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Brought to you by Sentry Insurance

Transportation incidents remain one of the most costly and deadly exposures commercial businesses face today. No matter the type of vehicle, there’s always the potential for legal, financial, and human consequences every time one of your drivers gets behind the wheel. 

Our 2025 C-Suite Stress Index shows 72% of executives say rising litigation and multi-million-dollar verdicts are a problem in their industry. And 82% believe such a verdict could put their company out of business.*

Avoiding negligent entrustment starts with understanding what it means, how it can be proven in court, and putting clear, proactive loss prevention practices in place to help prevent it from happening to your company.

Understanding negligent entrustment

Negligent entrustment allegations typically begin with an accident caused by a driver using a company vehicle. If the injured party is able to prove in court that the company allowed an unqualified, reckless driver to use a company vehicle without training them in safety policies or checking the driver’s background, then the company may suffer extensive reputational and financial consequences.

Hiring and training reliable drivers

Start by hiring qualified, safety-conscious drivers. You can do this by properly screening motor vehicle records (MVRs), verifying their licenses and qualifications, and setting baseline expectations that all drivers must meet.

After you’ve hired drivers that met your criteria, it’s important to train them on your company’s safety policies, which should include clear explanations of topics like:

• Hand-held device use
• Acceptable and unacceptable uses of company vehicles
• Post-accident conduct
• Mandatory training requirements for all potential drivers
• Disciplinary actions that will follow driver negligence
• Incentives that follow proper vehicle usage

All drivers should be educated and trained in these policies early on in their employment, and they should be regularly retrained, especially following an incident.

Our 2025 C-Suite Stress Index shows 77% of executives say their business relies on company-owned vehicles, but only 41% require driver safety training.

There’s a lot of room in the industry to reduce the risk of negligent entrustment by simply requiring safety training for all potential drivers.

Along with regular training, schedule regular check-ins with your drivers and plan strategic incentives to help them continue following safety policies.

Integrate insurance in fleet decisions

Insurance is a vital component of fleet risk management. Our 2025 C-Suite Stress Index shows 74% of executives aren’t completely confident in their current insurance coverage, and 59% plan to increase their liability limit.

Align your insurance policy with your safety team’s priorities by:

• Updating your coverages to suit your operations
• Leveraging safety services offered by your insurance provider
• Re-evaluating your insurance in tandem with safety protocol upgrades

Insurers can spot hiring shortcuts, vague policies, unenforced rules, and high turnover. Work with your provider to help avoid these contributing factors to negligent entrustment.

Negligent entrustment claims can cost you money and your company’s reputation. By setting clear and efficient hiring practices, training drivers effectively and consistently, and working closely with your insurance team, you can help reduce your risk of exposure.

Sentry provides cyber liability, property, casualty, life insurance, and retirement products to dealers and other businesses. Learn more at sentry.com.

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