force that really correlates with the volatility that you’ll have in your risk-related trends,” underscoring the importance of consistent, data-driven coaching sessions. He suggests keeping interventions manageable by setting a weekly goal. “Pick sixty minutes a week. Have your managers put it on the calendar.” By focusing coaching on specific telematics insights, such as risk scores and identified high-risk behaviors, fleets can successfully address the most pressing safety concerns.
Sara Wojcik, Senior Director of DOT Compliance and Transportation Safety at Sunbelt Rentals, adds that when implementing telematics, it’s essential to “set the tone. This is not a discipline program; this is a proactive safety, coaching, training and driver retention tool.” This approach helps drivers view telematics as a supportive solution rather than a surveillance measure, creating a positive environment for improvement and accountability.
Building Stronger Fleet-Insurer Partnerships
75% of commercial lines survey respondents see convincing fleets to share their telematics data as the biggest hurdle in leveraging telematics. However, 74% of fleets that don’t share their data say it’s because they were never asked.
The webinar provides several examples of how fleets and insurers can leverage telematics data to build stronger partnerships. Tuomi notes:
"While I'm not quite at the point of giving actual telematics portal logins to our insurer, I am happy to share data trends, video retrievals of accidents and demonstrate how we're using the the system to reduce risk. And in return, they may be able to help us identify trends across the industry, have access to aggregate data that we might not have and maybe give insights on actions to reduce risk in areas that we might have missed. Both carriers and insurers have something to gain from each other."
Wojcik also discusses how her team holds annual presentations with their insurance partner to showcase what new strategies they have in place, such as the deployment of in-cab cameras and the resulting safety improvements. While they’re proactive in sharing their own progress, she also expresses interest in "flipping the script" to create a more reciprocal relationship – where insurers provide feedback based on trends they observe across fleets. "What are they learning, and what can they share back with me so that I can go back and look at my policies, procedures and programs to tighten things up a bit?" Wojcik asks.
Their examples demonstrate that a data-driven, transparent approach to safety can strengthen fleet-insurer partnerships, helping support shared goals in risk management, cost reduction and overall road safety.
Overcoming Resistance and Securing Driver Buy-In
The panelists emphasize that transparency and clear communication are crucial for reducing driver resistance to telematics. Tuomi shares the importance of building trust with your drivers, stressing the need to be overly transparent on what the system does and what data is being collected. This helps drivers feel informed rather than monitored.
Wojcik approaches telematics as a proactive safety program, not as a disciplinary tool, helping drivers see it as supportive rather than punitive. She explains how they rolled out their program in phases, using driver champions to help communicate the system’s benefits; peer-to-peer messaging from trusted colleagues often makes telematics more relatable and less intimidating.
In addition to transparency, the panelists underscore the value of recognizing and rewarding positive driving behaviors. Wojcik explains how her teams use recognition certificates as well as local rewards, such as barbecues, to celebrate safe driving. Tuomi also shares his experience of turning telematics into a friendly competition, noting, “When we started posting the scores of not just the drivers, but the crews as a whole, you better believe there was a ripple effect.”
By framing telematics as a tool for coaching and rewarding good driving, our experts have found that drivers are more willing to buy into the system and view it as a resource for their own safety and professional growth.
Watch "The Future of Telematics" On Demand
To hear more about the current and anticipated telematics trends, visit the link below to download and watch the full recording. The insights and tips offered provide a valuable guide for anyone looking to enhance fleet safety, increase driver engagement and build stronger fleet-insurer partnerships.
