If your business uses two or more of its own business vehicles, you will benefit from fleet insurance. Fleet insurance allows you to insure multiple vehicles under one policy, making it easier to manage and renew. However, as with most things, there are both pros and cons to having fleet insurance.
We look at how fleet insurance can benefit your business and what the pros and cons are.
The pros of fleet insurance
Easy to manage
It is easier to manage and administer your business vehicles if they are all under one insurance policy. If one of your business vehicles is involved in an accident, you will know exactly who to contact to report a claim. Making a claims process as straightforward as possible is important, as the sooner you can submit a claim the quicker your insurance provider can deal with it.
One renewal date
With a fleet insurance policy, all vehicles have a common renewal date which helps you to avoid missing a renewal date or premium payment. This is particularly beneficial to businesses that own a large fleet.
Reduced insurance premium costs
Fleet insurance providers offer discounts for insuring multiple vehicles, which can work out much cheaper than individually insuring each vehicle in your fleet. If any of your vehicles are involved in an accident, then you can choose to spread the cost of any claims across all vehicles, which lowers the premium you pay.
“Any driver” fleet insurance
If your business has multiple drivers and vehicles you may benefit more from “any driver” fleet insurance. “Any driver” insurance allows any of the drivers you employ (who meet the criteria of the policy) to be covered to drive your business vehicles. This type of insurance is particularly useful if you employ drivers on a temporary contract during peak periods, such as Christmas.
One policy to cover all business vehicles
Regardless of the types of vehicles your business owns, with fleet insurance, you can insure all different types of business vehicles under one policy. This means that even mixed-use vehicles can be insured together without needing to take out multiple policies.
Fleet insurance is flexible
You can add and remove vehicles from your fleet insurance policy as and when you need to. Especially if you need to add more vehicles to your fleet insurance to meet higher demands during busier periods or due to business growth.
The cons of fleet insurance
Not as beneficial for smaller fleets
Although fleet insurance in the UK provides many benefits to businesses that own more vehicles, if you insure two vehicles or less, then the savings may not be as beneficial. It is best to talk this over with an insurance broker, who can provide you with specialist advice and find you the best savings.
If you employ drivers under the age of 21
If you employ drivers below the age of 21, you may find it difficult to find fleet insurance, or you may notice that the price will be much higher. Your fleet insurance premium is likely to increase because younger drivers typically have less experience driving, and therefore are considered to be more of a risk on the roads by insurance companies.
Fleet insurance is generally better for businesses
When purchasing fleet insurance focus on the benefits it can provide your business and whether you need additional specialist insurance included in your policy. For example, if you need fleet insurance but run a Doncaster taxi service, you’ll need specialist taxi insurance to cover the specific risks of running a taxi business.
There are many other different types of specialist insurance, from standard business fleet insurance to more specialist fleet insurance, such as haulage insurance, courier insurance and goods in transit insurance.
It is always best to get advice from an insurance broker or your insurance provider if you are looking to purchase fleet insurance. They will be able to help find the insurance cover that is best for your business.