To get started let’s make sure we are talking about the right type of cameras:

Most importantly, the camera must be able to record the road in front of the truck and if possible inside of the cab (driver facing).

Secondly, make sure that the camera stores data in the digital cloud. Many clients try to cut the cost and purchase cameras with local storage (meaning records are kept either on the hard drive of the camera or on the SD card). Unfortunately cameras with local storage are very unreliable and data tends to get destroyed with the camera during the severe crashes when it’s needed the most.

According to Samsara, 50% of their dash cam customers have used footage to exonerate drivers in accidents, saving $5,000 to $25,000 on average a year, with some customers saving in excess of $100,000. Not surprisingly, 15% of their customers reduced their insurance rates after implementing cameras.

Here are some war stories from adjuster’s we interviewed:

Accident that never happened: An accident was reported by an attorney claiming that two people were injured in an accident where an insured vehicle struck his client’s vehicle and fled the scene. His report was backed by a police report with a plate number of the insured’s unit. The accused party denied the involvement and the case ended up in court. By downloading the data from the dashcam, the insurance company proved that the insured vehicle was more than 3 hours away from the alleged scene of the accident and there were no recordings of any accidents on the alleged date.

Control of the road dispute: An accident was reported by the insured for record only. Their vehicle was making a left turn under a green arrow, when a vehicle in the opposite lane of travel traveled straight and struck the insured head on. About 6 months later, the insurance company received a letter from an attorney for the other driver and passenger claiming injuries and demanding a substantial pay out for repairs and injuries. Case was successfully dismissed when the insured driver testified and his statement was backed by the recording of the accident.

No impact: Insured reported an accident where his truck struck a dumpster, which was supposed to be a small property damage only claim. Later on, the insurance company received a letter from a lawyer claiming catastrophic injuries to his client who was allegedly pinned by the truck into the dumpster. After reviewing the video again, the adjuster noticed the claimant about 20 feet away from the dumpster and could be seen approaching the dumpster after our insured struck it. Adjuster was able to successfully deny the claim thanks to the video.

Road rage: An accident was reported by a driver of a private vehicle, claiming that an insured truck totaled his car, ran him off the road and almost killed him. Driver was demanding a reimbursement for his vehicle and payment for his pain and suffering. After downloading the video file from the insured’s cloud storage, the adjuster learned that the claimant and another unidentified driver were involved in a road rage, where they would cut in front of each other and jam on brakes. In the video we could see the other vehicle cut off this claimant and jamming on brakes, the claimant lost control, went into our insured’s lane of travel and ended up under the truck. Thanks to the video, adjuster was able to successfully deny the claim with $0 pay out.

Some of the insurance companies for truckers already require dash cams and others offer substantial discounts. According to one of the insurance companies we work with, an insured using a cloud based camera gets 3% discount in the first year and in subsequent years can see further improvement in pricing due to lowered claim payouts and that can be a question of insurability or of saving as much as 30% for each exonerated loss.

Besides preventing insurance fraud, exonerating your drivers in accidents, dash cams also help to dispute tickets, prevent or recover thefts and help catch hit & run drivers.

Now that we agree that dash cams will make you safer on the road and will help cut your insurance cost, let’s chat about your insurance savings. Call us at 888-GIA-4YOU or email at sales@bigboysinsurance.com