For truckers insured through Progresssive, the transition to electronic logging devices has gotten a little easier. The company is offering a free ELD and will cover the monthly fee for customers who are willing to share their data, explains Brett Stalnaker, product manager for Progressive.
“We know [the ELD mandate] is a big pain point for our customers—everybody’s nervous about it, wondering what to do,” Stalnaker says. “One of the biggest things people struggle with is the unknown. The great part about the Smart Haul program is that it gives truckers the opportunity to give ELDs a try before the mandate kicks in. Keep your paper logs, and take a look at how it’s going to affect you and your business.”
Additionally, Progressive is teaming with Rand McNally to offer up to $500 in gift cards after purchasing one of two Rand McNally E-Log devices.
Participant drivers need to:
- Purchase a Rand McNally ELD 50 or DC 200 device at their favorite travel center, such as Travel Centers of America.
- Call 1-855-305-0958 to obtain a quote from Progressive and sign on as a customer of commercial liability insurance. Existing Progressive customers also are eligible for the Smart Haul program.
- Begin using the E-Log device and sharing driving data with Progressive.
Once the ELD is in use, and Progressive has begun receiving driving data, the insurer will send the participant payment of $100 in gift cards. After this, four quarterly payments of $100 gift cards will be sent for a total of $500 as long as the participant continues using the ELD and is a Progressive customer in good standing.
As for the data sharing, the “ultimate goal” will be to collect and analyze real-world, over-the-road performance information and then to offer “the best rates to the best customers,” Stalnaker adds.
“We don’t have any plans at this point to anything more than to learn about specific driving habits, and it’s not going to affect anybody’s rates today,” he says. “We won’t be sharing the data with anyone else. We’re just working to put together something to help our customers out. It’s tough out on the road, but there are things we can do as an insurer to make things a little easier. What we’d like is to have customers for life, where we’re their partner. We’re at a billion dollars in commercial truck premiums—we’re in the market to stay.”
