For years, transportation companies who invested heavily in fleet safety programs believed their strong SMS scores, clean inspection history, and telematics would insulate them from the worst of the market.
But 2025 has shattered that assumption.
Even well-run fleets with low crash frequency and high safety compliance are seeing double-digit increases on Auto Liability—often with underwriters citing loss trends that have nothing to do with the insured’s actual performance. This disconnect has frustrated risk managers nationwide, and the message is clear:
The market no longer rewards “good enough.” Only fleets who can prove deep operational excellence will outperform the trend.
What’s Driving This New Pressure?
Top-tier fleets are being affected by:
- Nuclear verdict inflation now spreading to medium-severity claims
- Social inflation pushing jury expectations far beyond economic damages
- Telematics data that is underutilized (or not used at all) in underwriting narratives
- Reinsurance pressure hitting every insurer at renewal
- AI-powered plaintiff attorneys mining data more aggressively than ever
So what’s the answer for transportation companies in a challenging insurance market? You have to tell a powerful risk story.
What Fleets Can Do to Win Back Control
1. Turn Your Data into an Underwriting Asset
Most fleets collect mountains of telematics, ELD and camera data—but fail to convert it into a compelling underwriting narrative.
We help fleets build a data-backed risk story, converting raw metrics into:
- Driver performance improvement curves
- Leading indicators tied to fewer rear-end losses
- Predictive fatigue insights
- Inspections-to-incident ratios
Insurance carriers respond to fleets with trendline improvement, not static metrics.
2. Elevate Your Claims Defense Strategy
Claims severity is no longer accidental, it’s engineered.
Our Transportation Claims Advocacy team helps you:
- Immediately secure video/ELD evidence
- Neutralize the “reptile theory” approach
- Control narrative with early intervention
This can reduce severity by 20%–40% depending on the profile.
3. Build a Market-Facing Story That Actually Sells
Winning in this market is less about the results you have and more about the results you can prove. We package your operational strengths into:
- A defendable risk profile
- A comparative index against peer fleets
- A submission that speaks the carrier’s language
Insurers reward clarity.
The Bottom Line
The transportation companies who thrive in 2026 will be the ones who capitalize on their data, sharpen their defense angle, and partner with a broker who knows how to turn operational excellence into underwriting leverage.
At McGriff, we don’t just submit accounts. We create a custom insurance program as well as shape and strengthen the story the market sees for each client.
Contributor
Pete Siegel
National Sales Leader
McGriff Transportation Practice