With changes in legislation and economic considerations, fleet managers have many challenges which can include the change over to a greener fleet. One of the cost when managing a fleet is your motor fleet insurance, which needs to take into account various factors and when done efficiently these can have a positive knock on effect on your motor fleet insurance costs.

Although the task of going green with your fleet can seem a daunting one, it is something that can help over time to improve your bottom line by generating some savings. Naturally running a green fleet is beneficial to the reputation of your business.

One question you may ask as a fleet manager is how do the insurance companies consider these green vehicles and the answer to this is that they view these hybrid vehicles as being equal to their petrol and diesel counterparts. This means that your fleet insurance policy will not be affected adversely by this change.

The first step is to assess your current fleet performance by taking into account the mileage and fuel consumption. You can then drill this down to the average mile per gallon considering both the per vehicle and the per driver. Next you can assess the destination of travel and the reasons for travel to run a tight, economical fleet.

Looking at how you can improve certain aspects of your fleet management, it is worth considering if all the vehicles are as efficient as they could be for their specific purposes. Are there ways in which their mileage can be reduced? The maintenance of the vehicles is central to their overall performance and economical viability, so it is best not to cut corners in this department. Is it possible to utilise alternative fuels for example?

What about the company policy on mileage? In some cases this may be encouraging extra mileage claims? Also are you on top of the CO2 emission levels and Euro standards of the vehicles? Some companies consider the expense of training as an investment in the case of fleet driver training, and this can be something worth incorporating into your fleet management budget.

As you consider these aspects of your fleet management, you can also re-evaluate who will be driving your company vehicles over time. Bearing in mind that the higher the age restriction can mean that you will be able to avail of a larger discount from a fleet insurance company for your next policy. These fall into the brackets of drivers over 30, drivers over 25 and those over 21.

The type of fleet insurance policy that you choose will affect the cost but before cost cutting exercises consider the possible implications in the case of a claim. You will need to make a choice between comprehensive, third party fire and theft or third party only. The alternative is to avail of a combination of types which is facilitated by some providers.

Whatever your choice you will know that it is also vital to consider the extensions which you may require in accordance with your fleet, such as courtesy cars, breakdown cover, windscreen cover or legal expenses insurance.

Once you have done all of the reassessments and improvements, you will see clearly the kind of goals that you can set yourself with the coming months and year in mind, and have productive, realistic targets to work towards.