Fleet insurance no-no’s you’ll want to avoid

Fleet insurance cover essentially allows you to “bulk buy” your insurance to cover all the vehicles used within your business. Buying all your insurance in one go from one provider allows the providers to give you the insurance at a discounted rate which is why motor fleet insurance is a much cheaper option than insuring each vehicle individually.

Fleet insurance can often be tailored to suit your business, whether your business is big or a small start-up. As businesses vary, the requirements of the fleet vary too, and so motor fleet insurance is designed to reflect this so insurers can offer tailored and industry specific insurance.

However, not all fleet insurance policies were created equal and so there are a few no-nos to avoid when insuring your business vehicles.

Don’t assume any policy will do

The type of motor fleet insurance you need to buy will depend on the business you are conducting. For example, private hire taxi firms will need to be covered by either public or private hire insurance. If your fleet is used to carry goods then you will need courier van insurance, haulage insurance or carriage of own goods insurance, depending on the size of the shipments. Investing in the wrong policy could leave you uninsured and exposed should one of your drivers be involved in an incident on the road.

Don’t get vehicle specific policies

When running a business, it can be easy to overlook a change in vehicle should one of your fleet cars or vans need replacing. However, if you have bought a vehicle specific insurance policy you will find that a small error like this will leave the replacement vehicle uninsured. Instead, invest in an “any vehicle” policy which will offer you the maximum protection.

Avoid named driver policies

Named driver fleet insurance asks you to state which driver will be behind the wheel of each vehicle. This may work for you if you only have one or two fleet vehicles, but it will leave you uninsured should one of your drivers take out a different vehicle. “Any driver” policies cover any and all of your drivers in any and all of your vehicles. However, a large proportion of insurers will only cover drivers over the age of 25 on “any driver” policies. A specialised insurance broker can help you find a true any driver policy though which will insure anyone.