Fleet Insurance

Fleet Insurance is available for most vehicle types, including cars, vans, coaches, and taxis. It also extends to non-road vehicles, such as Plant and Equipment, Tractors, etc. An ‘any vehicle’ policy can cover an assortment of vehicle types uses for different purposes and allows for changes in fleet makeup. However, you need to check the specific cover offered by your policy as Motorbikes, Forklift trucks and excavators may be excluded, as may vehicles not registered in the UK.

When it comes to leasing a vehicle, insurance is not included so you will need to arrange this yourself. Leased vehicles must be insured from the day of delivery to the end of your contract on a fully comprehensive insurance policy. This covers the full cost of repairing any damage to your vehicle, in addition to third-party property, in the event of an accident.

Because you must have motor insurance to drive a vehicle on roads in the UK, then yes, all fleets are legally required to have a minimum of Third-Party insurance cover.

If you use cars or other types of vehicles as part of your business, it’s imperative that you take out at least the minimum level of cover on every company vehicle. You don’t have to take out a Fleet Insurance policy – you can choose to insure each motor individually.

If you have an accident and cause damage or injure someone, or a vehicle or an animal or property, then having third party insurance will cover you. However, it would not cover repair costs to your own vehicle.

If you don’t have the resources in your business to manage and juggle several different policies then taking out a single policy for all the vehicles in a fleet is the only way to ensure that they all have identical levels of cover and help to reduce your admin burden.

There are a number of factors that impact your Fleet Insurance cost, including:

• The number of vehicles in your fleet.
• The age and condition of your fleet vehicles
• Where your vehicles are kept overnight
• The type and size of vehicle
• How the vehicles are used i.e. Are there any additional risk factors, for example, do they carry dangerous waste?
• How often are your vehicles used
• The age of the drivers of your company vehicles
• Your approach to risk management
• Your claims history – what claims have been paid out, and are there any that are still outstanding.

Your confirmed claims experience (sometimes called Fleet claims experience) is one of the main factors used to calculate your insurance premium. Insurers won’t provide a formal quote without this.

This history will be compared to your industry standards for your specific business and using statistical analysis, they will work out the risk you pose. If your claims prove to be higher than average, your premium will reflect this, or you may even be refused a quote if your claims history is significantly above average.

Risk is the crucial factor for insurers when deciding the cost of Fleet Insurance. We will work with you to provide evidence that you are taking proactive steps to minimise that risk where possible. Insurers will also look at your risk management process such as whether you use dash cameras, telematics, undertake driver training and monitoring etc.

Factors related to the drivers, which may affect your premiums include:

• Whether you want an Any Driver policy or a Named Driver policy.
• The number of drivers on the policy.
• The age of the drivers
• Any previous driving convictions of any of the drivers

Yes, you can add additional vehicles to your fleet policy at any time, as your fleet grows. You can also have different types of vehicles on your fleet policy, all conveniently in one place. Note that any increase in vehicles may impact on the number of claims in the future.

Unfortunately, any fleet accident can be costly, resulting in lack of productivity if a vehicle is out of service., plus potentially leading to an increase in future insurance premiums. In addition, fleet drivers may also have to be hospitalised, while your business may be held liable for damages and injuries.

Fortunately, our helpful team at BCD are on hand to support you through the claims process. You can read more about “How to make a claim” in our article here.

It is important to contact your insurance provider, or Fleet Insurance broker as quickly as possible following an accident. They can advise you on what cover you have and what you can claim for. If possible, take photographs at the scene and support the claim with any telematics data you may have such as dashcam.

We can arrange a policy that is on an “Any Authorised Driver” basis, or any driver declaration, which allows anyone to drive an insured vehicle with the permission of the fleet manager or directors.

If a driver has a conviction such as an SP30 speeding conviction and more than 6 penalty points, insurers may impose special terms for that driver as they pose an increased perceived risk.

Factors related to the drivers, which may affect your premiums include:

We provide our clients with a high-quality claims service, we endeavour to ensure that our customers claims are dealt with quickly and efficiently. Simply call 0333 2412204 our dedicated claims hotline.

Going through a specialist Fleet Insurance broker also offers the added security of having an intermediary on your side, who has the expertise, knowledge and experience to support you when dealing with your insurer in the event of a claim dispute.