“Outsourcing accident management and having a documented policy in place removes the inconvenience of handling all of the different aspects of an accident and dealing with multiple invoices from different suppliers.”

‘Total financial sense’

Colin Wilson, head of national new business at Northgate Vehicle Hire which has more than 52,000 vans on rental nationwide, says that employing the services of an accident management company “makes total financial sense”.

“My recommendation to our clients is that they get an external firm to oversee their accident management policy,” he says.

“There are many different reasons why this is necessary but, as far as I’m concerned, demonstrating duty of care is paramount and there’s also the issue of ensuring that the vehicles are correctly repaired.

“We have vehicles returned to us which have not been correctly repaired and that subsequently requires our clients to pay for remedial repair work, costing them even more.

“This doesn’t tend to happen when one of the main accident management firms has been used.”

Wilson adds that different accident management providers will be appropriate for different clients.

For example, some companies have national bodyshop networks which work best for those van fleets which operate across the country.

He adds: “Five years ago, there was a trend for our customers to attempt to deal with the damage themselves.

"But the arrival of strict legislation has now made many fleet managers look again at their obligations and they’ve found that it simply makes financial sense to bring in the services of a specialist external provider.”

Indeed, changes in legislation – and particularly the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 – are widely acknowledged to be one reason why accident management policies are now rising up boardroom agendas.

This legislation has resulted in organisations being found guilty of corporate manslaughter if it is determined that there has been any serious management failures that have resulted in a gross breach of duty of care.

Amanda Mullans, operations director at Total Accident Management, says: “Legislation is obviously something that fleet managers need to be very much aware of.

“The Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007 is chief among these – and good accident manage-
ment companies will be able to advise on what to do according to an organisation’s individual requirements.”

Health and safety law also applies to on-the-road work activities like any other work activity and these risks also need to be managed accordingly.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of their employees – and others who may be affected by their activities – when at work. This includes when they are driving.