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April 2022

Lights! CAMERAS! Action!

No, we’re not making a video, but we ARE reminding you of the critical importance of installing SmartDrive cameras in your trucks to avoid the loss of insurance coverage. Installing and monitoring forward-facing in-cab cameras is one of the key requirements you agreed to meet when you joined ICSA and qualified for insurance coverage. If you have not installed cameras and/or don’t have an appointment for installation, contact customersvc@mohaveinsco.com or 800-491-8421 Mohave opt. 2 for expediting your installation.

Why Does Truck Insurance Cost So Much and What Can You Do About It?

Guest Editorial by Brett Sant, Volunteer Chairman, ICSA Board of Directors

If you are like many commercial auto insurance buyers, you probably really pay attention to those costs once a year when you shop for coverage. But you really should pay closer attention all year long because cost inflation in commercial auto coverage has been happening for over a decade, and small fleets feel the impact disproportionately to large fleets. Why do your insurance costs continue to rise?

The answer is really just basic economics. The demand for coverage has exceeded the supply of premiums used to pay claims going all the way back to 2011. Simply put, the number and cost of insurance claims has exceeded the amount of premium paid into the pool to pay losses. There are many reasons for this: increasing crash frequency; increased cost to repair damages; inflated medical costs; the impact of “nuclear verdicts”; litigation financing and a host of other “social factors” have yielded greater insurance losses and underwriters have not collected enough premium to cover the costs. The response of the insurance industry has been to increase rates. Commercial auto rates have increased quarterly for the past 40 quarters but increasing rates has not solved the financial problem.

Insurance companies use a ratio to measure profitability. Costs are put into two buckets: losses (including defense and adjusting costs) and expenses. The two buckets of cost combined relative to premium are referred to as the “Combined Ratio”. A Combined Ratio above 100 means that underwriters are not collecting enough premium to cover the costs. Insurance companies want to avoid underwriting losses. As you can see from the chart below, the Commercial Auto market has experienced underwriting losses every year going back to 2011.

ICSA Announces New Partnership

Iron Truck Services Offers Great Fuel Discounts

There’s no question that fuel is a driver’s biggest expense. That’s why ICSA’s new partnership with Iron Truck Services (ITS) will be a big benefit for our members by providing access to a fuel discount program to help carriers manage their fuel costs.

Launched in 2021, ITS provides carriers with the support and services they need to do their jobs as safely, efficiently and profitably as possible. Created by and for drivers, ITS is the first company to provide fuel, insurance and vehicle maintenance all “under one roof,” and at the highest quality and competitive pricing.

IRON FUEL PROGRAM: Offers a free membership program that provides access to a discount network of over 1,500 fueling locations nationwide, with savings, credit lines, fuel tax filing and other benefits.

IRON INSURANCE (in association with Mohave Insurance): Provides ICSA members with auto, general, and cargo liability insurance, as well as physical damage insurance options, all at affordable rates. All policies are supported by risk management services that promote safe operational practices for policyholders. Low cost SmartDrive cameras are installed at no cost at any Iron Maintenance location.

IRON MAINTENANCE: Offers wholesale prices, free DOT inspections and maintenance services at nearly 30 locations nationwide, with additional sites to open soon. Iron Maintenance makes it easy and affordable to keep trucks in safe working order.

Be watching your email later this month for links you can follow to access ITS fuel discounts and other services!

COACHING CORNER

By Mike Hitchcock, ICSA Safety Consultant

Highlights of CVSA Workshop

I had the pleasure of representing ICSA at the annual Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) workshop in Bellevue, WA last week. ICSA was the sponsor of a special information session for motor carriers on implementing fatigue management programs. I attended several information sessions and committee meetings, but to me the most impactful session I attended was a preview of the FMCSA Digital Inspections Program soon to be launched.

This digital approach to inspections is very impressive, not only allowing the inspector to work an inspection from a tablet, laptop or iPhone simultaneously, but being able to access data in real time from prior inspections, driver data and MVRs, motor carrier information and other related safety information. This approach means inspectors will be able to process inspections much faster and more completely, and more importantly, they will be able to conduct more inspections at roadside and not in weigh stations or inspection facilities.

What it means to ICSA members is that you must step up your efforts to ensure every vehicle and driver you dispatch is operating safely at all times. This starts with establishing a culture of safety within your organization – a culture that starts at the top and has the support of every employee, not just drivers.

ICSA Names 1st Quarter 2022 Safety Award Winners

ICSA is pleased to announce the inaugural winners of our new Safety Award Program. These awards were based on the company’s or the individual’s safety performance from January through March 2022. ICSA will be selecting quarterly winners throughout the remainder of 2022. After the 4th Quarter winners are named, annual winners will be chosen from the four quarterly winners. To be considered for an award, carriers must meet these criteria:

• ICSA membership dues paid up and an active member profile set up in safecarriers.org

• SmartDrive camera(s) installed and active

• SmartDrive score under 50 for the quarter

• Enrolled in ICSA’s approved drug testing consortium and hair testing completed

• No claims

Congratulations to the following Q1 2022 winners!

Fleets

• 1st Place: GSL Trans, Inc., Manteca, CA

• 2nd Place: Lamm Trucking, Inc., Torrance, CA

• 3rd Place: Manteg Trucking, Inc., Ontario, CA

Single truck operators

• 1st Place: Mandeep Singh, Farmer Freightline, Inc., Manteca, CA

• 2nd Place: Lacedrick Caldwell, T-Way Express LLC, Atlanta, GA

• 3rd Place: Israel Guevara, MCA Transport LLC, Avondale, AZ

First place winners receive a $500 gift card and an ICSA-branded scale model truck, while 2nd and 3rd place winners receive some useful ICSA-branded merchandise.

Out-of-Service Criteria Now Updated

If you don’t have an updated copy of the North American Standard Out-of-Service (OOS) Criteria, you are missing valuable information that can impact your ability to stay in business. These requirements, developed cooperatively between Canadian, Mexican and U.S. commercial enforcement agencies under the auspices of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), are the pass-fail criteria for truck inspections. The purpose of the criteria is to identify critical violations requiring that the driver, vehicle and/or cargo be placed out of service for a specified period of time until the condition(s) or defect(s) can be corrected or fixed.

The Out-of-Service Criteria is updated annually, effective April 1 of each year, with the release of that year’s edition of the handbook. You can purchase your own copy of the 2022 Out-of-Service criteria here.

Meanwhile, here are relevant OOS updates ICSA members should be aware of…

Are You Ready For Roadcheck 2022?

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced this annual 72-hour blitz of commercial vehicle inspections will take place May 17-19 across North America. This year, enforcement officers will concentrate on inspecting wheel end components, including brakes and slack adjusters.

According to CVSA, violations involving wheel-end components account for about one-fourth of the vehicle out-of-service violations discovered during past Roadcheck activities, and data from these enforcement blitzes identified wheel-end components as a top 10 violation.