Insurers look at what you're asking them to cover, how your claims have gone and what you're doing to bring the risk down. The first two come from your vehicle schedule and your confirmed claims history. The third is where a fleet can change the conversation. In the words of Aon, the broker, underwriters are "still focused on how quickly claims are reported, how actively they are managed" (Aon, September 2026).

What goes in front of the insurer

Your broker or insurer will usually want:

  • a vehicle schedule with each vehicle's type, value and use, plus any changes since last year, such as new depots or new kinds of work
  • who drives and how you check their licences
  • several years of confirmed claims experience from your insurer, with open claims and what's been paid
  • how incidents are reported and handled, from the roadside to the claim
  • what you do about the way people drive and what's changed because of it

The claims record shows what happened, while the rest helps the insurer judge whether next year will look the same.

Why the process matters as much as the record

One year's claims can be lucky or unlucky. A fleet can do very little about driver risk and have a quiet year, or do a great deal and have a bad one. That's why it helps to show evidence of a process as well as the claims numbers. A difficult claims year doesn't have to tell the whole story if you can show what's changed and what's now in place.

Aon, the broker, describes the UK motor fleet market as "broadly flat through Q2 2026", with the fleets that do well showing "active driver management and practical use of vehicle or claims data".

What's worth having ready

  • Your loss ratio (what your claims cost the insurer as a share of your premium), claim frequency and average cost per claim for the year, with how they've moved
  • Claims broken down by depot and by driver, so you can explain where they came from
  • What happened after each serious claim: who spoke to the driver and what changed
  • How quickly incidents reach your insurer and how often the other driver's details are captured
  • The drivers you've spoken to about their driving and how that went

Where SHIELD fits

SHIELD keeps that record through the year rather than leaving it to be pulled together a month before renewal. Loss ratio, claim frequency and cost per claim are tracked as the insurer's claims data arrives each month. Every claim is linked to the incident, the vehicle and the driver, with the driver's score in the weeks before it. You can also show the check-ins SHIELD sent to drivers whose driving was starting to change and how each driver rated them, alongside every driver checked against your insurer's policy criteria. Together that builds the case for a better premium at renewal, though it never guarantees one.

Since Orkin started using SHIELD, its loss ratio has gone from 84 per cent to 56 per cent, which gives it a stronger position heading into renewal.

Sources: Aon, UK insurance market outlook, 10 September 2026.