Do you run a business that uses multiple vehicles? Then you may need a type of insurance called fleet insurance. Let’s take a look.
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What is Motor Fleet Insurance?
Fleet insurance is a type of insurance coverage for a group of vehicles that are operated by a single company, or that are under the same ownership. The fleet doesn’t have to be only one type of vehicle. In fact, it can cover vehicles of all types. This can make buying fleet insurance somewhat complicated.
If you’re looking for information on fleet insurance, keep reading. Our guide will walk you through the basics of what this coverage is, what it includes, and offer information on add-ons to help provide more protection for your vehicles.
Business Fleet Insurance
This is a type of insurance for a company that owns, hires, or leases vehicles that are used for its business. Insurers can include coverage for social, domestic and pleasure usage, too. This can be a great benefit if employees use the car for business travel during the week, and private uses on the weekend.
Fleet insurance generally covers all licensed drivers working for the business. Keeping this in mind, there may be specific requirements about the type of drivers that can be covered by the policy. You may find there are minimum age requirements, license type, length of the time the license has been held and even the driving history may be required.
How is Fleet Insurance Different than General Insurance?
This type of insurance is specifically created to protect the fleet of vehicles. It’s much easier than carrying individual policies on multiple cars and saves money, too. In addition, the policy can save the company time and reduce costs. A fleet insurance policy also works to add flexibility to the coverage by insuring several drivers and the addition of more vehicles.
For example, rather than dealing with multiple renewal dates on individual insurance policies, you only have to deal with one. In addition, most fleet policies cover all drivers to drive all the vehicles, which is called an “any driver” policy.
All of these are benefits compared to regular insurance, which is meant to cover only one vehicle and possibly one driver.
What Does Fleet Insurance Cover?
Here, fleet insurance is similar to traditional car insurance. It protects against everything such as theft, vandalism and accidents. You’ll find there are three levels of coverage available with fleet insurance:
Third party only: this is the least amount of insurance you’re legally required to carry on fleet vehicles. It covers only damage one of your vehicles makes to third parties (or injuries to persons), but it does not cover your vehicles. For instance, if one of your vehicles is found to be at fault in an accident, this type of coverage will pay all damages and injury for the third party but will not pay for any damage or injury to your vehicle or driver.
Third party fire and theft: this covers all of the above, along with damage from fire and theft.
Comprehensive: this is the best coverage you can have, which is also the most expensive. This type of fleet insurance covers your vehicles against all of the above, but also covers your vehicles in the event they’re in an accident (that may be your driver’s fault or not).
Keep in mind that when you have a fleet insurance policy in place, the individual vehicles will not be able to collect individual claim bonuses. The policy history becomes combined into one experience document.
In this way, the risk is spread across the vehicles, which could lead to you paying a lower premium.
Are There Add-ons for Fleet Insurance Policies?
Yes! Let’s take a look:
Fleet breakdown cover: this add-on comes into play if one of your vehicles breaks down on the side of the road.
Fleet public liability: it’s not possible to add-on this type of coverage to a fleet insurance package. However, some insurance companies do provide separate public liability insurance for businesses. If you’re interested in this type of add-on coverage, be sure to ask the insurance provider if they offer this type of coverage.
Is Fleet Insurance Expensive?
Fleet insurance does tend to be more expensive, but you’re getting a lot for your money. Remember that this type of coverage offers more flexibility and makes it much easier to manage insurance for your vehicles, rather than working with individual policies.
The cost of fleet insurance is generally based on:
- Number of claims
- Use of vehicles
- Types of vehicles
- Young or convicted drivers
- Your location
- Your occupation
- Age and number of vehicles
- Trading history
Is There a Way to Lower Fleet Insurance Premiums?
Yes, there are ways to keep the cost of fleet insurance down including:
Increase the excess: usually results in a lower premium. You’re showing the insurance provider that you’ll share the risk.
Parking the vehicles: if the vehicles are parked in an unsecure space, your insurance premium will be higher. However, if you keep vehicles parked and locked in a secure area, this may help to lower your premium.
Electric & hybrid vehicles: may help reduce your premiums because their emissions are lower and these cars generally aren’t as powerful, meaning they present a lower risk for insurers.
Drivers: if you have drivers under age 25, they present a higher risk to the insurance company. However, if you have drivers over 25 years, then the risks go down, and your premium may reflect this.
Send drivers to training course: this can also help reduce your premium. When drivers go to driver training, they should become more aware of the hazards of driving, which should make them safer drivers. This works to lower their risk to the insurance provider.
Risk management: installation of security measures can help lower your premium, too. Security measures may include installation of telematics dash cams or trackers on each vehicle. Each insurance provider may have their own requirements for risk management tools to install, so be sure to check with them before signing the contract, so you’ll know exactly what they require.
Fleet insurance comes with many benefits for your company. To find the best coverage and type of insurance for your fleet of vehicles, be sure to contact a professional insurance agent who has experience with this type of insurance. They’ll have the best advice and guidance for your company’s fleet insurance.
