Fleet Insurance

You’ll be able to insure a diverse range of different vehicles under a standard fleet insurance policy, provided they aren’t modified in a disqualifying way. For example, cars, vans and motorbikes can all be covered under a single policy (sometimes known as a ‘multi-vehicle’ fleet policy). The benefits of such a policy are that you can cover varying vehicle types from your fleet under one insurance plan for convenience.

Fleet insurance is aimed at anyone who needs to insure more than one vehicle, like taxi firms, courier companies or businesses that provide their staff with company cars.

If you’ve got specialist vehicles in your fleet you’re likely to need a more tailored policy though. For example, if you’re a haulier you’ll need HGV fleet cover because standard fleet insurance doesn’t usually extend to HGVs.

The short answer is no. Despite being traditionally associated with businesses only, this type of insurance can be purchased by both businesses and private vehicle owners alike. Fleet insurance is sometimes used to refer to a multi-car insurance policy for large families or households with multiple cars, which is why the term can sometimes cause confusion. Some of the following terms are commonly used to refer to fleet insurance.

• Mini fleet insurance
• Fleet business insurance
• Family fleet insurance
• Multi vehicle insurance
• Fleet policy
• HGV fleet insurance

Many fleet insurance policies operate on a ‘any authorised driver’ basis. This means that if a driver has the permission of the company or its directors, then they are insured by the policy. Many businesses opt for ‘any driver’ as this can help to simplify the process of managing your fleet. It eliminates the need to update your policy each time a driver changes or a new driver is added to the fleet. This reduces the admin time your business will spend trying to organise your fleet insurance policy and dealing with any claims.

Fleet insurance will typically be more expensive than standard motor insurance, especially if your policy includes ‘any driver’ or ‘any vehicle’ cover. The benefit of fleet insurance however is that it usually works out cheaper than insuring multiple fleet vehicles individually. Many insurers also offer discounts for the more vehicles you insure with them.

As many businesses allow for employees to operate company vehicles in a private capacity, it is important to ensure that this use is covered under a potential fleet insurance policy. Usually private use is excluded under standard fleet insurance but can be included as a coverage add-on.

Mini fleet insurance is essentially the same as a standard private or commercial fleet insurance policy. The key difference is that a mini fleet insurance policy is usually for small business fleets typically operating between 2 and 5 vehicles.