Compare Motor Trade Insurance

It depends entirely on what you do and how big your operation is. A part-time trader buying and selling a few cars from home might pay £800 to £1,500 a year for road risk only. A full-time garage with a workshop, MOT bay, forecourt stock, and employees could be looking at several thousand for a combined policy.

The variables that move the price most are your trade type, claims history, the number of vehicles you handle, whether you need premises cover, the value of your tools and stock, and where you’re based. City centre garages cost more than rural workshops. A mechanic with 20 years’ experience and no claims pays a fraction of what a 23-year-old new trader pays. The only way to get an accurate figure is to compare specialist motor trade broker quotes.

• Part-time road risk only policies start from around £800 to £1,500 per year
• Combined policies for workshops and dealerships cost significantly more
• Key factors are trade type, claims history, vehicle types, premises, tools, and location
• Experienced traders with clean records pay significantly less
• City centre locations attract higher premiums than rural areas
• Comparing specialist motor trade broker quotes is the best way to find an accurate price

Road risk is the minimum. It covers you to drive customer vehicles and your own trade vehicles on public roads. That’s it. No premises, no tools, no stock, no public liability for your workshop. Just the driving element.

Combined motor trade insurance includes everything road risk covers, plus protection for your premises, tools, equipment, machinery, stock of vehicles, money on site, and business liabilities like public liability and employers’ liability. If you operate from any kind of physical location, even a small lock-up, combined is almost always what you need. Road risk only makes sense for mobile traders with no premises and no stored stock.

• Road risk covers driving customer and trade vehicles on public roads only
• No premises, tools, stock, or liability cover included in road risk
• Combined includes road risk plus premises, tools, equipment, stock, and liabilities
• Combined suits any trader operating from a physical location
• Road risk only suits mobile traders with no premises or stored stock
• Most garages, workshops, bodyshops, and dealerships need combined cover

Read more: How Motor Trade Insurance Works

Yes. This is one of the most common questions I get, and a lot of people assume they can skip it because they’re only doing it on the side. You can’t. The moment you buy a vehicle with the intention of selling it for profit, you’re trading, and you need motor trade insurance to drive it legally.

Your personal car insurance does not cover driving vehicles you’ve purchased for resale. Even if the car is registered in your name, the use class is wrong. A road risk motor trade policy covers you to drive trade vehicles on public roads, which is exactly what you need. If you’re storing cars at home, check whether your home insurance covers them, because most don’t.

• Buying and selling cars for profit requires motor trade insurance, even from home
• Personal car insurance does not cover driving vehicles purchased for resale
• A road risk policy covers you to drive trade vehicles on public roads
• Part-time and hobby traders need the same cover as full-time dealers
• Home insurance usually does not cover trade vehicles stored at your property
• Some insurers offer specific part-time or home trader policies

A combined motor trade policy is the full package. It wraps road risk cover together with protection for your physical business, your premises, your tools and equipment, your stock of vehicles for sale, and your business liabilities all under one policy.

Specifically, it usually includes buildings insurance for your workshop or forecourt, contents cover for tools, lifts, diagnostic equipment, and machinery, stock cover for vehicles held for sale, public liability for customer and visitor injuries, employers’ liability if you have staff, and sometimes product liability if you sell parts or accessories. Not every insurer bundles all of this as standard, so always check what’s included.

• Road risk cover for driving customer and trade vehicles
• Buildings insurance for your workshop, garage, or forecourt
• Contents cover for tools, lifts, diagnostic equipment, and machinery
• Stock cover for vehicles held for sale on your premises
• Public liability for injuries to customers and visitors on your premises
• Employers’ liability if you employ staff
• Product liability if you sell parts or accessories
• Not every insurer includes all elements as standard, always check

Read more: Public Liability Insurance | Employers’ Liability Insurance

Yes. Plenty of people buy and sell cars alongside a day job, or do mobile mechanic work on evenings and weekends. Insurers understand this and offer part-time motor trade policies that are priced accordingly.

You still need the same type of cover, road risk at minimum, combined if you store vehicles or have a workspace. But the premium is usually lower because you’re handling fewer vehicles and spending less time in trade activities. Be honest about your trading volume though. If you tell the insurer you sell three cars a month and you’re actually doing fifteen, that’s misrepresentation, and it’ll void your policy when you need it most.

• Part-time motor trade insurance is available for traders with another job
• Road risk at minimum, combined if you store vehicles or have a workspace
• Premiums are usually lower than full-time policies
• Be honest about your trading volume, misrepresentation voids the policy
• Covers buying and selling, mobile repairs, valeting, and other part-time trade activities
• Specialist brokers can match you with insurers who write part-time risks

Yes, and this is one of the main reasons motor trade insurance exists. When a customer drops their car off for a service, an MOT, bodywork, or a valet, that vehicle is in your care, custody, and control. If anything happens to it, a fire in the workshop, theft overnight, damage during a road test, you’re responsible.

Road risk covers you while driving customer vehicles on public roads. Combined policies extend this to cover customer vehicles while stored on your premises. Without this cover, you’d be paying out of your own pocket for every damaged or stolen customer car. I’ve seen one workshop fire wipe out six customer vehicles in a single night. Without combined cover, that would have bankrupted the business.

• Road risk covers customer vehicles while being driven on public roads
• Combined policies also cover customer vehicles while stored on your premises
• You are responsible for any vehicle in your care, custody, and control
• Without cover, damage or theft of customer vehicles comes from your own pocket
• High-value or modified vehicles may need to be declared separately
• A single incident involving multiple customer vehicles can be financially devastating

Security is where most traders can make the biggest difference. CCTV, alarm systems, secure fencing, locked compounds, immobilisers on high-value stock, these all tell the insurer you take risk seriously. A garage with proper security pays noticeably less than one without.

Beyond security, keep your claims history clean, declare your trade activities accurately, and increase your voluntary excess if you’re comfortable carrying more risk. Pay annually to dodge the monthly interest. If you employ staff, invest in training, it reduces claims and lowers premiums. And compare quotes from specialist motor trade brokers every year, don’t just auto-renew.

• Install CCTV, alarms, secure fencing, and locked compounds
• Maintain a clean claims history
• Declare trade activities accurately, don’t understate or overstate
• Increase voluntary excess if comfortable with the risk
• Pay annually to avoid monthly interest charges
• Invest in employee training to reduce claims
• Compare specialist motor trade broker quotes every year at renewal
• Good security alone can knock a significant amount off the premium

Yes. Road risk only motor trade insurance doesn’t require you to have a premises at all. It’s designed for traders who work mobile, buy and sell from home, or don’t have a fixed workshop.

Mobile mechanics, valeters who visit customers, part-time dealers who buy at auction and sell online, they all qualify for road risk without needing a garage or forecourt. If you do start working from a premises later, you can usually upgrade to a combined policy mid-term.

• Road risk only policies do not require a premises
• Suits mobile mechanics, valeters, and home-based dealers
• Covers driving customer and trade vehicles on public roads
• No workshop, garage, or forecourt needed
• You can upgrade to combined cover later if you acquire a premises
• If you store vehicles at home, check your home insurance covers them

Insurers need to see that you’re genuinely involved in the motor trade, not just someone trying to get cheap cover for personal driving. The proof required varies, but common examples include your Companies House registration, HMRC self-assessment records, a trading address, invoices or receipts for vehicle purchases and sales, and evidence of motor trade advertising.

Part-time traders sometimes struggle with this because they don’t have a forecourt or a big paper trail. A few eBay or Autotrader listings, bank statements showing vehicle transactions, or a letter from your accountant confirming your trade status can all work. The key is having something concrete to show the insurer.

• Companies House registration or self-employment records
• HMRC self-assessment showing motor trade income
• Invoices or receipts for vehicle purchases and sales
• Evidence of advertising, eBay, Autotrader, social media listings
• Trading address or workspace details
• Part-time traders can use bank statements or accountant confirmation

Not any car, no. Motor trade insurance covers vehicles that are in your care for trade purposes, customer cars in for repairs, vehicles you’ve bought for resale, test drives under your supervision. It doesn’t give you a magic pass to drive whatever you fancy.

Most policies have restrictions. High-performance vehicles, heavily modified cars, and anything above a certain value often need to be specifically agreed with the insurer. Some policies restrict you to vehicles under a certain engine size or insurance group. And if a vehicle isn’t connected to your trade activities, it’s not covered. I’ve seen claims rejected because a trader used the policy to drive a mate’s car to a football match. That’s not what it’s for.

• Covers vehicles in your care for trade purposes, not personal driving of any car
• Customer vehicles, stock vehicles, and trade test drives are covered
• High-performance, modified, or high-value vehicles may need specific agreement
• Some policies restrict by engine size or insurance group
• Vehicles not connected to trade activities are not covered
• Using motor trade insurance for personal driving of unrelated vehicles will void a claim

It’s possible, but it’s harder and more expensive. Insurers see under-25 traders as higher risk because of age, limited driving experience, and shorter trading history. That doesn’t mean you can’t get covered, it just means you need a broker who specialises in younger traders.

Having qualifications helps. An IMI certification, City & Guilds, or any formal motor trade training demonstrates commitment and reduces the risk in the insurer’s eyes. A clean driving licence with no points is essential. And if you can show even a year or two of legitimate trading activity, that goes a long way. Some insurers won’t write under-25s at all, which is why a specialist broker is important.

• Motor trade insurance is available for under-25s but premiums are higher
• Limited driving experience and trading history increase risk in the insurer’s eyes
• IMI, City & Guilds, or formal motor trade qualifications help secure better terms
• A clean driving licence with no points is essential
• Even one to two years of legitimate trading activity improves your position
• Not all insurers write under-25s, a specialist broker is important

Yes, as long as your policy includes demonstration cover. This allows potential buyers to take a vehicle for a test drive, usually with you or an employee in the car. Without it, the customer driving your stock vehicle is technically uninsured.

There are usually conditions. The customer must hold a valid UK driving licence. You or a named employee should be present. And some insurers exclude test drives for high-value or high-performance vehicles unless agreed in advance. Always check your policy wording, because a test drive claim being rejected because you didn’t have demonstration cover is an avoidable disaster.

• Demonstration cover allows customers to test drive vehicles under your supervision
• Not included in every policy, check before allowing test drives
• Customer must hold a valid UK driving licence
• You or an employee should usually be present in the vehicle
• High-value or high-performance vehicles may need specific insurer approval
• Without demonstration cover, the customer driving your stock is uninsured

If you’re driving customer vehicles or trade stock on public roads without motor trade insurance, you’re driving without valid insurance. That means six points, an unlimited fine, and the vehicle can be seized on the spot. Your personal car policy does not cover trade activities.

Beyond the legal consequences, you’re personally liable for any damage to customer vehicles, any third-party injury or property damage, and any loss of stock. A single incident in your workshop, a fire, a theft, a customer car damaged during a road test, could cost tens of thousands. For the price of a motor trade policy, the alternative is genuinely frightening.

• Driving trade vehicles without insurance is illegal, six points, unlimited fine, seizure
• Personal car insurance does not cover motor trade activities
• You’re personally liable for damage to customer vehicles without cover
• Third-party injury and property damage claims come from your own pocket
• A workshop fire or theft affecting multiple vehicles can be financially devastating
• The cost of a motor trade policy is a fraction of a single uninsured incident