This article is part of a sponsored series by Risk & Insurance Education Alliance.
Insurers and brokers have invested in safety programs, driver training, monitoring, mock audits—all the traditional loss prevention tools. The commitment is real.
Yet, most risk control programs are operating reactively. They’re relying on lagging indicators that miss critical changes. Claims history only shows past events. Violations often surface months after incidents, widening the gap between risk and response. By the time risk control teams get actionable information, the opportunity for early intervention has passed.
Telematics changes that by enabling earlier, more precise risk mitigation. It delivers continuous driver data that helps predict future claims before they happen. Speeding patterns, harsh braking, and distraction become early warning signs, empowering risk control teams to act before accidents occur. With AI now capable of processing these massive data streams, telematics moves from a monitoring tool to an adaptable risk prevention system.
Since 2023, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance and SambaSafety have partnered to explore these trends, surveying insurers, brokers, and fleets to track adoption and utilization in commercial auto telematics. The joint research reports showcase how, with 87% of fleets already utilizing telematics and AI capabilities rapidly maturing, the necessary infrastructure is already in place. This sets the stage for insurers and brokers to fully leverage this technology for risk control, as the cost of inaction continues to grow.
Rising Losses Demand Smarter Risk Data
The commercial auto insurance market is at an inflection point. In 2024, underwriters faced $4.9 billion in losses, despite 54 consecutive quarters of premium increases.
Clearly, this cycle isn’t sustainable. Breaking it requires a fundamental transformation in how risk is managed.
Premium escalation is just one symptom of deeper issues, like soaring nuclear verdicts—reaching a median of $23.8 million—and liability claims costs driven higher by social inflation.
Emerging technologies and risky behaviors are compounding severity. Average claims costs have increased due to Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), while speeding and distracted driving continue to be major contributors to violations, injuries, and fatalities.
Insurers can no longer afford to price themselves out of frequency or severity problems. They must prevent them. Telematics is now an essential tool for insurers committed to reversing loss trends and transforming risk control from a reactive to a proactive approach.
Risk Control Exists, But It’s Operating with Incomplete Data
SambaSafety’s 2025 Telematics Report indicates 60% of insurers utilize telematics across their risk control teams, and a significant majority of the top 50 commercial auto insurers say they now offer or subsidize telematics as part of their risk control efforts.
The challenge? Many of these programs still depend heavily on retrospective data. MVRs show violations only after adjudication, often months later. Claims history reveals patterns after losses occur. License monitoring catches suspensions or expirations but can miss the behavioral signals that predict risk before it materializes.
“The real value of telematics lies not in capturing risk signals, but in how insurers, brokers, and fleets act on them together to reduce exposure,” says John Barbagallo, strategic advisor at SambaSafety and former president of commercial lines at Progressive Insurance. Data alone doesn’t alter outcomes. Insights combined with action drive real risk reduction.
Telematics fills the visibility gap. It provides continuous monitoring of driver behavior as it happens, giving risk control teams the ability to identify high-risk patterns in time to intervene before those behaviors result in claims.
The impact is measurable. Fleets that combine continuous monitoring with targeted driver training can reduce violations by an average of 77%, reports SambaSafety. Telematics accelerates risk reduction, improving the highest-risk driver scores by 40% within three months. For insurers, this means better loss ratios, reduced exposure, and a path to sustainable profitability.
Telematics Enables Proactive, Targeted Interventions
The shift when risk control incorporates telematics data is tangible. Here are key transitions that teams may experience:
From reactive to proactive. Instead of reacting to increased claims activity, risk control teams can identify escalating risk patterns for their insureds and recommend tools to help them intervene before claims rise. Fleets can leverage insight, such as an increase in speeding or hard braking events, to target risk with tailored training to mitigate it. Interventions now happen in real time, not months later.
From periodic to continuous. Risk consultants have always tailored their approach to each fleet’s unique needs—that’s never been the issue. The historical challenge has been maintaining visibility into fleet risk between periodic assessments. Telematics eliminates this entirely, enabling risk control teams to identify emerging patterns across their book and intervene before they impact loss ratios.
From anecdotal to evidence-based. Telematics supplies objective data on what’s happening behind the wheel. No more relying on self-reports or lengthy audits. Risk control teams can now identify trends, measure improvement, and prove ROI with hard numbers.
Sophisticated insurers already use these approaches. They guide their clients with dynamic risk profiles and targeted training that improve outcomes. The result: safer fleets, fewer claims, and stronger relationships with policyholders who see real value in the partnership.
Brokers: Telling the Client’s Risk Reduction Story
For brokers, risk control is no longer just about preventing losses; it’s about demonstrating value and telling each client’s unique safety story. When a fleet client works with their broker, sharing data and implementing risk control measures such as training, the broker can leverage these details to demonstrate that they’re a better risk.
Telematics fundamentally elevates the broker’s role. With real-time insights, broker risk consultants can recommend risk management tools that showcase a data-driven narrative that reduces risk and resonates with both underwriters and clients.
No wonder 52% of brokers plan to increase investment in risk control services over the next two years. They recognize telematics isn’t just another tool—it’s the engine of a more sophisticated, valuable, and future-ready risk control strategy. over the next two years. They recognize telematics isn’t just another tool—it’s the engine of a more sophisticated, valuable, and future-ready risk control strategy.
Overcoming Adoption Hurdles
A key challenge for insurers is convincing fleets of all sizes to share telematics data, according to SambaSafety’s 2025 Telematics Report. Yet for 79% of fleets, the reason they aren’t sharing is simply that they’ve never been asked.
This is a communication gap, not a capability gap. When insurers lead with transparency and deliver incremental value through telematics, adoption rises. For fleets that share data, most report that their insurer actively helps them manage risk. It becomes a partnership, not just a transaction.
Internal barriers persist, from cost concerns and lack of resources to limited experience with telematics. However, these obstacles are shrinking as the market matures. Advances in telematics platforms and data aggregation tools are reducing integration hurdles and easing resource demands. Partnerships with specialized risk management providers now deliver the analytics and insights insurers need, removing the pressure for large-scale internal development or investment.
Fortunately, the infrastructure is largely in place. With a majority of fleets already using telematics devices, insurers can leverage aggregators like SambaSafety to tap into existing fleet telematics and remove adoption barriers.
AI Will Amplify What’s Already Working
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to significantly enhance telematics-powered risk control.
Insurers and brokers widely agree that AI will have a significant impact on fleet safety. The technology can process massive telematics datasets instantly, identifying risk patterns and triggering interventions at scale.
Think about what that enables. Real-time risk scoring that automatically prioritizes which drivers need coaching. Predictive analytics that identifies dangerous patterns before they result in incidents. Automated alerts when behaviors spike beyond acceptable thresholds.
As camera adoption increases, AI-driven video analysis will enable even more precise interventions. The combination of telematics data, video evidence, and AI-powered insights is significantly more effective than traditional approaches.
The insurers and brokers who effectively implement AI based on a high-quality data infrastructure will gain a competitive advantage. And that infrastructure lies in telematics.
Moving Forward: Integration and Execution
The groundwork is done. Insurers and brokers have invested in robust risk control programs and safety initiatives, demonstrating a clear commitment to loss prevention.
But without telematics, these programs lack key insight. Relying on lagging indicators means reacting after the fact, rather than preventing losses before they occur. Leading indicators are needed for proactive intervention and an improved combined operating ratio (COR).
Telematics delivers that capability by giving risk control teams the visibility to identify problems early, the precision to intervene effectively, and accurate data to prove results. Telematics is now central to effective risk control, and adopting it isn’t just about adding a new dashboard; it fundamentally reshapes how risk control operates. Those who embrace this shift aren’t just keeping up—they’re helping to shape what’s ahead.
SambaSafety is committed to advancing the auto insurance industry through risk trends research and analysis. To view our latest data and research, visit https://sambasafety.com/research-reports-2025
Author Arissa Dimond – Arissa Dimond brings over a decade of copywriting experience and four years of experience in Insurtech to her role as Insurance Content Manager at SambaSafety, a recognized innovator and leading provider of cloud-based risk management solutions serving over 16,000 organizations with automotive mobility exposure.