First ‘pay-as-you-drive’ haulage insurance product set to
revolutionise industry from Towergate Insurance
Towergate Insurance, insurance brokers
to the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and the Road Haulage
Association (RHA), are proud to announce the launch of Azudrive, a
pay-as-you-drive insurance product for the haulage industry.
The product
Azudrive calculates an individual rate
per kilometre for the customer from their standard insurance
premium, and multiplies this by the number of kilometres travelled
every month.
The product will utilise digital
tachographs, now fitted as standard in all heavy goods vehicles
since 2006, to record the distance travelled.
Quite simply this means that drivers
pay only for the distance they drive, revolutionising haulage
insurance.
The market
Over the past decade the number of
goods vehicle operators in the UK has fallen from 111,000 to 95,000
in 2009 (Department for Transport) – almost a 15% reduction. High
running costs and low volumes of regular work have forced many of
these operators out of business.
This situation has highlighted a flaw
in the way the UK haulage insurance industry is structured and has
prompted the question, why should two identical operators be paying
the same insurance premium when one is doing 40,000 kilometres per
year whilst the other is doing 80,000?
Opinion
Azudrive has been endorsed by the FTA
who commented today: "We welcome the opportunity to help our
members control operating costs through reducing insurance
premiums. The new 'pay as you use' nature of the Azudrive service
will benefit many operators especially those who may not have their
vehicles in use 24/7. It is an exciting development especially in
an environment where cost control is at the forefront of most daily
agendas".
Amanda Blanc, Deputy Group CEO of
Towergate Insurance, describes this as an "undeniably fairer method
of insurance premium calculation". She continues "whether you’re a
goods vehicle operator doing local haulage and struggling to find
regular work, or generally doing below average mileage, Azudrive
could potentially save operators up to 25% on their insurance
premium."
Media Contacts
Russell O'Connor
Group Communications Manager
Towergate
Mobile: 07760 282586
Email: Russell.o'connor@towergate.co.uk