CameraMatics has asked over 600 small business owners in the UK, Ireland, and the US about their main vehicle-related business challenge.
Both in the UK/Ireland and USA, businesspeople overwhelmingly said that rising insurance costs came top of their list of vehicle challenges, with 53.3% of UK/Ireland and 33.7% of USA respondents reporting this as their primary concern.
Those dealing with business vehicles reported that Commercial vehicle insurance premiums have risen steadily for several years. However, the results suggested that insurance was more of an issue for UK/Irish companies as it amounted for over 50% of the vote, compared to the US where it was just a third.
Fuel and Operating costs were the next major concern, with 21.7% of UK/Ireland and 26.1% of USA businesses seeing this as an issue.
Worry about unsafe employee driving received 16.3% of UK/Ireland and 22.3% of USA votes and, coming last in both territories, was vehicle safety & security with just 8.7% of UK/Ireland and 17.9% of USA votes.
Although the percentage of votes in each category varied by location, the order of concern reportedly remained the same. These remain real issues for small business owners across the globe, despite local and national issues causing variations.
CameraMatics states that insurance providers remain clear that robust risk management has a positive effect on premiums and there are many simple and affordable vehicle solutions available to small business owners.
CameraMatics CEO, Mervyn O’Callaghan, said: “Small businesses everywhere rely on vehicles to run their operations. From one or two cars and vans to larger vehicles and bigger fleets, vehicles keep businesses moving and serving their customers. This has never been more important than at present when many services need to be brought to customers’ doorsteps.
“Insurance is a major driver for businesses deploying our system on their vehicles. Vehicle technology such as cameras and tracking are no longer just for trucks. Proper risk management using technology enables all types of vehicles to become safer and smarter.”
