It is a huge responsibility to manage a fleet of vehicles. Along with vehicle maintenance and driver management, you must ensure your assets are protected and safe. The importance of vehicle fleet insurance can’t be overstated when it comes to managing fleet risks.
Fleet insurance offers many benefits over individual policies for each vehicle, including cost savings and the ability to cater to specific business needs. One of the biggest advantages is having one renewal date and fewer driving restrictions – Fleet cover is most often arranged on an ‘any driver’ basis. A Chartered Insurance Broker will be able to identify the best type of fleet insurance for your business by using their knowledge of the insurance marketplace and your business activities.
The cost
There are a number of factors that contribute to the cost of insuring a commercial fleet, including the type of vehicle, vehicle value, and size of the vehicles. In addition, the type of work that your fleet does will affect the cost; for example, delivery fleets often cost more to insure as the vehicles are in use on the road more, undertaking multi drops etc. Your Fleet claims experience also has a large impact on costs, as does the number of young drivers that you may require to drive your vehicles.
Using an insurance broker will ensure that you have access to a wide range of Fleet Insurers and be able to offer you a range of different quotes in order to compare your options and choose the right one for your business.
Understand your risks
Ideally you should understand your fleet’s level of risk profile and there are a range of tools available to enable you to do that with – modern telematics can provide a Fleet manager with a wide range of data which will assist prospective Fleet Insurers in assessing your risk and some Insurers also have tools themselves to assist.
Simple Risk Management procedures will also help – ensuring that drivers licences are checked regularly, making drivers responsible for the excess in the event of a fault accident, undertaking driver training etc. will all help you to present a better managed risk to an Insurer.
Modifications to vehicles are also more common now and they will also need to de declared so that the Insurers can assess any additional risks and confirm that they are acceptable.
Drivers
The type of drivers that you employ can also have an impact on the cost of a Fleet insurance policy – agency drivers, younger drivers, inexperienced drivers etc. will often increase costs. This information is important so that your insurance broker can check it against the terms and conditions of your policy, particularly when it comes to driving restrictions – the majority of insurers will apply age restrictions across a whole Fleet and sometimes specific vehicles. Undertaking Licence checks on your drivers at least once a year is also critical – not only will insurers will charge more for drivers with past convictions or licence points, but you will have to declare motor convictions such as drink driving offences.
Security
To ensure that your business’s insurance policy is valid, it is important to consider the security of your fleet vehicles as many insurers will have specific security requirements in relation to certain vehicles depending upon the vehicle. For high value vehicles Insurers will often apply Tracker Warranties so it is vital you understand what your vehicle is fitted with. Many such vehicles, such as Range Rovers, now come with Trackers fitted as standard but you will need to know the Category of Tracker fitted to ensure it adequately meets the Insurers requirements. Your insurance company may also require key security clauses. Some insurers may require that keys to vehicles be stored in safes or cabinets or even off-site.
Choosing the right policy
Reviewing your fleet insurance policy and exploring alternative options can help identify gaps or duplications and ensure that you are actively managing the costs of your Fleet insurance. You can start a Motor Fleet insurance policy with as few as 3 vehicles and choosing a policy that fits your needs can be easier with the help of a broker. Motor Fleet Insurance is a speciality at B.I.S.. We have access to a significant number of Motor Fleet Insurers and we offer a quotations to a wide range of businesses in North Wales and the North West.