A resident rings the depot to say the lorry clipped their car. The driver says it did not. The crew are already three streets away, and the only camera on the vehicle points at the road ahead.

That claim will probably be settled. Nobody can prove otherwise, and it will sit in your numbers when your renewal comes due.

Most of the claims a waste fleet pays out on happen like that: beside or behind the vehicle, at walking pace, with crew on foot. Here is where they come from, what they now cost, and what to do about them before your next renewal.

Nearly half of waste worker deaths involve a moving vehicle

In waste and recycling, 48% of worker deaths involve being struck by a moving vehicle. Across all industries the figure is 17%. (HSE data for 2025/26, reported by letsrecycle.com, July 2026.)

The sector’s fatal injury rate is 5.47 per 100,000 workers, against 0.37 across all industries. Only agriculture, forestry and fishing is higher. (HSE provisional fatal injury statistics for 2025/26, published 1 July 2026.)

Those deaths happen around the refuse collection vehicle: crew walking to the bin lift, a loader stepping off the rear step, a resident crossing behind a vehicle that is about to reverse. These accidents drive up the insurance costs.

Reversing is where bin lorry claims start

Around 1 in 4 reported collisions involve reversing. (University of Huddersfield research and insurance claims data, reported in Fleet News.)

A bin lorry reverses dozens of times a shift, into cul-de-sacs, closes and narrow back lanes. Add parked cars on both sides, gates, garden walls, bollards and bins, and the claims fall into three groups:

  • Damage to property: parked cars, gates, walls and street furniture.
  • Injury: crew on foot behind and beside the vehicle, and residents, children and cyclists on the kerb side.
  • Service disputes: the resident says the bin was missed, the crew say it was not out.

A forward-facing camera sees none of them.

What a claim costs in 2026

The average accidental damage claim on UK motor insurance cost £3,699 in the first quarter of 2026, up 8% in a single quarter. (Association of British Insurers, 30 April 2026.) The main reason is the cost of repairing modern cars.

The average UK motor insurance claim payout reached £4,900 in the second quarter. (Association of British Insurers, Q2 2026 data published 30 July 2026, as reported by Insurance Times.)

So a scrape you cannot explain now costs more than it did five years ago. Insurers are also looking harder at how well a fleet manages its risk, not only at its claims history.

Commercial premiums are falling for now. Acturis reported fleet premiums down 5% or more year on year in the first quarter of 2026, and its Commercial Broking Index fell 4.1% year on year in the second quarter, the largest drop since the index began in 2010. A cheaper renewal is not the same as lower risk. When rates harden again, your claims record is what you negotiate with.

Your loss ratio decides your renewal

Loss ratio is claims paid, plus claim expenses, divided by the premium you paid. At 60%, the insurer paid out 60p for every pound of premium.

Above 60%, fewer insurers quote and the price rises. Near 100%, cover at a sensible price is very hard to find. These bands are common UK market practice, not a rule: each insurer sets its own appetite, so check your position with your broker.

It is usually the small kerbside claims, not the big crash, that push a waste fleet’s loss ratio up. On a modest premium, one disputed claim paid because nobody could prove otherwise can move it by several points.

Three things to do before your next renewal

1. Ask your broker for the analytical claims report

Not the summary that comes with the renewal quote, but each claim listed separately for the last three policy years, with what happened, the fault status and the days from notification to settlement. The summary shows what you paid. The report shows why.

2. Count the claims you lost by default

Mark every claim where liability was unclear and you paid because nobody could prove otherwise. Most operators know their claim count. Very few know this number, and it is the money evidence could have saved.

3. Sort the claims by where on the vehicle they happened

Front, nearside, offside, rear. Then check which of those angles your cameras actually cover. Most operators are surprised how many claims are low-speed, and how many happened where no camera was pointing.

What full coverage changes

Cameras on the nearside, the offside and the rear, as well as the front, put an angle on each of those claims. In-cab alerts warn the driver at the moment of the reverse or the turn, which is what reduces the incidents in the first place.

And the footage has to reach your insurer in time. With MANTIS, time-stamped footage from every side of the vehicle can be pulled remotely while the vehicle keeps collecting, and shared securely with your insurer. Retrieval depends on connectivity and on the vehicle having been powered recently. How claims defence works.

Was the bin out? Did the lorry touch the car? With an angle on it, those stop being your driver’s word against theirs.

Get The Waste Fleet Risk Guide

Most of the figures above come from The Waste Fleet Risk Guide, written for transport, fleet and safety managers at UK and Ireland waste fleets. It covers the three gaps that cost waste fleets money, London’s Direct Vision Standard and your duty of care, one disputed claim followed down two paths, and where to start.

Get the free guide. Want to see how your own claims split by where on the vehicle they happened? Tick the box for a free 20-minute claims assessment with the MANTIS UK team.

Questions

What share of waste worker deaths involve a moving vehicle?

48% of deaths in waste and recycling involve being struck by a moving vehicle, against 17% across all industries, on HSE data for 2025/26.

How much does a refuse vehicle insurance claim cost?

The average UK accidental damage motor claim was £3,699 in Q1 2026, up 8% in a quarter, according to the Association of British Insurers. Claims involving injury cost far more.

What loss ratio do insurers want from a waste fleet?

By common UK market practice, below 40% reads as low risk and 40 to 60% as moderate. Above 60%, fewer insurers quote. Each insurer sets its own appetite, so check with your broker.

Do I have to change my telematics provider to add cameras?

No. RECON works alongside the platform you already use. More on waste and recycling fleets.

Sources