RSG163: Ed Walker on Fleet Owner Insurance, Telematics and More

I talk to a lot of people who are interested in starting their own companies: rideshare, shared fleets, scooters and more. One thing they’re always surprised by? The enormous cost of insurance. In this episode, I talk to Ed Walker about the impact of insurance costs on fleet owners, how telematics can help, and more. 

Shout out to another mobility podcast – The Movement Podcast, hosted by Josh Cohen. I’ve been on the podcast before and am a huge fan. I enjoy the topics he delves into, including equitable access, sustainable cities, and more. If you want a podcast that delves into the hard problems mobility is trying to solve, you’ll want to give The Movement Podcast a download and listen!

Listen to this episode on your phone here.

Intro to Ed Walker

  • Second time on the podcast!
  • Vice President at USI Insurance Services
  • Goal is to ease the burden of insurance on mobility operators
  • He is THE guy to talk to about all things shared insurance!

Fleets + Insurance Costs

  • The more vehicles a fleet owner has, the more important it is to get away from the a la carte model
  • Traditional insurance carriers have a lot of barriers
  • Working with USI, there’s a greater ability to get those prices down

Most Expensive Part of Being a Fleet Owner

  • Premiums – the total cost of risk
  • Lack of control really drives up the price
  • Drivers are not employees – leads to unpredictability

Telematics + Fleet Ownership

  • Telematics – shows where vehicles are, how they’re driving, etc.
  • The best companies have a dashboard that tracks this info
  • Argyle is doing a better job than most in identifying rideshare periods

Future of Telematics + Insurance

  • A lot of carriers will provide what seems to be cost-competitive quotes, but there are redundancies
  • Those costs add up
  • There are ways to drivers to prevent accidents – telematics can help

Outro

  • Thanks to Ed for coming on the show and sharing his opinion on the fleet space!
  • I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about fleet ownership and wanted to address the cost factors – Ed helped break it down for us!

Show Notes