If you want to see a best-in-class example of an efficient and safe fleet, look no further than Giant Tiger.
In 2025, the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada and Aviva Canada named the Canadian-owned company the winner of Canadian Private Fleet Safety awards for fleets with 75+ power units.
Giant Tiger has 256 fleet-related employees and its private fleet operated more than 25.1 million kms in 2024 alone. Their accident to incident ratio is .43 accidents per 1 million kms. This is even more impressive when you consider the fleet has increased its driver count from 20 to over 200 in the last six years.
Along with extensive onboarding, training, and ongoing safety programs, the company uses telematics technology to help assess individual driver and overall fleet performance. They have real-time data on all trucks, tracking hours of service, speed, sudden stops, and fuel mileage.
Although Giant Tiger isn’t the only company using telematics, they may be in the minority when it comes to maximizing the use of its data. This was a hot topic at a 2025 telematic vendor event where Leszek Bialy, VP of Corporate Risk, Aviva Global Corporate & Specialty, found that many clients simply aren’t using their telematics systems to their full potential.
“The majority of people at the event who have telematics were using it for maybe 50% of the opportunity they could extract from the technology. They’re only scratching the surface of its value. You want to get the full ROI if you’re paying $1,000/month for technology,” he said.
Here are seven ways to get more out of your telematics data.
1. Use it to tailor driver training
Telematics data can tell you a lot about driver behaviour. Actions like hard braking, hard cornering, and speeding create risk alerts in most systems. Fleet managers can get this information in real-time and message drivers immediately or at the end of a trip to give them feedback or take remedial action. The data can be a critical component to individual performance reviews.
Trends in driver behaviours can also be helpful to inform the regular training that all fleet employees should receive. If speeding or hard braking is a consistent issue, it can be comprehensively addressed for the entire team.
Aviva has implemented a telematics-based scoring model through a third-party telematics vendor. Leveraging our vendor’s solution, we assess aggregated driving data and apply a scoring framework that evaluates driving behaviour, helping to differentiate between safe and risky driving patterns.
Our vendor has identified a strong correlation between certain telematics indicators—such as hard braking—and the frequency of vehicle accidents. As the rate of hard braking per kilometre increases, the number of accidents per kilometre (i.e. claim frequency) also rises. By integrating telematics data with our independent evaluation of the scoring model, we’ve identified a correlation between specific driving behaviours and claim frequency.
2. Share telematics data with your insurer
Some insurers offer telematics-focused solutions for companies that share their telematics data. For example, Aviva Fleet Telematics coverage uses companies’ existing telematics solutions to provide tailored insurance for commercial fleets.
This can include reduced insurance premiums based on a fleet’s risk score. If driver behaviour and other risk factors are better than average, according to the telematics data, a company can receive a premium credit.
If a fleet scores poorly in its telematics data score, Aviva’s commercial fleet specialists will work with them to provide mitigation strategies that could help avoid an additional premium. Our team continuously reviews metrics and reaches out to share concerning trends and offers custom support to complement risk mitigation measures.
3. Make your fleet more efficient
There are fuel and climate cost savings to be found in telematics data. It can help:
- Optimize routing: Telematics systems use GPS and real-time traffic data to help plan the most efficient routes, avoiding delays and minimizing travel time, fuel consumption, and carbon emissions.
- Predict maintenance: Telematics systems can detect early signs of mechanical issues through diagnostic trouble codes and other data, enabling proactive maintenance, reducing unplanned downtime, and extending vehicle life.
- Manage assets: With precise location data and usage patterns, fleet managers can optimize vehicle deployment, reduce unnecessary mileage, and ensure vehicles are working at their full capacity instead of sitting idle.
- Track mileage and usage: Telematics data can support precise billing and depreciation calculations to optimize operational budgeting.
4. Help prevent nuclear verdicts
Jury awards in the US exceeding $10 million— known as nuclear verdicts—have trended up in recent years, with a huge impact on commercial auto capacity availability and premium cost. According to SambaSafety’s 2025 Driver Risk Report, this rise has been driven by aggressive plaintiff attorney advertising, third-party litigation funding, innovations in courtroom tactics, and state legislation that has expanded damages available in certain lawsuits.
Telematics data can help exonerate an accused driver from a big claim by providing irrefutable proof of safe driving. Also, companies that use their telematics data to monitor driver performance and integrate insights into safety and training programs can put themselves in a defensible position should they find themselves at a trial.
5. Save money on insurance claims
In a SambaSafety claims data study of a cohort of logistics drivers, a correlation was found between the adoption of continuous monitoring and a decline in the proportion of high-cost claims. In 2019, over 50% of auto claims were over $10,000. After monitoring went into effect, that number slowly fell; in 2023, roughly 35% of claims exceeded the $10,000 threshold.
They also found that the average claims cost in the three years prior to monitoring was $95,000; the average cost dropped by about $7,600 in the three years following implementation.
SambaSafety further reports that 72% of fleets report that the combination of training and telematics has reduced crashes and/or claims.
6. Get sales and marketing proof points
Telematics provides tangible proof of a company’s strong commitment to safety and sustainability. Aggregated data on improved driver behaviour (e.g., reduced speeding, fewer harsh braking events) substantiates a safety-first culture, appealing to clients concerned about ethical supply chains. Many telematics systems show an industry average, which can allow you to compare your track record against your competitors.
And by tracking optimized mileage, reduced idle time, and improved fuel efficiency, fleets can quantify efforts to lower carbon emissions, attracting environmentally conscious clients. This objective, performance-based data can elevate sales conversations from subjective assurances to verifiable operational excellence.
7. Create a recognition program for drivers
One of the hallmarks of Giant Tiger’s safety record is a driver recognition program that uses telematics to celebrate and reward safe driving behaviours.
A simple way to approach a recognition program would be to identify key performance indicators from telematics data. Drivers consistently demonstrating good scores in these areas or showing significant improvement can be recognized as “Safest Driver of the Month/Quarter.” Similarly, efficiency metrics such as minimal idle time, optimal route adherence, and consistent fuel economy can highlight “Fuel Efficiency Champions.”
Drivers should understand what metrics are being tracked, how they are being measured, and what the rewards are. Recognition can range from public acknowledgment, financial rewards, preferred routes, or even additional training opportunities. The goal is to foster a positive culture where drivers are motivated to improve their performance, knowing their efforts are seen, measured, and appreciated, ultimately leading to a safer, more efficient, and more engaged fleet.
About Aviva Fleet Telematics Insurance
Aviva Fleet Telematics insurance helps Canadian commercial fleet businesses manage their insurance costs. Businesses can now obtain coverage for their commercial fleets tailored to their risk management and budgetary requirements.
To learn more, please contact your insurance broker.
