If you’re just starting out in the transport business – or thinking about doing so – you really need to have a good long think about your insurance needs and options.
First – do your research. Do as much research into your insurance as you would in considering new car offers, or choice of truck/s.
There simply is no ‘one size fits all’ insurance approach. In practice, everyone’s insurance needs are different.
A good insurer will speak to you in detail about your business needs and potential liabilities. Any insurer who doesn’t do so should be treated with a little healthy cynicism.
Truck insurance is a more complicated and specialised field than car insurance. Before making its recommendations, the insurance company needs to understand your business to then ascertain your specific needs.
The cover you’ll need depends on many different factors including your own circumstances, the type of transport work you do or are planning to do, the type(s) of vehicle(s) you operate, the nature of the goods you’ll be carrying and whether you are a sole trader or employ other drivers.
As an overall guide you are likely to need basic vehicle insurance which includes trailer cover if necessary, goods in transit insurance, public liability insurance, employers’ liability insurance (if you employ anyone), and legal expenses cover.
You may also be well advised to think about accident and sickness cover, vehicle breakdown cover, specialist insurance for hybrid vehicles, insurance for loss of use and continental medical expenses cover if you need to drive overseas.
As you can see, it’s potentially a complex business and it’s often best to put all the insurance under one roof with a truck and lorry insurance specialist who fully understands your unique needs. No two sets of insurance requirements for transport companies are the same.
Insurance for new transport businesses
Tips on choosing and using truck insurance
Shopping around for truck insurance is not something you want to do at the end of a busy week. Yet it’s essential that people get the right kind of cover for their vehicles, be it their work truck or their family or 4×4 cars.
As with most things in life these days, a lot of the search time has been reduced by the numerous websites who will do the comparison between insurers on your behalf. You only need to put in all those long and lengthy details once, and with a click of a button all the searches are done for you.
However, it may be worth doing a little bit more of the legwork yourself, as not all insurers are checked by every comparison website. You may find a better deal this way, and once you’ve got all the information together for an initial search, at least you’ll have it at your fingertips for any other calls or searches you make separately.
If you do need to make a claim on your truck insurance, it’s much the same process as people go through making claims for family cars.
1. Call the police, or go and get a police report as soon as possible after the incident.
2. Call your insurance agent immediately and be as honest and detailed as you can on all the facts.
3. Take photos of the vehicles involved. These can be used as evidence.
4. Get a witness to give you their contact details, and agree to be contacted by your insurance agency.
5. Once the claim has been processed, make sure you are happy with the amount the insurance agency offers before you agree to settle. Any delayed complaint is less likely to be resolved in your favour.
6. Remember, each claim you make is likely to push up your premiums, so if the damage is minor, think about paying for the repairs directly, not through your insurance.