Motor Insurance
If your business or organization relies upon a fleet of vehicles or even a single car for conducting elements of its business, adding a motor-vehicle insurance policy to your insurance plan is an absolute necessity. Whilst not all industry-based businesses have commercial vehicles within their organization, many do rely on vans, trucks and cars to carry out vital elements of their service to customers and clients. Commonly it is the delivery of products and the transportation of employees that account for the use of such vehicles; two tasks which could see a business crippled should the vehicles cease to run effectively.
Levels Of Cover
British law states that all vehicles driven on public roads must be insured with a minimum of third party cover (Road Traffic Act 1988). It is therefore necessary for any business with a commercial vehicle or fleet to pay for the insurance of the vehicles, whether the cover extends to comprehensive insurance or is left at third party only. While most insurers offer vehicle or motor insurance for individuals, it often pays to ask for a commercial vehicle insurance policy simply because of the additional cover options that are offered.
Commercial Vehicle Insurance
Commercial vehicle insurance policies may all commerical fleet owners to register different vehicles within their fleet under different levels of cover. The business owner may decide that the newest vehicles in the fleet should have comprehensive insurance whilst the rest can simply have third party, fire and theft for example, and this is known as having a 'mixed cover' policy. Securing a flexible commercial vehicle insurance policy can be a key to insuring profitability for companies with a number of commercial vehicles.
Another option is to purchase a 'mixed fleet' policy that includes the commercial vehicles used by employees as well as any director- or executive-owned vehicles that may be used partially for personal use. Fleets with constantly changing drivers and vehicles may fall under a 'declaration fleet' policy, which charges slightly higher premiums but offers additional cover.
Factors Affecting Cost
Regardless of the combination organized with the insurer, it is important to remember that the cost of motor-vehicle insurance policies is affected by several key factors. The age and experience of the drivers is one of the major elements, with those under the age of 25 often being subjected to higher premiums and excesses. Business owners can instruct their insurance company that the fleet will be subject to business-imposed driving restrictions, that is that all drivers will be over a designated age (25, 35 and so on). This can reduce the overall cost.
If all but one of the business' employees is over a certain age, a driving restriction can be imposed with the business paying the excess for the single younger individual (though the insurer will require the individual to be named on the policy). Some insurers also offer 'named driver no claims discounts' for vehicles that will have more than one driver, thus allowing the no claims bonus to accrue over time for each driver on the policy.
Additional Benefits
Most comprehensive vehicle insurance policies should offer an additional array of services as standard, though it always pays to check prior to purchase. For instance, break-down cover (road-side assistance twenty-four hours a day) is often included in the policy and can be an important service particularly for courier-related businesses. Another form of cover worth enquiring about is the replacement of the vehicle (even temporarily) in the case of a break-down or accident. Foreign cover is also important, particularly if regular trips to Europe or the Republic of Ireland are a factor of the business.