Commercial Motor Insurance - Basics
Commercial motor insurance is a special type of insurance that lets policy holders purchase coverage for motor vehicles being used for commercial purposes. Commercial motor insurance is bought to protect vehicles from losses and damages that can occur due to:
- Collisions
- Burglaries
- Theft attempts
- Fire breakouts
- Vandalism
The vehicles can be covered singly or as a group, depending on your company’s needs and requirements.
Commercial Motor Insurance - Legal Value
The transport department of the UK government has very strict motoring laws. Therefore, it is essential for all commercial vehicle owners to know the legal value of motor insurance. According to the Road Traffic Act (RTA):
- Commercial motor owners are solely accountable for their vehicles (even when an employee or driver drives the vehicle and has a vehicular or property related accident).
- It is necessary for commercial motor owners to have a minimum of third party insurance against damages.
- The vehicle owner can allow the employee to drive the vehicle only if the employee has a vehicle insurance policy. (The employee may already have insurance before joining the company or the company can buy it on behalf of the employee).
Types of Commercial Motor Insurance
In the UK, there are three types of commercial motor insurance for commercial vehicle owners :
- Third party motor insurance.
- Fire and theft motor insurance.
- Fully comprehensive motor insurance.
Third Party Motor Insurance
This type of insurance is the minimum legal requirement according to the RTA of 1988. Covered under the policy :
- Damage to third party’s property.
- Bodily injuries caused to another person or passengers.
- Damage to third party’s vehicle.
Excluded under the policy
- Any kind of bodily injury to the vehicle driver.
- Damages to the commercial vehicle.
Fire and Theft Motor Insurance
This motor insurance gives coverage in the following situations :
- Attempted theft of company owned motor vehicles.
- Theft of commercial vehicles.
- Fire in commercial vehicles.
Full Comprehensive Motor Insurance
This type of commercial motor insurance covers :
- Damages to the commercial motor policy holder’s vehicle due to a fire accident.
- Damage of the vehicle due to burglary.
- Any kind of physical injury to the commercial policy owner due to a vehicle accident.
- Damage to the windscreens of the commercial motor vehicle.
- Bodily injuries to the passengers in the commercially insured vehicle.
- Damages to the stereo system of the commercial motor vehicle.
- Any missing personal belongings.
Other Types of Commercial Motor Insurance
Commercial motor insurance is not restricted to comprehensive, third party only and third party fire and theft. Commercial motor vehicles often require extra coverage known as additional or supplementary insurance.
Windscreen Insurance
This type of insurance is generally a part of commercial motor comprehensive insurance. Windscreen insurance provides coverage for the windscreens of your commercial motor vehicles.
Approved Repairer Insurance
Your commercial motor vehicles may require repairs in the event of an accident. This work is usually done by the network of repairers of the insurer and is known as approved repairer insurance. It is supplementary and you will have to request it from your insurer.
Green Card
Green card covers minimum motoring insurance requirements when driving commercial motor vehicles in non-EU countries.
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