Vehicles in the UK must be protected by insurance before they take to the roads, with a few minor exceptions. This is governed by the terms of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and applies to all road-going vehicles, whether they are for private transport or for commercial usage.
For businesses, however, there may be other factors to take into account when deciding what insurance policy to arrange. New start-ups may be tempted to use their own vehicles for professional purposes, according to small business portal Bytestart. But this could prove troublesome in itself, should it emerge that the driver's personal policy does not cover such usage.
Once a company is established and a fleet of vehicles begins to build up, the need for insurance to protect them may become even more apparent. As well as providing a payout should an accident occur - and therefore protecting the vehicles as an asset - the correct van insurance could avoid a thorny legal issue should the worst happen.
Van insurance and the law
The importance of managing a fleet of commercial vehicles has been making headlines recently, in light of the introduction of the revised Corporate Manslaughter Act. Under the legislation, employers owe a duty of care to their workforce both on-site and while employees are travelling in company-owned vehicles.
In response to this, reinsurance intermediary and risk management firm Aon introduced a new product, Aon Smart Drive. Vehicles covered by the product are equipped with cameras which trigger should adverse gravitational forces be detected - such as those which take place during a crash. Up to a minute of video footage is recorded, along with a readout of the driver's actions during that time, to help assess what may have led to an accident and how it may have been avoided.
Scott Raske, European managing director of Smart Drive, the company behind the technology, suggests that clients see their incident rate cut by more than half within the first three to six months of using the service. As well as helping to meet with the duty of care requirements put in place by the Corporate Manslaughter Act, this may also help to keep van insurance premiums down for each organisation.
What policies are available?
As with most types of insurance, there are different elements to van insurance which may or may not be included in each policy.
Bytestart provides a handy breakdown of these, with fire and theft topping the list. The resource explains that the cheapest policies available include third-party only cover - but this will not pay out if a vehicle is stolen or set on fire.
On the subject of fire and theft insurance, Bytestart comments: "Even if you're only running a knackered old van for local deliveries, it's worth paying the few extra pounds for this pretty basic cover. It's sod's law that your under-insured van would be stolen when you can least afford it."
Breakdown cover is another option, meeting the cost of recovering a van or company car if it stops working. However, the resource notes that this is sometimes bundled into van insurance anyway, so may not be needed as an add-on.
Businesses with high-value goods to transport might also opt to cover the cost of replacing any items within the vehicle if they are broken in a crash.
Finally, van insurance, like car insurance, may come with the option of a courtesy vehicle to use during the repair process. Bytestart adds that this could "save you a small fortune" compared with the prospect of renting a van in the interim.
To compare van insurance quotes from the UK's leading providers click here.
Author: KYM Editor
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