Many businesses own a number of cars, vans, Lorries, or HGVs which they rely on each day, and managing a fleet of vehicles can be very expensive when each vehicle is insured in isolation.

In this guide you can find out what policy terms will minimise your risk and overall fleet insurance costs 

What is Fleet Insurance

Fleet insurance is effectively bulk buying your insurance through a single supplier (Insurance company or a regulated Broker) which is why in turn you can be rewarded with a discount. Fleet Insurance covers both small and large fleets of commercial vehicles, cars and HGV vehicles. 

You might be surprised to know that you can insure from three vehicles upwards on one fleet insurance policy. 

Regardless of the market value of your business, you can still benefit from reduced premiums and hours of administration making the whole process much more manageable, with a fleet policy.

You really can limit the burden of multi vehicle policies by using one policy, which will provide you with one renewal and one payment date to administer.  

So what do you need to know before purchasing your fleet insurance and how can you minimise your risk as well as costs?

Assess your fleet insurance needs

In order to gain the best fleet insurance you need to take into account your fleet size and assess the frequency of use of your vehicles. Each of these factors will influence the costs you incur. 

Knowing this primary information, will help you understand your fleet insurance requirements and ensure you do not end up paying out for unnecessary components within your coverage. 

Fleet insurance type depends on vehicle usage

In order to get the correct fleet insurance policy, you need to consider the usage of your vehicles. 

For example, if you run a Building / Tradesman Business you will need a Carriage of Goods Policy to cover tradesman’s tools or company products being transported. 

Courier van insurance is the correct type of fleet insurance for local multi-drops of hire and reward services.

Haulage insurance is needed for those businesses offering long distance hire and reward services 

It can be more daunting than thought securing the right policy. However a specialist Broker can offer their expertise to make sure you have the right insurance in place when you need it most 

Make sure your fleet insurance policy covers ‘any vehicle’

When you are looking for your fleet insurance, it can be best to cover ‘any vehicle’ which will offer you the maximum protection. This is particularly important for larger fleets where vehicles will come and go throughout the life of the policy. 

Should you forget or accidently miss updating your policy schedule information, and a vehicle is involved in an accident but was not listed, your claim can and most likely will be invalidated 

Consider an ‘Any driver’ policy

An ‘Any driver’ fleet insurance policy, as opposed to a named policy, will allow each of your vehicles to be driven by any of your drivers. This will provide you with complete flexibility in managing your fleet. 

Please note that many fleet insurance providers are only willing to insure drivers over the age of 25 with ‘Any driver’ policies, However a full any driver policy, can be found through a specialist broker

How  is A Fleet policy rated?

No claims bonus-

If you have insured vehicles individually and they have earned their own no claims bonus, and you want to get Fleet insurance, we will collect all your no claims bonus information which will help discount your  policy.

Claims experience form-

Each year you insure a fleet policy your claims history and vehicle details gets added to this form this is another way your fleet insurance is rated, basically it replaces your no claims bonus.

Excess-

Changing you excess has an impact on your pricing, so always try different options to find what suits your financial needs best 

Drivers Convictions-

Different insurers will have different terms, and it pays to make sure you discuss any drivers that have a conviction/s.  Some but all policies will take the view that as long as the driver has no more than 6 penalty points or a serious driving conviction (DR,DD) they will be allow cover. 

If you need a fleet insurance policy that’s covers drivers with lots of driving convictions then please be sure to contact your specialist Broker 

TRIDENT INSURANCE PRIDES ITSELF ON THE KNOWLEDGE IT HAS GAINED OVER 20 YEARS IN PLACING ALL TYPES OF FLEET INSURANCE AND RELATED COMMERCIAL AND DOMESTIC POLICIES. BE SURE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR NEW BUSINESS OR RENEWALS