Light commercial vehicle operators in New Zealand can now earn an insurance excess waiver by demonstrating safer driving behaviour, following an expansion of the NZI Safe Driving Rewards programme.
EROAD and NZI have announced that the programme, which has operated for heavy commercial fleets for the past decade, will now be available to light commercial vehicle fleets for the first time. The expansion is significant because light commercial vehicles account for more than 80% of New Zealand’s commercial vehicle population.
The programme is designed to reward safe driving with a practical financial benefit. Light commercial fleets insured with NZI and using eligible EROAD telematics can enrol in the programme. Fleets that rank in the top 25% of New Zealand’s safest operators, based on verified EROAD telematics data, can receive a waiver on their insurance excess when making a driving loss claim.
There is no joining fee, and eligible customers can activate the programme immediately without waiting for policy renewal.
Garry Taylor, Executive General Manager, NZI, said: “NZI Safe Driving Rewards has proven its value with heavy fleets over the past decade and extending it to light commercial fleets means more businesses can benefit from safer driving. It’s a clear example of the NZI Advantage in action – working with EROAD to reward good driver behaviour and improve road safety outcomes across New Zealand’s commercial vehicle sector.”
For Fleet Managers and business operators, the programme links telematics data, driver behaviour and insurance outcomes in a way that may help support broader fleet safety objectives. Rather than only using data after an incident, the programme gives fleets a benchmark to monitor performance and encourage safer driving before a claim occurs.
Matt Gibson, Executive General Manager New Zealand, EROAD, said: “EROAD and NZI are well aligned – both organisations are striving to improve safety outcomes on New Zealand’s roads. We’ve seen the real impact the programme has had on fleets in terms of reduced risk and improved driver behaviours, and we’re pleased to be bringing it to light fleet customers. Rewarding safe driving behaviour is a powerful motivator and the tools we’ve built give fleet managers everything they need to act on it.”
At the centre of the programme is the EROAD Leaderboard, which compares a fleet’s safety performance against industry peers and a national dataset. To support the expansion into light commercial fleets, EROAD has launched a new Advanced Safety module for EROAD Locate.
EROAD Locate combines a plug-and-play device with the MyEROAD platform. With the Advanced Safety module, customers can access the Vehicle Leaderboard, speed reporting, harsh driving reporting and seatbelt compliance reporting.
The programme is available to customers with an EROAD Locate Advanced Safety plan or an Ehubo2 Safe Driver plan. Safe driving scores are calculated using verified telematics data from EROAD’s platform and benchmarked against a national dataset of light vehicles.
If a driving loss occurs, NZI will waive the excess on the claim where the fleet is in the top 25% of EROAD subscribers for safe driving. The ranking is based on the average safety score for the 28 days before the accident. Terms and conditions apply.
For light commercial fleets, the expansion provides another reason to consider telematics as part of a structured safety and risk management strategy. The direct financial reward may help strengthen the business case for investment, but the larger opportunity is in using regular safety data to influence driver behaviour, reduce risk and improve operational visibility.
