Progressive’s Mandatory ELD Switch? Some Small Trucking Fleets May Be Required to Switch ELD Providers.

Sage Sullyblues

Sat, June 27, 2026 astatine 5:07 PM CDT 7 min read

For years, commercialized trucking insurers person encouraged fleets to enactment successful telematics programs by offering premium discounts successful speech for entree to physics driving data. Programs that erstwhile focused chiefly connected rewarding harmless driving person gradually go an progressively important portion of commercialized underwriting. Progressive Commercial's Smart Haul programme has been 1 of those initiatives, allowing eligible centrifugal carriers to stock telematics information with the insurer successful speech for imaginable premium savings. However, documentation reviewed by america and confirmed by Progressive indicates that, for immoderate trucking applicants, information successful Smart Haul is nary longer simply an accidental to gain a discount. Instead, it has go portion of the underwriting process itself.

The contented archetypal came to airy aft we reviewed screenshots from Progressive's commercialized quoting platform. The screenshots showed an security applicant progressing done the quoting process earlier being prompted to place the fleet's existent physics logging instrumentality (ELD) provider. In the illustration reviewed by us, The applicant selected Samsara arsenic the company's existing telematics provider. Rather than continuing with the application, the strategy displayed a connection stating that the lawsuit would beryllium required to acquisition and instal Motive telematics devices and hold to stock telematics information successful bid to proceed.

According to the website, the strategy advised that the applicant would not beryllium capable to person a punctuation without agreeing to instal Motive devices wrong 30 days. For galore trucking companies, peculiarly those that person already invested heavy successful an existing fleet absorption platform, that connection represents much than a elemental underwriting question. It suggests that, nether definite circumstances, the prime of telematics supplier whitethorn go a information of obtaining commercialized security coverage.

To verify whether the screenshots reflected existent underwriting procedures, we contacted Progressive. The institution responded by providing documentation explaining that a "small subset of trucking risks are required to enactment successful the Smart Haul programme arsenic portion of the underwriting process". The documentation further states that, successful definite situations, customers are specifically required to instal Motive telematics devices, portion different applicants whitethorn suffice utilizing antithetic approved telematics providers depending connected their underwriting profile.

Progressive's effect confirmed an important favoritism betwixt voluntary and mandatory participation. While galore customers proceed to person the enactment of enrolling successful Smart Haul successful speech for a premium discount, applicants who are required to enactment arsenic portion of underwriting bash not person the modular Smart Haul information discount during their archetypal argumentation term. Instead, enrollment is treated arsenic an underwriting request alternatively than a voluntary pricing incentive.