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- Single truck insurance for 3.5 to 60+ Tonne vehicles
- Lorry insurance for carriage of own goods and/or hire & reward
- Flat bed lorries, skip lorries, gritter lorries, refrigerated trucks
- UK and European HGV Insurance Cover
- Cover available for the carriage of hazardous goods
- Tailored truck fleet insurance available for multiple vehicles
- Instant online truck insurance documents
- Goods in Transit insurance cover available
Understanding Lorry Insurance
Driving a truck is a lot of responsibility. Since most trucks are considerably larger than your average car, they are more difficult to manoeuvre so it takes a good amount of experience to drive them safely.
Regardless of how experienced a driver may be though, there is always the chance of being involved in a crash or other incident which means having the right level of cover is an absolute necessity.
The good news is that finding commercial truck insurance (or lorry insurance for private use) is now easier than ever, with multiple truck insurance specialists offering very competitive prices. Before you start looking for quotes though, it’s a very good idea to familiarise yourself with the different types of cover that are available.
The type of cover you need will depend on a few different factors. First is the type of truck, or trucks that you want to insure. Secondly is whether you’re an owner driver who only needs to insure one truck or you operate a business with multiple trucks that need insuring. Lastly is the budget you have for your insurance.
Types of Truck Insurance
Whilst each truck insurance policy will look different depending on the individual’s needs, there are certain types of cover that are very common and worth knowing about. Below are some of the most common types of cover found in truck insurance policies –
- Fleet Insurance – If you’re operating a company that owns multiple trucks then fleet insurance is an ideal way of insuring them. The advantage to fleet insurance is that you can insure as many vehicles as you want under one policy. This not only makes it much easier to deal with the administrative side of things but in most cases you also save a good deal of money when compared to insuring the vehicles individually.
- Public Liability – Public liability insurance can be a very useful option to have included in a policy. If a member of public were to become injured as a result of negligence on your part then should they make a compensation claim you’ll be covered. This can be especially useful for trucking company operators who have a lot of vehicles on the road at any one time.
- Contents Cover – Any trucks that are used for transporting goods should always have contents cover. This is especially true when the contents are sensitive or highly valuable. Contents cover gives you the peace of mind that if your contents are damaged or stolen you’ll be properly compensated. You should find out from the insurance provider whether or not the type of contents your transporting can be covered and in what scenarios you’ll be covered. For example some policies might cover damage to the goods whilst in transit only. These small details can be very important so be sure to check with your insurance provider exactly what you’re covered for.
- European Cover – Many truck companies operated vehicles in different countries and often it’s necessary for those trucks to cover large areas across many countries. In this case European cover will insure your trucks whether they’re at home or abroad.
- Comprehensive Insurance – This is fairly self-explanatory. Comprehensive insurance will provide cover for collisions whether you’re at fault or not. In most cases you’ll also be covered for fire, theft and vandalism.
- Legal Fees – If someone happens to make a compensation claim against you or your company, it can be very expensive to fight your corner. For this reason many truck drivers choose to have legal fees included in their policy.
- Loss of Licence – If for whatever reason you were to lose your licence for a period of time, loss of licence cover will compensate you for an agreed period until you are able to get back on your feet. This is not considered a standard type of cover but it is a very useful option to have included in a policy.
- Breakdown Recovery – This is a must-have for any type of truck driver. Whilst you can breakdown assistance from third parties such as the AA or RAC, most insurance providers will have their own breakdown assistance service too.
Whilst these types of cover are fairly standard, the type of cover that you get will depend a lot on the type of truck you need to insure. Below are some of the most common types of trucks and the best type of cover to get for each.
HGV Insurance
HGVs are one of the most common types of trucks on Britain’s roads. Because of their extremely large size they are usually more expensive to insure than other types of trucks. HGV insurance is available for vehicles that weight between 7.5 and 44 tonnes. The type of cover you can get for HGVs includes comprehensive, third party, fire and theft, contents cover, legal fees, public liability. As with any type of truck insurance, it’s always recommended that you shop around when looking for HGV insurance to get the best possible price.
The pane of insurance providers can help with:
- 18 tonne truck & haulage vehicle insurance
- 32 tonne truck & haulage vehicle insurance
- 44 tonne truck & haulage vehicle insurance
- International truck & haulage vehicle insurance
Recovery Truck Insurance
Recovery truck insurance is available from many insurance providers that you can find online. Often recovery trucks are owned by a company who will own a fleet of them and insure them with fleet insurance. The cost of recovery truck insurance will depend on a few different factors such as the number of trucks being insured, the value of the vehicles and the insurance provider. Shopping around for quotes will always help you to save money so you should do this every time you need to renew your policy.
Flat Bed Truck Insurance
Flat bad trucks are very common in the UK and are an excellent way of transporting large items in a quick and easy fashion. Flat bed trucks are often used by construction companies to transport large machinery to and from building sites. Because they are used for transporting large equipment, this can make them hazardous to drive and therefore a good insurance policy is essential. There are many insurance providers who offer flat bed truck insurance so you’ll have no problem finding quotes. The most important thing to decide upon is the level of cover that you need. A good option to have included in a flat bed insurance policy is contents cover. This means that if the goods you’re transporting are damaged or stolen, you’ll be compensated for them.
Tipper Truck Insurance
Having a comprehensive insurance policy for a tipper truck is vital. Not only are they hazardous to drive because of their large size but they also have very expensive components that are very costly to replace. Tipper trucks can also be the target of thieves because of their expensive parts. When you’re looking for tipper truck insurance you should know exactly what type of cover it is that you need. Any good tipper truck insurance policy should cover damaged or stolen parts of the vehicle as well as covering your for any collisions. It’s also worth considering getting public liability insurance included in your policy with tipper truck insurance since damage can quite easily occur when operating such a vehicle.
Refrigerated Truck Insurance
There are several things you have to cover against when you have a refrigerated truck. Like any vehicle you must cover for accidents but with a refrigerated truck you must also get cover for the goods being transported. If the refrigeration inside the truck ceases to function then the goods will spoil so contents cover is an absolute must for a refrigerated truck. Most large truck insurance providers will be able to offer cover for refrigerated trucks. As always you should seek out as many quotes as you can to ensure you get the best price for a policy.
Gritter Lorry Insurance
Gritter lorries are used in the winter months when there’s snow or ice on the roads. Due to their large size and unique usage, gritter lorries require a special policy which is offered by the panel of insurance specialists.
Specialist Trucks Insurance
HGVs/LGVs which have a specialist, singular function such as:
- Car transporters
- Cement mixers
- Highway maintenance vehicles
- Snow ploughs
- Skip lorries
- Livestock lorries
How to Save Money on Your Truck Insurance
Saving money on insurance should always be a top priority. Luckily there are some surefire ways to save a good deal of money on your truck insurance. Below are some great money saving tips –
- Pay Annually – Insurance providers will always prefer if you pay for your policy annually rather than monthly and in many cases they will offer you a significant discount when you choose to do this. Depending on how many trucks you’re insuring, this one method alone can save you a lot of money.
- Use Fleet Insurance – If you have multiple trucks to insure then it’s highly recommended that you get fleet insurance. In nearly every case it works out a lot cheaper to insure multiple vehicles under one policy rather than getting separate policies.
- Secure Your Vehicle(s) – Making your truck as secure as possible is essential. Insurance providers will certainly want to know how secure your truck is before they give you a price so you should take every measure you can to cut down on the risk of theft or your truck or its contents.
- Be Picky with Your Drivers – If you run a truck company and insure your vehicles yourself, one of the ways to save on your insurance is to be very selective with the drivers you employ. When insurance providers are calculating the cost a policy the driving history and experience of the driver is one of the main factors taken into account so by only employing experienced drivers with a clean licence you can go a long way to saving on your policy.
- Get Multiple Quotes – This is one of the best and most reliable ways to save on your truck insurance. The prices you’re quoted can vary a lot so the only way of knowing if you’re getting a good deal is by getting quotes from many different insurance providers.
Get Quotes Quickly and Easily
If you’ve read through the information on this page then you should be a lot better informed about truck insurance and have a good idea of the type of cover you want to get. The good news is that getting quotes for truck insurance is very quick and simple. By clicking the green button below you will be given quotes from multiple truck insurance specialists that are tailored to your needs. All you have to do is provide a bit of information and you’ll then have access to your quotes. Click below to get started now.
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Truck Insurance FAQs
What additional covers are available with my truck insurance?
Do I need an operator’s licence to drive a truck?
Is breakdown and recovery cover available for trucks?
What types of vehicles can you get cover for?
- Recovery/Breakdown Trucks
- Crane
- Skeletal
- Articulated lorry
- Curtain Side
- Skip carrier
- Refrigerated truck
- Flatbed truck
- Dropside
- Ripper Waste disposal truck
- Concrete mixer
- Recycling truck
Does my type of business affect my truck insurance?
What are the age restrictions on truck insurance?
Where can I get truck insurance quotes?
Can I use my no claims bonus on my truck insurance policy?
What level of HGV cover am I required to have legally?
What factors affect the cost of a truck policy?
- The size of the truck(s) being insured
- The number of trucks being insured
- The mileage of the trucks
- How secure the trucks are
- The named drivers on the policy
- The level of cover
Is it possible to insure multiple trucks together?
What types of truck cover are available?
- Third party
- Third party, fire & theft
- Fully comprehensive
- Public liability
- Employer’s liability