The one message I get a lot from company owners is this…”our fleet of commercial vehicles, the insurance is just too expensive!” Not anymore.

I’ve been hearing good things about one particular commercial vehicle insurance company you see, who have been implementing something called “3G vehicle cameras” on all the vans they insure.

One of these 3G vehicle cameras is the IT1000 device, which a business who has a fleet of 30 commercial vehicles recently installed in every single one.

Amazingly, this has led to a 50% reduction in their insurance costs, which is roughly about £4000 per year, per vehicle, which they haven’t had to pay out.

The reason? Because they now have advanced cameras on each and every van, which means when someone tries to make a claim against one of their vehicles, they are in a much better position to defend themselves.

Not only that, but the insurance company can also see exactly what happened, which means they are not paying out for bogus claims.

It’s working very nicely as well. The previous year, this particular company had almost 40 claims made against their fleet of commercial vehicles. Fast forward to the present day and that number now stands at only 6 claims.

Even better, the use of “3G” in their vans has made the company more profitable, as drivers and their driving style is now more easily monitored, resulting in a more focused workforce who get the job done to best of their ability, and more importantly, on time.

So is 3G vehicle cameras now essential for all companies that want to get the best and cheapest insurance quotes for their fleet? In my opinion…YES.

Any kind of camera or monitoring system will do, although these 3G gadgets are state of the art and allow the insurance companies to see exactly what went on, as quickly as possible.

What about the average white van man, so to speak…should they also embrace this whole 3G thing or is it more for fleet management? While I think installing a IT1000 device might be a bit over the top for a sole trader roofer or builder, you might want to consider buying a dashcam (or two).

You then install these dashcams on the front and rear of the van, where everything is recorded and available to be played back if needed.

Fortunately, van insurance companies are starting to notice the power of these dashcams and that is why you can get cheap quotes for having them installed.

Also, don’t forget about something called telematics, which many insurers now offer in a bid to monitor your driving style.

Agree to this and you could be well on the way to cheap van insurance, as long as you obey the laws of the road.