As I reflect on nearly three decades in this incredible industry, I'm reminded of the many highs and lows our clients and carriers have experienced over the years. As we close out 2025, the transportation industry continues to face significant headwinds. We appreciate all of you who took the time to read our 2025 Transportation Market Outlook and attend our transportation market outlook webinar, both of which allowed our team to discuss the challenges our industry is facing and explore strategies to navigate them effectively.

As we transition into 2026, there are a few critical topics that have been at the forefront of our discussions with carriers that it's important that our clients understand. Insurance rates in the transportation industry continue to rise as loss costs climb. However, our retail partners and consumers can take steps to help mitigate these rising costs.

3 Key Strategies to Combat Rising Insurance Rates

1. Timely Claims Reporting

In our meetings with insurance providers, timely claim reporting is a hot topic. Delayed reporting can have significant consequences for both policyholders and insurers:

  • For policyholders, delays can lead to higher out-of-pocket expenses or even denied claims if policies have strict reporting timelines.
  • For insurers, late reporting can result in higher loss ratios due to prolonged investigations, inflated costs and unclear facts surrounding the claim. In some cases, plaintiff attorneys reporting claims at a later date can further escalate settlement amounts.

Higher loss ratios not only impact an insurer's ability to remain viable and solvent but also drive up costs for insureds. By reporting claims directly and immediately to insurers, policyholders enable their carriers to act as true partners, facilitating investigations, settlements, and advocacy.

2. Building a Strong Safety Culture

Organizations that prioritize safety can achieve significant insurance cost savings. A robust safety culture demonstrates a proactive approach to risk management, which can lead to access to more insurance options and better terms. Key components of a strong safety culture include:

  • Effective driver hiring practices to ensure that only qualified and responsible drivers are hired
  • Operational stability to manage growth responsibly
  • Well-maintained equipment given regular maintenance
  • The use of telematics, leveraging technology to monitor and improve driver behavior

Many insurers also offer loss prevention services and coaching to help organizations implement best practices. By embracing these resources, businesses can enhance their safety protocols and potentially reduce insurance costs.

3. Embracing Telematics and Data Sharing

Who's your client's electronic logging device (ELD) provider? Has your client installed inward- and outward-facing cameras? If so, who's their camera provider? These questions are important to ask clients and share with their insurance carrier, who may provide discounts or subsidies for clients who embrace telematics and share driving data.

For some, this technology isn't optional: the list of carriers and programs that require data to be shared is growing. Most of the new programs that started in the last few years require data to be shared as a condition for eligibility. At a time when insurance rates continue to climb, encouraging clients to share their ELD data and to install cameras opens the door for not only potential upfront savings but also a wider variety of carriers and programs that may require it.

The Role of Data in Improving Industry Outcomes

At a recent wholesale insurance conference, several major providers discussed how data is being used to improve industry results. While the trucking industry has been around for over a century, the sharing of operational data like routes and driving behavior is a relatively new phenomenon.

Many carriers are still analyzing the influx of data to determine its impact on their results and assess its reliability. The more customers share their data, the better the industry can predict outcomes and improve overall performance.

Video footage from cameras — especially inward-facing ones — provides critical insights during claims investigations. In the public auto sector, these cameras are increasingly used to protect clients by documenting both driver and passenger actions, reducing the risk of frivolous lawsuits.

Some telematics providers now offer the capability to notify insurers of incidents in real time. For example, video footage might reveal whether a driver hit a pothole or was struck by another vehicle. This proactive notification allows carriers to investigate immediately, ensuring the driver's safety and mitigating potential losses.

While immediate incident notification technology isn't yet universally available, it represents an innovative step forward for the industry. Even without real-time notifications, shared data and camera footage are proving invaluable in defending clients against litigation and improving claims outcomes.

RPS Resources to Support Your Success

At RPS, we're committed to tailoring our data and resources to meet the unique needs of our clients. Here are some of the tools we offer to help you better understand the industry, your customers, and your book of business:

  • The Written Premium Change Report highlights key industry trends and provides insights into premium changes across the RPS commercial auto book of business. It showcases how some clients have improved their operations and secured better rates, while others have faced rate increases due to various factors. At RPS, we leverage a diverse range of carriers and programs to provide the best options for our clients.
  • The Retail Client Overview Report is designed to help you analyze your production results across the many RPS products available.
  • RPS Impact highlights the impact of our initiatives, including Placement Differentiation, Proprietary Products, Analytics and Innovation, and Intellectual Capital.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we move into 2026, we look forward to engaging in intentional conversations with your team about your goals for the upcoming year. At RPS, we're committed to delivering impactful solutions that help you achieve success.

Thank you for your continued partnership. Together, we can navigate the challenges ahead and seize the opportunities that lie before us.

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