Transportation Insurance Brokerage Kunkel & Associates Partners with CarriersEdge to Provide Online Driver Training

Markham, Ontario, April 30, 2018 - A leading insurance brokerage specializing in coverage for trucking companies is teaming up with the leading provider of online driver training to help fleets build a culture of safety and success.

Kunkel & Associates Inc., based in Dubuque, Iowa, will now offer to its customers access to CarriersEdge's suite of more than 70 training courses, as well as tools for efficiently and effectively managing a training program.

Kunkel & Associates joins a growing list of trucking fleets, insurance companies and brokerages in the United States and Canada that are partnering with CarriersEdge to provide drivers and their customers with extra-mile service.

"We understand that developing a culture in the trucking industry can be challenging, especially with drivers commonly being located hundreds to thousands of miles from one another and the company's terminal," said Jason Knockel, chief executive officer of Kunkel & Associates. "We believe that developing a strong culture can be facilitated through the use of online training and resources. This allows drivers the ability to access these tools anywhere, providing the company with a channel to communicate clear and consistent messages to the entire team."

"We share a belief that a strong corporate culture improves safety, and also improves business performance," added Jane Jazrawy, chief executive of CarriersEdge. "Online safety training courses give drivers the training they need, in a convenient format, to keep them safe on the road. Trucking fleets get access to a safety-training program at attractive rates that will help them reduce accidents and claims, and with the well-organized and thorough documentation fleets and insurance companies need. Those are important contributors to building and maintaining a company culture in which safety is a priority."

The CarriersEdge program includes full-length and refresher/remedial courses, in multiple languages, on important safety and regulatory topics in trucking, from distracted driving to hours-of-service rules. The courses can be taken any time and any place drivers have access to a computer or mobile device and an internet connection, giving them the flexibility to keep up-to-date with training while traveling or at home. Administrative tools make it easy to track not just who has taken what course but performance on quizzes to demonstrate retention of material.

The Kunkel/CarriersEdge program is set up as a subscription service, with one monthly fee providing unlimited use of all titles for all employees. Prices are based on the number of drivers who need access, with administrator accounts included at no charge.

Fleets that want to try out the service can begin with a smaller group and add more drivers later. Free online trials are also available.

Kunkel & Associates' Transportation Insurance Division supports fleets of all sizes, and operations including dry van, refrigerated, flat bed, dump, towing, drive-a-way, hazardous materials, intermodal, less than truckload, tank and passenger carriers. The company works with more than 50 transportation insurance companies.

"Everyone in the trucking industry has a role to play in keeping everyone on the road safe every day," Jazrawy said. "Kunkel is doing its part by offering not only its insurance products, but also a quality safety training component with a proven track record at an attractive price to its customers, helping to recruit and retain them."