What is fleet insurance?
Insurance coverage for a fleet of vehicles is basically mass insurance. With fleet insurance, all your vehicles used for your business are typically insured under one single policy.
For a big company, with a large selection of vehicles on the road, fleet insurance can be the easiest way to make sure all of them are consistently protected –
- Instead of individual policies for every vehicle (with different renewal dates), fleet cover makes sure all of them are grouped together under one policy. This means just one renewal date!
- Insuring several vehicles under one motor fleet policy may be more cost-effective than buying several individual policies, as you are buying in bulk.
It’s even useful for those smaller companies, who might have as little as two vehicles in their fleet. The convenience of fleet insurance makes their lives (and their paperwork!) just that little bit easier.
Why should I choose a fleet policy?
If you run a business with two or more vehicles, making sure that they’re all insured is an essential task and a comprehensive fleet insurance policy, is ideal.
You can’t risk a vehicle being out on the road without any cover and fleet insurance is available for all types of businesses and vehicles!
To insure each vehicle individually on separate policies can be an administrative nightmare but that’s where motor fleet insurance comes in to help. With multi-vehicle cover, you can breathe easy as your whole enterprise of vehicles is fully covered.
How many vehicles are covered under a motor fleet insurance policy?
This will ultimately depend on each individual insurance provider. On a panel of insurers, the wide selection of coverage can see anything from 2 to 500+ vehicle limits. But each provider will have their own minimum and maximum limits, depending on what kind of businesses they want to insure.
Make sure you check your fleet size limits before taking out a policy!
Who is insured to drive with motor fleet insurance?
For any company with a fleet of vehicles, you’ll likely have a fleet of drivers to drive them. And for your vehicle fleet insurance cover, you’ll want to make sure all of them are covered for all the vehicles out on the road.
Fleet insurance providers can offer you ‘any driver’ and ‘any vehicle’ policies; this means anyone in your business (who has a valid licence and your permission to drive) will be covered if they drive any vehicle that’s insured on your policy. Simple!
Note that some providers may include, or exclude, certain age brackets of drivers too. For example: drivers aged under 25 are sometimes omitted from certain cheaper fleet insurance policies.
But other providers will be happy to take on the extra risk of those with less experience – it’s always worth shopping around for business fleet insurance to find which provider suits your particular team of drivers.
Can the vehicle be used for employees private use?
Providing private use coverage for company vehicles can be a valuable benefit; however, it’s essential to be aware of the related conditions.
- Mileage restrictions: Some insurance providers may impose mileage limits for personal use, which employees must adhere to.
- Driving record requirements: Employees might be required to maintain a clean driving record in order to qualify for private use cover.
- Vehicle usage: Make sure that you understand the permitted scope of personal use. For example, using company vehicles for ride-sharing services may be prohibited.
- Additional costs: While private use cover can save money, it might increase the overall cost of your fleet policy. Ensure that you fully understand the financial implications before implementing this cover.
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Levels of cover for motor fleet insurance
There are typically several levels of motor fleet insurance cover available:
What the experts say…
“Fleet policies offer an easier to manage solution for small to large companies insuring a mixture of vehicles from small cars to HGV's all with different uses. With rising costs it pays to shop around for your fleet insurance and by completing a simple form, the panel of fleet insurance specialists compete for your business”
– Ian Beevis, Co-founder of Clean Green Compare
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What else can fleet insurance cover?
Different insurers package their policies in their own way – some include lots of protection as standard, while others stick to the basics and let you add extra cover when you need it by paying more. The best choice depends on what your business does, how big it is, and what kind of risks you need to protect against.
Option add-ons include:
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Money saving tips for fleet insurance
You can often lower your fleet insurance costs with the following cost-saving tips:
Fleet Insurance Business Types
Fleet Insurance FAQs
What does fleet insurance mean?
Fleet insurance is simply a way to insure multiple vehicles together under the same policy, rather than insuring them each individually. You can get the same type of cover with a fleet policy as you would with a standard policy i.e. third party only; third party, fire and theft; and fully comprehensive.
Do I need fleet insurance?
Fleet insurance is a special type of motor insurance policy that’s designed for people who have multiple vehicles that they need to insure. Common types of businesses that take out fleet insurance policies include trucking firms, taxi and bus companies.
How many vehicles do you need for a fleet?
Most insurance providers consider two or more vehicles to be a fleet. Depending on the size of your fleet, it might be preferable to get a mini fleet policy. For larger fleets, getting a fleet insurance policy can be a great way to save money as well as time.
How many vehicles can be insured on a fleet policy?
As far as the upper number of vehicles that can be covered with a fleet policy, there’s usually no limit. It’s not unusual for some policies to cover 500+ vehicles. For the minimum number, policies offered are usually for three or more vehicles, however there are specialist policies available for just two vehicles. Of course, the more vehicles named on a policy, typically the higher the cost will be.
Can anyone get fleet insurance?
Most people with two or more vehicles may typically take out a fleet policy. There are certain requirements you’ll need to meet to be eligible though. These include being
- at least 18 years of age
- able to provide details of your fleet
- able to provide details about your business
How is fleet insurance calculated?
The factors that affect the cost of a fleet insurance policy include:
- The age and driving history of the named drivers
- The number of vehicles in the fleet
- The value of the vehicles
- The level of cover taken out
- How secure the vehicles are
- What the vehicles are used for
What are the benefits of fleet insurance?
Fleet insurance comes with some key benefits over insuring business vehicles on individual policies. In most cases, getting a fleet insurance policy enables you to save a considerable amount of money on your cover. Not only this but it makes paperwork much easier to manage. People who run businesses that own a lot of vehicles are generally very busy so anything that helps cut down on admin is a huge bonus.
Is fleet insurance cheaper than regular business motor insurance?
It’s often the case that insuring vehicles as a fleet is cheaper than insuring them individually. Of course, the exact cost of fleet policy will depend on a few factors, such as the level of cover taken out and the value of the vehicles you’re insuring. The cost of electric car insurance has been falling for the past few years and is likely to keep falling as more data becomes available to insurance providers.
What factors affect the cost of a fleet insurance policy?
There are several key factors that affect how much you’ll pay for a fleet insurance policy.
Some of the main ones include –
- The number of vehicles being insured
- The type of vehicles
- The value of the vehicles
- How secure your vehicles are
- The number of named drivers
- The driving history and claims experience
- Where the vehicles are stored
- How the vehicles are used
What types of fleet insurance are available?
When it comes to the level of cover you can get with a fleet policy, it’s much the same as regular car insurance. There’s Third Party, which will provide the minimum level of cover to enable the vehicles to be driven legally and is typically the cheapest type of cover available. Then there’s Third Party, Fire & Theft – As the name implies, this is the same as third party, except fire damage and theft are also covered. Lastly there’s Fully Comprehensive. This will cover you for everything that a Third Party, Fire & Theft policy would but also covers you for any accidents that you (or your employees) are liable for.
What is mini fleet insurance?
Mini fleet insurance is a type of fleet insurance for smaller fleets of around two to five vehicles. A lot of smaller businesses take out mini fleet insurance but it’s also good for families that want to insure their vehicles together.
Getting a mini fleet policy can help you to save money compared to insuring the vehicles under separate policies. It also makes it easier to deal with the paperwork and when making claims.
Are there any special steps I have to take when I have a fleet insurance policy?
The most important thing to be aware of when you have a fleet policy is that you must ensure that the Motor Insurance Database (MID) has up-to-date information about the vehicles in your fleet.
Is there a restriction on the type of vehicles that can be insured on a fleet insurance policy?
Almost any type of vehicle can be insured with fleet insurance, including vans, cars, motorbikes, trucks and scooters. The only types of vehicles that might require a more specialised type of policy (and one that not all providers offer) are super cars and classic cars. This is because theses types of vehicles generally have a high value and can be very difficult to find original parts for, particularly in the case of classic cars.
Can different types of vehicles be insured on one fleet insurance policy?
It’s usually not an issue to insure different types of vehicles under the same policy. For example, if you own a taxi firm that has minicabs and minibuses then you’re able to insure both types of vehicles under the same policy, making things that much more convenient.
How do I get the most competitive fleet insurance premium ?
There are a few ways to ensure you get the most appropriate fleet insurance. Ensure that you get as many fleet insurance quotes as you can. If you simply take out a policy with the first insurance provider that you contact, then you cannot be sure if you’re getting the most competitively priced fleet insurance policy. As well as getting quotes from multiple providers, you can also take other steps to reduce the cost of a fleet policy. One of the ways to do this is by paying for the policy on a yearly, rather than monthly basis. This might not be affordable in every circumstance but it can often be an excellent way to make a significant saving. Something else you can do which may help to reduce the cost of the policy is to ensure that any vehicles named in the policy are securely parked and fitted with alarms and dash cams.
Can I add taxis to a fleet insurance policy?
Absolutely. Both private hire and public hire taxis can be covered by a taxi fleet insurance policy. Black cabs, minicabs and minibuses are all eligible for cover with fleet insurance, which is why many taxi firms choose to get this type of insurance for their vehicles.
Is driving other vehicles covered under a fleet policy?
You can only drive vehicles that are specified under the policy. Fleet insurance does not extend to driving cars not listed under your policy.
Is breakdown cover included with a fleet insurance policy?
Policies can certainly include breakdown cover as well as other types of additional cover, such as windscreen repair and public liability insurance. Fleet insurance policies are typically highly tailored so it’s a good idea to think about the type of cover that most suits your needs.