Fleet Insurance # The Basics

Fleet insurance is a multi-vehicle policy to cover a range of vehicles owned by the same entity. This is usually a corporate entity such as a business, or a local authority or service. Some families with a few vehicles may have a private fleet, but these are usually for a small number of vehicles and are treated in much the same manner as a private car insurance policy. This article is more concerned with company fleets.A company fleet policy is usually very flexible, as it can cover many different drivers, all with different roles, and driving different types of vehicles.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 DiscountOn 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 ageIt 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 ManagementThis 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.But that's not all. If an employee is hurt in a road traffic accident whilst on company business, the company may be liable if they have not met their own responsibilities under Employment Law. This means the company must be able to show they have met their duty of care towards their employees by checking vehicles used on company business are safe and roadworthy. This applies to any vehicle used on company business, regardless of who the vehicle actually belongs to. So another policy for vehicles is also required, showing evidence of regular maintenance and safety checks.

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