What Documents Do You Need to Get Fleet Insurance?

Most fleet insurance enquiries stall not because the risk is unacceptable, but because the submission is incomplete. An underwriter receiving a vague email with a rough vehicle count and a name is not in a position to quote. They need structured information, and when they don’t get it, they either ask follow-up questions, apply precautionary loadings, or move on to the next risk in the pile. The businesses that get the best fleet insurance terms are almost always the ones that come to market properly prepared.

This guide sets out exactly what documents and information you need to arrange fleet insurance in the UK, why each piece matters to the underwriter, and how the completeness of your submission affects both the speed of quotation and the quality of terms you receive. Whether you’re insuring three vans for the first time or going to market on a renewal for a 50-vehicle mixed fleet, the preparation process follows the same logic.

One important distinction before we start: there is a difference between what you need to get a quote and what you need to bind cover. The quote stage requires sufficient information for an underwriter to price the risk. Binding requires formal confirmation of those details, often supported by documentary evidence. This guide covers both, so you know what to prepare at each stage.

The fleet schedule: your most important document

The fleet schedule is the foundation of any fleet insurance submission. It is a structured list of every vehicle you want to insure, and it is what the underwriter uses to understand the physical risk profile of your fleet. A missing or vague fleet schedule is the single most common reason a submission stalls.

For each vehicle on the schedule, you should provide the registration number, make and model, year of manufacture, the estimated current market value (not the purchase price), body type (panel van, curtain-sider, tipper, saloon, etc.), gross vehicle weight for anything above 3.5 tonnes, and the primary use class. If any vehicles carry specialist bodywork, tachographs, refrigeration units, or fitted racking, note it here.

The use class matters more than most fleet managers realise. Underwriters rate carriage of own goods, hire and reward, and social domestic and pleasure use differently, and mixing them on a single line item creates ambiguity that typically resolves in the insurer’s favour at claim time. If your fleet includes vehicles that serve different purposes, list the use for each vehicle separately rather than applying a blanket description. A logistics company running three curtain-siders for long-haul delivery, two vans for local collections, and a company car for the managing director should list all three use categories explicitly.

For HGV fleets, include the operator licence number and the operating centre address for each vehicle. Underwriters check operator licence standing before quoting on HGV risks, and a vehicle listed at an operating centre that doesn’t match the O licence record will generate a query. See our HGV fleet insurance guide for the full compliance picture.

Claims history: the five-year loss run

After the fleet schedule, the five-year claims history is the document that most influences premium. Underwriters use it to assess loss ratio, which is the ratio of claims paid against premiums collected, and to identify patterns: are claims concentrated in certain drivers, certain vehicle types, certain times of year, or certain geographic areas? A high loss ratio doesn’t automatically disqualify a fleet from cover, but it does determine which insurers will quote, at what level, and with what conditions attached.

The claims history document you need is called a loss run. Your current or most recent insurer is legally obliged to provide this on request, and most will supply it within five working days. A proper loss run lists each claim by date of loss, a brief description of the incident, the vehicle involved, the claim status (open, closed, in litigation), the amount paid to date, and any outstanding reserves. Outstanding reserves matter as much as paid amounts, because an underwriter pricing a new policy needs to account for what they may inherit.

If your fleet has been with the same insurer for all five years, a single document will cover the full period. If you’ve changed insurers, you’ll need a loss run from each previous insurer. For new businesses with no claims history, this is noted as a gap in the submission and will typically result in higher initial premiums, often 15–25% above the market average, until the fleet establishes a track record. If you’re setting up a new fleet, see our guide on fleet insurance for new businesses for how to present a favourable risk profile without a claims history to rely on.

One thing many fleet managers don’t know: insurers distinguish between at-fault and not-at-fault claims. A fleet with three claims in five years where two were third-party at fault presents a very different risk than a fleet with three at-fault incidents. When requesting your loss run, ask your insurer to annotate each claim with fault status if this isn’t already included.

Loss ratio is calculated as (total claims paid + outstanding reserves) ÷ total premiums paid × 100. Industry data from the ABI shows the average UK commercial fleet loss ratio runs at approximately 65–72% in a normal claims year.

Driver information: named driver versus any driver policies

What you need to provide about drivers depends on the policy structure you’re pursuing. Named driver policies require full individual details for each person listed. Any driver policies require demographic information about the driver population as a whole, plus details of the most significant individuals.

For named driver submissions, provide for each driver: full name, date of birth, driving licence number, licence type (full UK, full EU, provisional), years held, the vehicle categories they’re licensed for (B, C, C+E, D1 etc.), any endorsements or points with offence code and dates, and any at-fault accidents in the past five years with dates and amounts. The DVLA’s online licence check service lets you verify driver details before submission, which is both good practice and something most insurers now expect you to have done.

For any driver policies, the underwriter needs to understand the shape of your driver population. Provide: the total number of authorised drivers, the age range (youngest and oldest driver), how many drivers are under 25, how many have points, and your internal driver vetting procedure. A written driver policy, even a one-page document stating how you check licences and what disqualifies someone from driving company vehicles, can reduce premiums by 3–8% on an any driver fleet by demonstrating a managed approach to risk.

For HGV fleets, include a copy of each driver’s Driver CPC card and the expiry date. Underwriters for HGV risks also typically ask for driver hours records or a statement that your tachograph management is compliant. A fleet whose drivers have recent DVSA infringement notices will pay significantly more, or find some markets closed, regardless of their claims history.

Business entity and registration documents

Fleet insurance is a commercial product, and underwriters need to confirm the legal entity they are insuring before binding cover. For most businesses this is straightforward, but the required information varies by structure.

Limited companies: Provide the full registered company name exactly as it appears on the Companies House record, the company registration number, and the registered address. If the trading name differs from the registered name, note both. For larger groups or holding structures, identify which legal entity will be the named insured and whether any subsidiaries require cover.

Sole traders and partnerships: Provide the full trading name, the principal’s full name and date of birth, and the trading address. If the fleet includes vehicles registered in the personal name of the proprietor rather than the business, flag this explicitly, as some insurers require the registered keeper and named insured to match. For guidance on how sole trader fleet insurance works, see our sole trader fleet insurance guide.

Charities and public sector bodies: Provide the charity registration number or the relevant public authority reference. Some insurers have specific schemes for charities and non-profits that offer lower premiums, but accessing them requires the charity number to be confirmed at submission. The trading address and the nature of the charitable activities should also be described — a charity running minibuses for elderly transport is a very different risk profile from one transporting equipment to overseas aid operations.

You will also need to confirm the nature of the business in one or two sentences. “General haulage” or “electrical contracting” is sufficient for most risks. Where the business involves anything that could be classified as higher risk, such as waste carrier, hazardous goods transport, security, or cash in transit, this needs to be stated clearly upfront. Omitting this information and having it emerge later in the submission process is the most common cause of a quote being withdrawn or repriced upward.

Operator licence and compliance documents for commercial fleets

If your fleet includes any vehicle over 3.5 tonnes used for hire and reward or the carriage of goods, you almost certainly require an Operator Licence (O licence). Under the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995, operating without one is a criminal offence. Most commercial fleet underwriters will ask for your O licence number as a matter of course, and some will verify licence standing with the Traffic Commissioner’s register before quoting.

For the insurance submission, provide the O licence disc number (the reference beginning with the letter prefix for your Traffic Area, such as OM for the Midlands or OB for Birmingham), the expiry date of the licence, the number of vehicles authorised, and the operating centre addresses listed on the licence. If you have a Restricted licence (covering only carriage of your own goods) rather than a Standard National or Standard International licence, state this, as it affects which cover classes the underwriter will apply.

Beyond the O licence itself, the document that now has the most material impact on HGV fleet premiums is your OCRS score (Operator Compliance Risk Score). The DVSA uses OCRS to rate operator compliance based on roadside encounters, prohibition notices, and maintenance inspection outcomes. Green-banded operators, those in the lowest risk quartile, can achieve premium discounts of up to 15% with insurers who use OCRS data in their rating models. Red-banded operators may find some standard markets closed entirely. Unlike your claims history, which is retrospective, OCRS is a live score you can check and improve, and presenting a current Green or Amber OCRS certificate with a renewal submission is one of the most effective premium management strategies available to hauliers. The DVSA makes individual OCRS data available to operators on request.

Additional documents that materially improve your terms

The documents described so far are what you need to get a quote. What follows are the documents that, if provided, tend to move the premium in your favour. None are mandatory, but experienced fleet managers use them strategically when going to market.

Telematics data report. If your fleet uses telematics, a summary report showing average scores, harsh braking incidents, speeding events, and idle time over the past 12 months is a powerful underwriting tool. Fleets with demonstrably better-than-average driver behaviour scores receive discounts of 5–12% from telematics-aware insurers. The report doesn’t need to be a detailed data dump, a one-page summary from your fleet management platform is sufficient. Our fleet telematics guide explains how different systems produce this data and how to present it effectively. If you’re also thinking about how to manage and store your fleet documents digitally, our fleet management guide covers the software and systems that keep submission-ready records throughout the year, not just at renewal.

Driver policy document. A written driver policy sets out how your business selects, vets, and monitors drivers. Even a single-page document covering licence checking frequency, the maximum points threshold for authorised drivers, what happens after an at-fault incident, and how you manage young or high-risk drivers demonstrates managed risk. Underwriters respond to evidence of governance. A fleet with a written driver policy typically sits in a better risk tier than an identical fleet without one, all else being equal.

Vehicle security specification. If your vehicles have immobilisers, Thatcham-approved alarms, dashcams, or GPS trackers fitted as standard, list this. For vans parked in urban areas overnight, security specification has a direct bearing on the theft component of the premium. A fleet of Transit vans all fitted with Deadlocks, slam-locks, and GPS tracking will attract a materially lower theft loading than the same fleet without those measures. You don’t need certificates, a model-level description is enough for the quote stage.

Maintenance and inspection records. For larger commercial fleets, particularly those subject to the HSE’s driving at work guidance, evidence of a formal preventive maintenance programme (PMI schedule, inspection intervals, brake test records) demonstrates a commitment to vehicle roadworthiness that influences how underwriters categorise the fleet. This is especially relevant for HGV operators applying for favourable OCRS-linked rates.

Premium impact ranges are indicative based on typical broker-market outcomes. Actual figures vary by insurer, fleet size, and sector.

Quote stage versus bind stage: what you need at each point

Understanding the difference between getting a quotation and actually binding cover matters for timing. Many businesses approaching renewal leave document gathering too late, receive a quote they can’t act on quickly, and end up accepting worse terms under time pressure.

At the quote stage, the underwriter needs enough to price the risk. For most standard fleet risks, the fleet schedule, five-year loss run, driver information, and business entity details are sufficient. The underwriter will issue indicative terms, often called a quotation in principle, based on this information. The quote is not binding on either side.

At the bind stage, the insurer typically asks for formal confirmation of key facts, particularly any that have changed since the quote. For larger risks, this may include a signed proposal form, a signed statement of facts, or a copy of your current certificate of insurance from the outgoing insurer. For HGV fleets, some insurers will also request a current O licence disc or a printout from the Traffic Commissioner’s licence register at this stage.

One critical obligation at bind: you must confirm the current position on pending claims. If a claim has been notified or opened since the date of your loss run, you must declare it before cover incepts. Failure to do so can constitute non-disclosure and give the insurer grounds to void the policy if a related claim arises. This is one of the most common errors in fleet renewals and one of the most avoidable.

After binding, your insurer or broker will add your vehicles to the Motor Insurance Database (MID). Under UK law, any vehicle driven on a public road must be registered on the MID within seven days of the insurance inception date. If you are adding vehicles to an existing fleet policy mid-term, the same seven-day obligation applies. Failure to update the MID is a civil offence and can result in fixed penalties.

Declaration policies: a different document approach for large or changing fleets

Standard fleet policies require a fixed list of vehicles at inception, with formal notification for additions and deletions. For larger fleets, particularly those where vehicles are regularly exchanged, hired in, or delivered, this creates significant administrative overhead. A declaration policy operates differently: instead of specifying every vehicle upfront, it provides an open cover arrangement under which any vehicle acquired by the business is automatically covered from the moment of acquisition, subject to a periodic declaration, typically monthly or quarterly, of what has been added and removed.

The document requirements for a declarations policy submission are somewhat different. In addition to the standard materials, you will need to provide the maximum fleet size at any given time (the insurer rates on peak exposure), the vehicle acquisition and disposal patterns for the previous year (how many vehicles turned over, how often the composition changed), and the basis on which values will be declared, either actual market value or an agreed formula. Some insurers cap the single vehicle value that the declarations arrangement will automatically cover — vehicles above the cap require specific notification.

Declarations policies are generally available to fleets of 15 or more vehicles. For smaller fleets, the administrative overhead of mid-term additions and deletions under a standard policy is manageable. If you’re operating a growing fleet and finding renewal submissions increasingly complex, our fleet management guide covers how to structure your internal processes to make document preparation at renewal significantly easier.

Frequently asked questions