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An Editor's Q&A with Eric Shishko, executive vice president, Worldwide Business Development at DriveCam Inc.
The following is an editorial Q&A highlighting Eric Shishko, executive vice president, Worldwide Business Development, and DriveCam's work expanding its international business focus in Europe.
Editor: DriveCam recently announced an agreement with Hibernian, the largest insurance company in Ireland. What does the Hibernian agreement entail?
Eric Shishko: DriveCam has exclusively partnered with Hibernian to offer a new insurance program for the commercial fleet market in Ireland. Hibernian plans to make DriveCam the center of its driver safety initiatives as well as enhance its RiskAsyst™ program, which is a targeted solution that aims to help SME companies comply with safety and health legislation. In addition to providing a richer service to their customers, Hibernian will offer a range of incentives to those who adopt the DriveCam Solution and make it a part of their fleet operations. Hibernian has committed itself to sell and promote DriveCam as an innovative solution to the Irish commercial vehicle market.
Editor: Why is the agreement significant to Hibernian?
ES: Driver safety and the need to reduce the number of accidents and accidental deaths is a high-profile issue right now in Europe. Currently, accident rates in Ireland are among the highest in the European Union (EU). Forging a relationship with DriveCam offers Hibernian a sound, practical and cost effective path for improving current market conditions in the insurance business. As Hibernian learns the inherent risks of its clients via its engagement with DriveCam, it will be in an excellent position to create new products and services, be more financially competitive, build and maintain long-term relationships with clients and deliver a real change to the accident rates in Ireland.
Editor: Why is the Hibernian agreement significant to DriveCam?
ES: Hibernian is the largest insurance company in Ireland. Its parent company is Aviva, one of the largest insurance companies in the United Kingdom (UK). As a market leader, Hibernian has both the reputation and responsibility to be innovative in improving the quality of driving and overall driver safety in Ireland. By partnering with Hibernian, we receive a major endorsement of the products and services DriveCam provides. Our partnership with Hibernian provides credibility for the DriveCam Solution, not only in the Irish vehicle market, but in other areas of Europe where we would like to continue to grow business.
Editor: What impact can DriveCam have on European road safety?
ES: Many countries in the EU are moving to make employee safety behind the wheel of company vehicles a personal responsibility of the corporate management teams. There is a corporate governance issue of duty of care which is high on the agenda of many companies because of this transition. Most European countries have set very aggressive goals to reduce accident rates in the next five to 10 years. To reach these goals, programs must be implemented to improve three major safety components: the vehicle, roads and infrastructure and the driver. We know that the majority of accidents involve the last component – the driver. In fact, approximately 95 percent of accidents are driver-related.
Mid- to large-sized companies have invested a significant amount of time and resources to reduce the accident rate for their company vehicles. Their efforts have been very costly, and in most instances, reductions that have taken place have not been consistent. We believe that is because the majority of these investments have focused on vehicle, passenger and environmental aspects of accident reduction; few have been effective at changing the behavior of the drivers. One of the most significant ways commercial fleets can achieve a major reduction in the costs of accidents is to turn their attention to the behavior of the drivers. That is what DriveCam can provide. We have the solution.
Editor: Why did DriveCam became a signatory on the EU Road Safety Charter?
ES: It is very rare for a U.S. company to be included in this type of charter. It's an important development for us because it should add credibility to what we are doing. We will likely include it as a reference or endorsement as we grow.
Editor: As you move forward, where do you plan to expand? What types of companies are you planning to work with in Europe?
ES: Initially, we will focus on companies within Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK. We will be highly focused on five industry sector verticals – transit, concrete and construction, waste and sanitation, utilities and haulage. We will also continue to work with insurance companies to serve as a leverage point (demand aggregator) for both establishing a presence in the region and accessing the SME marketplace. Within the sector verticals, we will likely first target specific companies that we have existing relationships with in the U.S. I believe the international team at DriveCam will provide the global growth path for existing customers in the U.S.
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