It is necessary to ensure you have truck insurance whether you are the driver of a single truck or are responsible for operation of a fleet of HGVs.
You can get insurance for trucks, from 7.5t trucks up to 200t GVWs. You can get fully comprehensive cover, third party, fire and theft cover, or third party cover only.
You can get exactly the level of cover that is appropriate for you. Given that you have the correct licence, you can get the appropriate insurance.
You can also get cover options which ensure that if the unforeseeable occurs, your operation continues to run smoothly, such as, goods in transit, employers and public liability insurance, personal accident and sickness insurance and engineering insurance.
Every truck you own is a massive investment for your business as each day or hour your truck is not functional means you are losing income.
The licences normally accepted for truck insurance are category C driving licence and category C + E licence.
Features of truck insurance
- Comprehensive, third party, fire and theft, or third party only cover
- Covers any driver holding appropriate licence for the vehicle
- Attached/detached trailer cover
- Cover included for minimum European Union requirements automatically whilst vehicle is overseas
- Goods in transit cover
- Employers liability insurance which provides you with protection should one of your employees get injured at work. You can claim £10,000,000 per claim
- Public liability insurance which covers injury caused to third parties and injury or death of third party persons. Claims here can be unlimited.
- Other people’s property damage can be covered to a maximum of £5,000,000; £20,000,000 for private cars and motorcycles
- Costs relating to defending an action under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
What constitutes a truck insurance policy?
A truck insurance policy is also refered to as a haulage insurance policy. It is a policy tailored for the needs of any business which uses trucks and other HGVs. It usually has several cover sections and is normally categorised dependent on the number of trucks or HGVs that have to be added to the motor section of the policy.
What can truck insurance policies offer?
Truck Insurance policies offer ‘multi sections’, that is, they are made up of multiple sections of cover. Thus you are able to select precisely which sections you need. You can choose from single truck insurance, truck fleet insurance, goods in transit, employers and public liability insurance, personal accident and sickness insurance and engineering insurance.
Which sections of multi section truck insurance policies should I to buy?
You can select the sections of the multi section truck insurance you need to or wish to buy to suit your needs. Your decision will depend on the nature of your business and the attitude you have towards risk. Certain cover sections, like, motor insurance and Employers liability insurance are compulsory. Other sections, like personal accident and goods in transit, are optional.
Can I insure a truck heavier than 44T GVW?
Yes, you are able to do so. There are a handful of truck insurance companies that specialise in the heavy haulage market.
Can cover be bought for hazardous goods or dangerous locations?
This will depend on what the goods are as well as where the locations are.
Do I have to buy employers liability insurance?
Yes, absolutely. Employer liability cover was rendered compulsory for all employers by law by the Employer’s Liability Compulsory Insurance Act 1969.
I am setting up a new haulage company, am I able to get insurance?
Yes. You will find that there are discounts available for new businesses looking to take out insurance cover, including a maximum no claims discount available for companies using drivers with a history of claim-free driving. If that is not so, you will find there are several insurers from whom you can receive up to two years’ introductory discount.
My insurer has provided me with a free forward facing accident camera as part of my policy. What is this and how can it benefit me?
The forward facing accident camera is a recording camera which stores footage of road accidents and any other events.
It can benefit you if and when you have to defend yourself against any claims that you are not at fault for. Multiple insurance claims are unfairly settled against the truck driver due to insufficient evidence demonstrating that the professional driver was driving correctly.
Another key benefit of the camera is that it enables the defence of drivers from staged accidents, where cunning fraudsters purposely cause an accident to claim under the insurance policy.
What is a unit of free CPC training, which accompanies my truck unsurance policy?
New legislation necessitates that truck drivers complete their Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) by 2014. In order to qualify, drivers have to undertake five training units of at least seven hours per unit.
Even though drivers are able to leave the five training days until near the deadline, this provision enables truck drivers to complete this requirement.
A practical training course for drivers can considerably reduce the number of insurance claims policyholders make; this help lower everyone’s premiums in the long run.