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 will help to minimise the disruption to your business if one of your work vehicles is stolen or involved in an accident.
• It’ll also protect your business from crippling legal fees and/or compensation costs 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

How to do van fleet insurance?

You may be wondering how fleet van insurance works. We’ll break it down:

1. Contact a broker

All insurance policies are slightly different, so it’s often best to speak to a broker who will create a policy tailored to the needs of your business.

• This does not make it more expensive than buying an insurance policy ‘off the shelf’. The brokers are paid by the insurance providers – not by you.
• You simply get the benefit of a broker whose job is to find you the most suitable product. This also means you’re not paying 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 fleet van 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 as any driver can drive any vehicle in the fleet.

However, this is the more expensive option of the two, particularly if you’re including 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, but it’s hard to say how much you should pay for van fleet insurance as there are many variables within a policy, including:

• 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.

Fleet van insurance quotes

If you’re looking for a fleet van insurance quote, we’d recommend our partners at Covéa. They offer competitive insurance rates and benefits to Checkatrade members.

FAQs

What is van fleet insurance?

If your business owns several work vans, it’ll be 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 have all your work vehicles insured under one fleet policy rather than purchasing individual insurance policies for each of your business vehicles.

How many vehicles do you have to have for fleet insurance?

With our partners at Covea, motor fleet insurance can be for between 3-25 vehicles. The vehicles insured under this policy would be cars and small commercial vehicles (up to 7.5 tonnes). It is possible to get fleet van insurance with other providers if you have two vehicles.

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 will help 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 designed for businesses that own two or more vehicles.

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

• Contact a broker to get a fleet van insurance policy tailored to the needs of your business.
• A broker will ask what type of cover you need (Third-Party, Third-Party Fire & Theft, or Comprehensive).
• They will also ask whether you want an ‘any driver’ or ‘named driver’ policy and let you know about any exclusions on the policy.
• As a Checkatrade member, you get competitive rates and benefits with insurance provider, Covéa.