If your business uses a vehicle(s) as part of its day-to-day operations, it’s incredibly important to make sure that you have the right insurance cover to protect your vehicle(s), employees and your business. The subject of insurance can be a complex one and, so, in this article, we’ll take you through some key points that you should consider when purchasing insurance.

Any vehicle(s) used in conjunction with your business will require business use  insurance, otherwise, it is very likely you are not insured beyond the standard usage, as shown below:

Social, Domestic & Pleasure

• For you everyday driving, heading to the gym, the shops or just out and about.

If you use your vehicle for commuting to work you may also have extended your policy to include commuting.

Social, Domestic & Pleasure + Commuting

• As above but including your drive to work, even the commute to the station or driving a colleague.

If your vehicle(s) is used for anything more than these activities you may want to consider including business use within your policy.

There are three classes of business use available.

Class 1 Business

Class 1 is one of the most common types of business vehicle insurance and covers a range of activities including:

• Driving to and from work
• Short business trips
• Social and domestic trips

This kind of insurance is not generally suitable for ‘stop start’ business use, such as a door to door salesperson.

Class 2 Business

Class 2 includes all of the benefits of Class 1 but can include another named driver who can use the vehicle for business purposes.

Class 3 Business

Class 3 is basically unlimited business use cover, so suitable for high mileage occupations.

The above does not include transporting business goods, or carriage of passengers or commercial vehicles.

For this you must consider commercial insurance.

Commercial Insurance

This kind of insurance is typically used for any private cars or commercial vehicles. The purpose is to cover vehicles for all tasks they might perform for the business whether that is to carry either people or goods and, these can include:

• Plumbers
• Solicitors
• Taxi drivers
• Chauffeurs
• Delivery drivers

Commercial insurance provides a business with a greater level of flexibility so that they do not have to worry about potential gaps in cover. Commercial level cover is the backbone of fleet insurance.

Having the wrong insurance will not only cost you money in the long run but could invalidate your insurance.  Additionally, a company that deliberately takes out the wrong policy in a bid to keep costs down, could see their policy voided ab initio, and depending on the circumstances legal action taken against them.

Conclusion

Making sure that your business is covered with the correct insurance is part and parcel of a Fleet Manager’s role and should always be considered a priority. If you require help, be sure to speak to an insurance broker who can provide you with expert advice. Using the right insurance will protect your vehicles and employees, save you money and ensure that you don’t end up in a sticky situation in terms of the law.

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