Fleet van insurance – what is it and do you need it?

What is fleet van insurance?

Business fleet van insurance is a type of commercial vehicle insurance.

It’s for businesses that own between 2-25 vehicles, insuring them on one policy, rather than having individual policies for each vehicle.

• Fleet van insurance is designed to help minimise potential disruption to your business (for example if one of your work vehicles is stolen or involved in an accident)
• It also protects your business from crippling legal fees and/or compensation costs. You are covered if a third-party claims to have suffered a loss or injury due to one of your work vehicles.

Some of the features you’ll typically see in a fleet van insurance policy include:

• Replacement locks cover
• Misfuelling cover
• Personal accident cover
• Medical expenses
• Personal effects cover

Fleet van insurance for larger trade organisations

At Checkatrade, we work closely a number of larger regional and national trade organisations. Because of that, we fully understand that these types of larger business need to carefully monitor their ingoings and outgoings to ensure they have a healthy profit margin.

If you’ve got a fleet of vans that you need to be on the road every day, getting enough leads can sometimes be a problem. At Checkatrade, we have membership options that are designed to bring a steady stream of high-quality leads to your business.

Why not speak to someone today about how we could get your company access to a wealth of exclusive benefits including:

• Targeted leads
• Free expansion
• Pay per lead packages
• Ongoing support

People often think of Checkatrade as supporting only smaller trade businesses and sole traders, but we understand the needs of larger trades too. Even those that have a fleet of vans!

How to do van fleet insurance?

So, how does fleet van insurance work? Let’s break it down:

1. Contact a broker

All insurance policies are slightly different. Check that your policy is tailored to the needs of your business. If not, why not ask a broker?

• It will not make it more expensive than buying an insurance policy ‘off the shelf’. Your insurance providers pay the brokers – not you.
• You simply get the benefit of a broker. Their job is to find you the most suitable product for you. This also means you don’t pay for cover that you don’t need.

A broker can also talk you through any exclusions on the policy, so you know exactly which vehicles are covered. For example, some insurance providers have exclusions on excavators.

2. Tailor your insurance

The cost of your insurance will vary depending on how it’s structured.

As with a standard motor insurance policy that you have for your personal vehicle, you can choose to be insured with:

• Third-Party Only cover. This is the absolute minimum cover allowed by law. It covers any damage your work vehicles cause to other people and their property. It doesn’t include cover for your own vehicle.
• Third-Party Fire and Theft. This covers the same as Third Party Only cover PLUS cover for your own work vehicles if they are stolen or damaged by fire.
• Comprehensive cover. This includes everything outlined in Third Party Fire & Theft cover but it also includes protection for your work vehicle if you have an accident that’s your fault.

With a fleet van insurance policy you will also need to decide whether to have an ‘any driver’ policy or a ‘named driver’ policy.

What are the benefits of fleet van insurance ‘any driver’?

When you buy fleet van insurance you have two options: ‘any driver’ or ‘named driver’.

• An ‘any driver’ policy does what it says on the tin – any driver can drive any of the vehicles that are insured under your fleet insurance policy.
• A ‘named driver’ policy means that you insure specific drivers on specific vehicles within your fleet.

If you have a large fleet of work vehicles, it’s often easier to choose an ‘any driver’ policy. This way, any driver can drive any vehicle in the fleet.

However, this is the more expensive option of the two, particularly if you include young or convicted drivers.

How much should I pay on van fleet insurance?

Van fleet insurance is cheaper than buying individual insurance policies for each vehicle your business owns. However, it’s hard to say how much you should pay for van fleet insurance as there are many variables within a policy. Theses include:

• The number and type of vehicles in the fleet
• The type of cover you opt for (Third Party Only, Third Party Fire & Theft, or Comprehensive cover)
• Whether you choose to have an ‘any driver’ or a ‘named driver’ policy
• Whether you want to include any optional extras, e.g. goods in transit insurance

You can reduce your insurance premiums by taking extra measures to protect your work vehicles.

FAQs

What is van fleet insurance?

If your business owns several work vans, it’s cheaper and more convenient to insure them all under one policy. Van fleet insurance is designed for businesses that own two or more vans.

Is it cheaper to have fleet insurance?

Yes, generally, it is cheaper (and much less hassle) to insure all your work vehicles under one fleet policy. It is more expensive to purchase individual insurance policies for each of your business vehicles.

How many vehicles do you need for fleet insurance?

Motor fleet insurance depends on the provider. Some insurance covers much larger fleets than others. The vehicles insured under some policies are cars and small commercial vehicles. It is possible to get fleet van insurance with some providers if you only have two vehicles, for instance.

What is fleet motor insurance?

Motor fleet insurance is a type of commercial vehicle insurance. It is designed to cover a number of work vehicles on one single policy, rather than each vehicle having its own insurance policy.

This type of insurance helps to minimise the disruption to your business if one of your work vehicles is stolen, involved in an accident, or causes loss or injury to a third party.

Quick summary

Fleet van insurance is a type of commercial vehicle insurance policy. It is designed for businesses that own two or more vehicles.

It’s cheaper and less hassle than insuring multiple work vehicles on individual policies.

• Brokers can help you find a fleet van insurance policy tailored to the needs of your business
• You need to know what type of cover you need (Third-Party, Third-Party Fire & Theft, or Comprehensive)
• Consider whether ‘any driver’ or ‘named driver’ policies are better for your set up and check any exclusions on the policy