Commercial Motor Insurance and Motor Fleet Insurance

In recent years the number of UK insurers selling commercial motor insurance has grown. This is largely due to the increase in goods transported by road. There are several reasons for this, the growth in home delivery fuelled by online shopping and the decline in rail freight.

Commercial motor insurance companies often target products at different types of commercial vehicles, these include, taxi and hackney, bus and minibus, van and light commercial and heavy goods vehicle (HGV).

If you are running your own business or are responsible for sourcing motor fleet insurance for the company’s vehicles, it is worth shopping around for the best quote at renewal. Sometimes, when a business is formed or a relationship has been forged with the insurance company either directly or indirectly, commercial motor insurance is bundled together with other types of insurance the business may need. The bundled package may include public liability, employer’s liability, professional indemnity and business insurance. The advantage of this approach is that all of the insurance requirements for the business are taken care of without the need to spend valuable time shopping around for individual product quotations. The possible disadvantage is that you may not be getting the best level of commercial motor insurance cover or motor fleet insurance for the cheapest price. If you have the time to obtain one or two comparable quotes and these are less expensive consider negotiating with your existing insurance company and you may qualify for an extra discount!

The three types of motor insurance cover offered by insurers fall into three categories, third party, third party fire and theft and comprehensive. It is worth noting however, that there are notable differences between the types of cover offered by commercial motor insurance companies compared to ordinary car insurance sold to the general public and these cover specific risks, for example, some policies may or may not allow the company’s vehicles to be driven by any employee, subject to conditions.