The ESIS Transportation Industry Practice delivers the claim and risk management services that transportation companies and organizations with significant fleet or transportation operations demand. From prompt claim response and investigations to leveraging data and analytics and smartly navigating unique jurisdictional and coverage issues, Kerry Andersen, who serves as Transportation Industry Practice Leader, discusses how his team of risk control, claims, and managed care experts work to deliver programs that dovetail with clients’ own safety efforts, keep pace with changing safety regulations, and bring industry-specific best practices to claims handling. “We also create customized managed care solutions, offer transportation-dedicated partnership leaders, and have benchmarking tailored to unique transportation exposures,” he adds.

How did your career in the insurance industry lead you to ESIS?

I started in the insurance industry right out of college. I was hired as a claims adjuster for a large carrier with no experience. Truthfully, I had no idea what a claims adjuster did – I was just looking for a job! One of the very first accounts that I handled was UPS, specifically managing their auto liability accidents. It was very much a baptism-by-fire into the transportation world because I was handling everything from minor property damage incidents to serious to high-profile fatality losses.

I held a number of different positions throughout the industry before joining ESIS in 2015, with a large part of my career working with transportation clients. About three years ago, because of my transportation experience, I was asked to step in and lead the practice for ESIS. It was a natural fit.

What differentiates the ESIS Transportation Industry Practice in the marketplace?

We offer a holistic approach that includes integrated loss prevention and claim and risk management solutions, and it’s backed by a team with immense experience in the industry. While there was never a time that this practice was lacking in experience, I made it a point when I stepped into the role of Industry Practice Leader to make sure that we had all disciplines represented, we had a defined team including all of our key disciplines, and our goals and objectives were clearly defined within the group, within ESIS, and externally in the transportation industry.

What separates a good transportation program from a great one?

Ultimately, differentiating a great program from a good program comes down to our client outcomes. Are we getting them results? Are they the results that the client wanted?  Great results from a claims perspective means lower overall claims costs, lower total cost of risk, and better results from the claims outcomes, whether it's shorter durations, less severity, or less total dollars spent. This includes the ability to understand, identify, and control losses that have the potential to deliver “Nuclear Verdicts.”  Great results from a risk control and reduction standpoint means a reduction in frequency, a reduction in high-cost accidents, better participation in training, and fewer driver violations, just as a few examples.  

How are you working to stay ahead of evolving technology in the transportation space?

This is an important question because the transportation industry today is very different than it was 30 years ago when I worked my first UPS fatality accident; it's even substantially different than it was just two years ago. Technology evolves at such a rapid pace, and we have to actively work to make sure our products and services reflect this and meet the needs of the transportation industry today and tomorrow – not the industry as it was. If we don’t keep pace with technology, we’re going to be left behind. 

Are there any challenges that people in the transportation industry should be anticipating in the years to come?

Perhaps the most pressing issue is driver shortages. A lack of qualified drivers has been an historic problem of the transportation industry, and it’s not getting any better. Further driver shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already challenging situation and we're working with our clients to understand how to source, appropriately evaluate, and train new drivers who understand the need for safety and are able to follow the company’s established guidelines, rules, and regulations. It’s definitely challenging, but it’s going to continue to be an issue that we’ll need to help our clients address.

Years in the industry: 30+

Years with ESIS: 6

Hometown: Lexington, NE

What he doesn’t leave the house without: Cell phone

The best advice he ever got: “There is no problem that cannot be solved as long as you communicate openly and engage the right people.”