What is Fleet Insurance and why is it different to normal Car Insurance?


A fleet insurance policy is a policy that is designed to by as flexible as possible, to meet the driving needs of a business as a whole. This means providing cover for various drivers, various kinds of vehicles and various applications.

For Example: A large building firm may have a couple of cars for sales people, and various vans and trucks for the construction workers and their equipment. A fleet policy is flexible enough to cover all of these vehicles on one policy. Some private cars may also be added, provided they are owned by the directors or owners of the company itself.

No Claims Discount

On a fleet insurance policy, your no claims discount works in a different way to your private car. Firstly, it is generally known as “claims experience”. This is because a large enough fleet will have at least one vehicle involved in an accident every year, so the overall “experience” or “history”, across all the vehicles in the fleet, is taken into account for a “no claims discount”.

Who can drive on a fleet policy?

As mentioned above, fleet policies are designed to be flexible. Most insurers will offer the following options:

  • Named drivers only
  • Any driver over 30
  • Any driver over 25
  • Any driver, any age

It is worth noting that the last category – any driver, any age – needs a little clarification. The category does not give carte blanche to put any Tom, Dick or Harry onto the policy, and there are usually several caveats. To use a company vehicle on this basis a driver must have a clean licence, a claim free driving history and no disabilities or illnesses that would affect their driving.

Fleet Management

This is where a fleet insurance policy differs most from a normal private car insurance policy. With a company fleet comes the added responsibility of managing the vehicles and the drivers.

It is not uncommon and very easy to see why drivers with a few claims and points on their licence, may not be completely honest about their driving history. To them it could mean the difference between being employed or unemployed. To counter this, it is necessary to have a driver policy which sets out the rules for company drivers. This usually entails taking copies of each driver’s licence at regular intervals, say every 6 months, as in the event of an accident, this is the sort if information an insurer will want to check up on.

However, this is only half the story.  Employees are covered under Employers’ Liability Law, which is there to protect them if they are hurt during the course of carrying out company business. This includes time spent behind the wheel, so if an employee is involved in a road accident which results in injury, the company they work for can be held liable if the company has not correctly carried out it’s duty of care towards the employee. The duty of care extends to checking a vehicle is safe and legal to drive on the public road, so it is good practice to keep records of this. Strangely, this even applies if the vehicle in question is the employee’s own.

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Auto Insurance, May 24th 2011 | Tags: , ,
Posted in Auto Insurance

Commercial Fleets suffer in Winter Weather


A number of safety issues concerning commercial vehicles have recently come to the fore during this recent cold weather snap we’re having. Naturally, due to the snow and ice, and despite everyone taking extra care, there are still more accidents than usual. 

Believe it or not, anti-lock brakes, which are normally a blessing, are causing some problems. The vast majority of people believe ABS was invented to prevent skids, but this is not actually the case, it is a side effect. Anti-lock braking was brought in to help drivers avoid accidents, by being able to continue steering under heavy braking, without having to worry about the vehicle entering a skid, or worse, a spin.

But why should this be a problem?

ABS is a relatively modern invention, so people were previously taught to release and re-apply (or pump) the brakes if the vehicle started to skid. This is similar to what ABS actually does, and you can hear and feel the brake pedal vibrate when it is triggered. Naturally ABS does this much more quickly and effectively than a human being, but some older drivers are being confused by this and feeling the brakes pulsate, they are panicking and pumping the brakes. This is precisely the wrong thing to do, as it actually lengthens the braking distance unnecessarily. The brakes should be held on hard and the ABS left to do it’s work effectively.

ABS is a great help on iced roads, but on a snow covered road, things can be different. When a road is covered in heavy snow, braking distances are often cut by actually locking your wheels deliberately. The snow then builds up in front of the tyres causing more drag and friction. Unfortunately, ABS prevents this and, in extreme circumstances (such as down a hill), can greatly reduce the braking force being applied, leaving the driver wondering how long it’s going to take to stop their vehicle.

Secure loads is another issue that has come to the fore recently. The weight of a load has a large bearing on the vehicle’s handling, so it is imperative to secure it properly. For instance, if a load is placed towards the rear of a container, the rear most wheels may have more mass over them, and more momentum then the front. Under braking this can lead to a “pendulum” effect where the momentum of the trailer’s rear axle causes it to want to overtake the front of the vehicle, which results in jack-knifing. Jack-knifing is alarmingly common at the moment, and insurance companies have noticed this is often due to poor loading practices, so it could affect a claim on your fleet insurance policy. 

Unfortunately, the problem isn’t confined to just the larger types of goods carrying vehicles. Although vans and other smaller commercials, with rigid bodies which are not susceptible to jack-knifing, heavier loads that are not properly secured, or distributed badly, can affect the way the vehicle handles. EUnexpected low speed accidents have been reported in the news. This has happened where the load has moved or simply ruins the vehicle’s balance, and has resulted in some of these vehicles actually turning over. Again, commercial vehicle insurance companies may be less than sympathetic if the cause of an accident was avoidable through taking simple precautions in the first place.

The only sensible course of action in these conditions, is to slow down and give yourself more time. That means keeping your distance and being aware of how much longer your vehicle may take to stop, and taking the time, to load cargo properly.

Also, don’t rely on ABS to get you out of trouble. Braking distances on ice and snow can be as much as four times longer than normal, in which case, ABS might not help much… 

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Auto Insurance, May 23rd 2011 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Auto Insurance

Does A Greener Fleet Help Fleet Insurance And Other Savings?


In recent years, green energy, green consumption, and eco-friendliness have come to be very interesting indeed from a financial point of view. And the repercussions certainly apply to your vehicle fleet and to the motor fleet insurance you need for that.

And don’t underestimate the savings you could garner for your fleet insurance: a commercial fleet of 100 vehicles could save up to 90.000 GBP per year! If that doesn’t make you want to sit down and assess your current fleet insurance situation, I don’t know what will.

When it comes to taking the first step, to go green, if you need expert advice you can contact the Department of Transportation. As they are equipped to encourage companies just like you to do this, they have a wealth of documents and information which can steer you in the right direction. 

In addition, it is a really good idea to contact a fleet insurance broker. They often have a team of expert fleet advisors at the ready to help you get the best deal. They will sit down with you and analyse the needs of your company and the current fleet insurance in place.

When it comes to emissions, consumption and expenses, there are several ways to reduce these cost.  Let’s look at why green is cheaper and some of these ways.

Why is Green Cheaper?

There are several ways in which you can reduce your fleet insurance costs. The first and most obvious way is to train your drivers so that they will contribute to lower emissions simply by adapting their driving behaviour.

Secondly the usage of fleet vehicles can be made more efficient.  This is an overall strategy which will be a combination of route analysis and adjustments as well as discouraging use altogether where possible.  Some companies have shared vehicles, in the case of staff fleet, and this is set to continue to increase.

Another analysis which will contribute significantly is the evaluation of vehicles, which you are either leasing or buying.  Evaluate per vehicle class which will be the most efficient.  Savings here can work out as much as 25%.

For those who have more than fifty vehicles it is important to be aware that you can qualify for an onsite free Green Fleet Review.  Even if the fleet is smaller this can be done over the phone and is still valuable.

Although we live in challenging times, this complete overview of your company fleet with going greener in mind, will be central is cutting down costs on fleet insurance, fuel costs and other running costs.

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Auto Insurance, February 28th 2011 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Auto Insurance

Continuous Insurance Enforcement


Since 2003 the issue of uninsured drivers has been one that has been looked at very closely by Government and relevant authorities, in order to comply with the 4th EU motoring directive. Now, the Government is planning on introducing “Continuous Insurance Enforcement”.

So, what is the 4th EU motoring directive?

This is EU legislation that has been brought in across Europe, to help people of different nationalities identify and trace an insurer on a vehicle from another country. Why? Because there are over 500,000 accidents between people of varying nationalities every year and previously, sorting this out was a bit of a headache. What with language barriers and differing legal systems, never mind the problems of drivers disappearing back to their country of origin, sorting out a claim could be a lengthy, bewildering and often expensive business with perhaps little chance of success, which makes a mockery of having car insurance in the first place.

What is the result of this?

Each country has their own national database of all insured vehicles registered there. In the UK, this is known as the Motor Insurers Database (or MID for short). As strong links have been made between the use of uninsured vehicles and organised crime, the UK Government have been more than happy to comply with the 4th directive, as government policy is always concerned about crime reduction, and bringing down the rates of uninsured driving on Britain’s roads.   

There are some drawbacks, as no system is perfect, and frequently human error can lead to mistakes on the MID that can result in the inconvenience of being pulled over by Police and asked for proof of insurance. If non is forthcoming and it is out of office hours, that can be a problem for the motorist, in that their car could be confiscated. Until recently, “blanket” policies were not registered on the database either, it was purely private cars, so those driving on business car insurance or fleet insurance policies could have had problems. 

Continuous Enforcement

The Police are constantly finding new and innovative ways of enforcement, such as automatic number plate recognition cameras, although outside major roads and urban areas, this technology is still not very prevalent due to it’s expense. Under present conditions, to stop someone driving without insurance you had to catch them in the act, but surely it would be best to prevent this in the first place? There are now plans to introduce new legislation at the start of 2011, to make it an offence to KEEP a vehicle without proper motor insurance, let alone drive one without it. This can be achieved by combining the information from the MID and the DVLA’s records of all road registered vehicles, meaning that unless a car is declared off road, the owner must insure it, or face a penalty or even prosecution unless they do one or the other.

More details of this are available at direct.gov.uk/stayinsured

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Auto Insurance, February 20th 2011 | Tags: , , ,
Posted in Auto Insurance

Cheaper Car Insurance


Your Insurance premium depends on many things, such as your postal code, job, what kind of vehicle you drive, and so on, which are normally parts of your lifestyle you can’t really change at the drop of a hat. However, there are a few things you can do, and whilst there is no guarantee for you as an individual, the following applies to most drivers.

If your spouse has a driving record cleaner than yours, have them named on your policy as well. This is seen as a lower risk by insurance companies. A lot of the time, your spouse will be added free of charge, but some companies do discount for this. This works for new drivers too. If a parent is named as a second driver on a policy, the price will go down, but you should be aware: Insuring a teenager’s car in a parent’s name, is something insurers are catching on to, and in the event of a claim, it’s usually quite obvious if the car is mostly driven by the younger driver, i.e. the parent owns a nearly new BMW and apparently a small engined hatchback with a naff bodykit and an enormous, aftermarket stereo. Who do you think the main driver of each car is??

 If you have no recent driving history, or you haven’t had your own car for a while, ask for an introductory bonus. Depending on your circumstances, some insurers will give you an introductory bonus equivalent to almost 3 years no claims discount.

If you used to have company car insurance, certain insurers will accept a company car letter. This means asking your old company for a letter confirming you drove claim free under their fleet insurance, and it will be treated as proof of entitlement to no claims discount. This works for with HGV insurance as well, in fact, as you have to go through further training to drive a heavy goods vehicle, this also counts in your favour.

The competition amongst car insurance companies is very competitive, and policies often have add ons available such as legal cover for a small additional fee. Asking for the removal of these can often knock a bit off premiums. Commission rates on these additional products are often bigger than those on the main policy, so it is sometimes more profitable for a broker to take the price of the add on, off the main policy, but leave the add on in place. They can actually make slightly more commission this way!

There are currently several motoring organisations that offer driver training courses such as RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) and the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists). Making your insurers aware of this can gain you discount too.

Many people recommend increasing your excess for a lower quote, and while this works it is not always good value to do so. For example, I raised my excess on my last renewal by £100, and my renewal price dropped by £42. However, I was unfortunate enough to bash my car (after 10 claim free years!!), and I was paid £100 less than I would have been, so altogether I actually lost out by £58.

If none of this works, you can straight out ask for a discount, and many insurance brokers will give you one if you tell them you’ll take the policy, there and then.

Last of all, remember  – pretty much any car under 10 years old, will have a decent alarm and immobiliser as standard, so when you are asked the question, does your car have any security, don’t tell them “none”. It’s worth noting that many systems are good enough to be Thatcham approved  these days, but you’ll need to check your car’s handbook to find this out.

About your No Claims Discount

Insurance companies will give you a discount or “bonus” for each full year you are insured with them without a claim being made. Some companies will apparently give you up to 9 years no claims “discount”, although it’s very unlikely you’ll get any further discount off your yearly insurance premium after 5 years, even if your schedule says more.

If you do make a claim, your insurance company will reduce your no claims discount. But don’t worry  – if you have many years’ no claims bonus, they won’t take all of it away. For the average claim, you should only lose two or three years off your total discount. You can buy protection your no claims discount with some companies, but you pay extra for the privilege, so you need to weigh this up against the extra you might have to pay next year if you lost your unprotected bonus.

It is important to note: if you make a claim off your own insurance company, even if it is not your fault, you will lose some no claims discount. The discount is awarded for not claiming, and has nothing to do with who was at fault.

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Auto Insurance, February 14th 2011 | Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Auto Insurance