The commercial auto insurance industry may be approaching a tipping point, and dashcams are at the center of it. Telematics-based safety programs are increasingly embedded in commercial auto insurance offerings, using a range of go-to-market strategies from premium subsidization to mandatory participation. In parallel, usage-based insurance programs are provided by specialized MGAs such as Nirvana and HDVI, as well as carriers including Progressive, Amerisure and GEICO.
Executive Summary
The IoT Insurance Observatory's Matteo Carbone and Azuga's JD Hassan make a case for dashcams moving from optional technology to an underwriting standard for commercial insurers writing auto insurance for fleets, also proposing that insurers subsidize the costs for smaller fleets to accelerate their adoption—driving the ultimate insurance benefits of reduced claims costs and safer roads.Among the different telematics-based solutions, dashcams are emerging as one of the key tools for building an effective connected commercial auto program. Even the regulatory framework is becoming favorable to their adoption: starting from January 2026 in Louisiana, insurers are required to communicate, and justify with actuarial evidence, the amount of discount they will offer to fleets equipped with dashcams and sharing the data.
All of these forces are shaping a landscape in which video recognition becomes an essential capability for the future commercial auto insurer.
