Driving any car in the UK requires having active motor insurance. However, a lot of individuals are unaware that their regular vehicle insurance does not extend to business use. In fact, a majority of common insurance simply covers commuting and social use. You will require a categorised coverage for special use if you use your cars for any business-related activity or if your business has several vehicles.
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What is Commercial Vehicle Insurance?
Business vehicle insurance may insure the cars, vans, motorcycles, and trucks that belong to your business as well as the personnel and, of course, the third-party liability coverage that is legally required. Liability and damage are the two coverage features that it possesses. For business-owned or leased automobiles, your company requires business vehicle insurance. You may cover several vehicles on a single policy and choose between different coverages for commercial vehicles.
What Is Covered By Commercial Vehicle Insurance?
Commercial vehicle insurance falls under a broad category, therefore different types of claims may be covered by various plans. Your degree of coverage and whether the plan you purchase has been personalised to the risk levels of certain activities will determine the details of your protection. Common features of a business vehicle insurance coverage might include the following:
- loss or harm to your cars
- breakdown protection
- recovering a vehicle after a car crash
- the windscreens or windows becoming damaged
- destruction to vehicle’s load of personal belongings
- in event your keys are stolen or misplaced, replacement locks
- coverage for driving overseas, often only lasting a certain amount of days
- access to a courtesy automobile in the event that the insured vehicle isn’t running.
- a trailer’s damage or theft
- cover for harm brought on by fueling mistakes.
Scope of Business Vehicle Insurance Cover
Third Party Only
Vehicle insurance that is “third party only” (TPO) solely covers liability, harm to others, and damage to their property. It does not cover injuries to the driver of your car or any damages to your vehicle. Additionally, there is no protection against car theft.
Third Party, Fire and Theft
In addition to providing the third-party protection included in a TPO policy, third-party, fire, and theft (TPFT) coverage safeguards your vehicle from theft and fire damage.
Comprehensive
A comprehensive auto insurance policy protects against accidental damage to your own car in addition to everything that is covered by a TPO and TPFT policy. Therefore, if you cause an accident and are at fault, comprehensive coverage would pay for damage to your car, the other cars, and compensation claims for injuries.
Who Needs to Get Commercial Vehicle Insurance?
Business vehicle insurance is essential for business-owned or leased vehicles like food trucks, lorry, vans, etc. or personal vehicles used for business purposes to offer products or services like making deliveries, giving driving lessons, or more.
Types of Vehicles under Commercial Vehicle Insurance
A variety of commercial vehicles are covered with customised coverage, including:
- Catering Van
- Coach or Bus
- Courier
- Driving School
- Farm Vehicle
- Food Truck
- Haulage
- HGVs
- Ice Cream Van
- Limousine
- Lorries
- Minibus
- Motor Fleet
- Motor Trade
- Motorbike
- Pick-up Truck
- Taxi
- Taxi Fleet
- Truck
- Van
Many more commercial vehicles are covered under commercial vehicle insurance. To check whether your vehicle is covered, you can get a list of vehicles covered under the policy.
Who is covered to drive your commercial vehicle?
In the case of a commercial vehicle insurance, the proof of insurance will either include specific drivers by name or may let a fixed number of workers to operate the vehicle without being officially mentioned.
Named Drivers: Having a “named driver” policy, in which the drivers are listed as permitted drivers of the car after being notified to your insurance provider, may be more cost-effective if you only plan to have very few drivers of a vehicle.
Any Driver: A business vehicle insurance coverage that allows “any driver” permits many people to operate a commercial car without needing to be identified on the policy. This might be helpful, for instance, if you own a delivery truck that several employees might utilise at any one time during the week.
Key Exclusions in Commercial Vehicle Insurance
Commercial car insurance plans include conditions, just like any other insurance policy. Regardless of what sort of insurance you purchase, most insurers include a number of exclusions. Generally, these include:
- Vehicle theft as a result of carelessness on the part of the driver, such as leaving the car open and unattended or forgetting the keys inside
- Intentional carelessness
- Cars that are not registered with in UK
- Vehicles covered by a different insurance
- Tyres getting damaged
- The car’s undercarriage has been destroyed.
- Mechanical failure
Who doesn’t need commercial car insurance?
The three categories of “business” car insurance are listed below. If your activity fits in any of these three classifications, you just require business coverage rather than commercial insurance.
Business Class 1: Includes your usual daily driving (for example, to and from your permanent job location for personal usage) as well as your business travel to and from different work sites, client sites, and customer sites. Those who fall under this group are often self-employed, and some insurers could let your spouse—not your partner—drive the car while you’re working on your business.
Business Class 2: Same protection as Business Class 1, but with the addition of coverage for a second named driver, who is often required to be an employee of your business.
Business Class 3: Provides coverage for long-distance calls made for business purposes without prior arrangements. This is sometimes referred to as “commercial travel.” The majority of the time, carrying samples is permitted; but, if you make deliveries, you must have business auto insurance.
How Much Does Commercial Vehicle Insurance Cost?
There is no standard cost for commercial car insurance. Your insurance costs may vary depending on the kind of plan you purchase, the vehicles you insure, and the elements of coverage you pick. Here are some elements that may affect a policy’s cost:
- The car or vehicles’ brand, model, year, and condition
- What number of cars do you want to insure
- Whether you choose third-party, third-party fire & theft, or comprehensive coverage
- If you add any coverage extras, including protection while travelling overseas or overnight parking for automobiles
- Depending upon whether you pick a named driver or any driver policy
- The drivers you want to insure, including their age, driving history, and claims history.
FAQs
Can I drive a commercial vehicle on my car insurance?
Not at all. If you have a commercial vehicle, regardless of whether you use it for business or not, you must have insurance in order to drive that particular vehicle. Any insurance you hold for another car is not transferable to a commercial vehicle, and your name must be recorded on the insurance policy for that commercial vehicle.
If you are either specified as a named driver on the commercial insurance for that vehicle or the policy is a “any driver” coverage and you fulfil whatever mentioned qualifications, you are allowed to drive a commercial vehicle managed by your company.
Is commercial vehicle insurance more expensive?
Yes, commercial vehicle insurance generally costs more than regular automobile insurance since these cars frequently have higher yearly usage, which increases their chance of accident, and they are more likely to have costly goods being stolen.
What Do I Need To Obtain A Commercial Vehicle Insurance Quote?
As long as you have the necessary data on hand, getting a quotation online or over the phone may be simple and quick. Normally, insurers will ask for the following details:
- information about your business, market, or industry
- specific details about the car or vehicles you wish to insure, including changes, yearly mileage, brand, and model
- What kind of licence do you have?
- facts, such as age, driving history, and claim history, of any drivers who will be listed on the policy.
Can I Insure Young Drivers On A Policy?
Younger drivers are often viewed as larger risks by insurance companies. Although it is still feasible to obtain insurance for young drivers, it could merely be an extra choice or it can raise your prices. It can be more expensive to get a fleet coverage that covers “any driver” if you have a lot of vehicles with a lot of younger drivers.
Can I Add Vehicles To My Policy During The Policy Term?
This choice mostly relies on whether you currently have insurance for one car or a multi-vehicle coverage. Fleet insurance is frequently quite flexible, and many insurers let you add or remove the cars covered by the policy whenever you choose. For further information, get in touch with your insurance company or review your policy details.
