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liability insurance
hey oop all,
my liability insurance is up for renewal soon, and i’m wondering who you all think will give me the best deal,
all i need is the usual cover incase i drop, or god forbid.. a sign falls off and hits someone, & cover for extra ‘hired man’ days,
i was wondering if there was a cover that would include the normal liability, personal accident / injury cover, and cover for customers property/vehicles all under one scheme ?
also, with getting busier, the need arises on occasion, to move a customers vehicle, what kind of policy should i look for to cover me, i have business cover on my cars, but not specific for customers vehicles.
thanks in advance.
Hugh -
13 Replies
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Hugh
you could try the company on the link, don’t use them myself came across them after i renewed my Traders & liability insurance separate.Lets us know how you get onKev
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The insurance to drive customers vehicles requires a traders policy, and can be very expensive for fully comp cover, Phill (rightsigns) posted the details of a very cheap policy, but cant find it just now,
And I think it may be different in Scotland. But unless you intend to drive customers vehicles on a daily basis, then it may not be viable. (read economical)But anyway traders policies need to be read very carefully, as to what is covered.
the motor insurance laws now requires all policy holders to be registered with the dvla, and so that is why it can only be done with a traders policy
Peter
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Peter
i have a full comp traders plus additional use policy which covers me to drive customers cars and cover for when i’m doing non related vehicle jobs. It is specified on the policy that i am a signmaker/installer. It isn’t cheap but i can end up having to drive new vehicles from a combi van to 7.5ton trucks. Sign Elite is offering combined policies for normal liability & vehicle liability.Kev
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Kevin, I think that is what I just said, a traders policy is the only way to do it, I was involved in car transport for many years, and insurance was always an issue, most traders policies have limit on the value of the vehicle as well, so if its say, 20k and you drive a vehicle worth £20k + a quid, you are not insured.
and the other thing to consider with traders policies, if you have premises, or even work from home, the vehicle is not usually covered whilst there. They are normally road risks only, to insure against risk whilst on premises is another expense.Peter
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My policy (which has been described as a motor traders policy) insures me for "any vehicle under my custody or control for the purpose of upkeep or repair"
Every time this issue is raised- I ask the same question of my broker (who happens to be my brother in law) – "am I insured to drive my customers vehicles" – to which the answer is YES.
Hugh – I reckon you should phone around a number of insurance brokers and describe to them your personal circumstances and requirements. They should be able to put together a policy that suits you. If they can’t – keep phoning until you find a broker that can 😀
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Take Phill’s advice on ringing around until you find what you need.
However, it is almost certain that only something described as a MOTOR traders policy will have all the elements you might need. I emphasise the motor because some dippy insurance clerk might think you want a market traders policy, or something like that.
Road risks for named drivers (yourself and employees) is easy enough but one of the benefits of a motor traders policy is that they usually give you the ability to use unnamed drivers too. Like getting your Dad to help deliver a van, or using casual labour if the need arises.
I have myself and members of the family insured for all risks (that means the business pays for our social, domestic and pleasure use, even down to my bikes) but employees and casuals are business use only.
The other big benefit, in my opinion anyway, is that a traders policy can be tailored to cover anything and everything we might need. That’s road risks, vehicle damage, our buildings, equipment, engineering, public and employers liability, loss of profits etc etc. Everything under one roof with one renewal date and only one policy to worry about.
To be honest, except with the very smallest of businesses, run from home maybe, or other special circumstances, I don’t see how anyone in our line of work can operate without a motor traders policy. It is a constant source of amazement to me just how many customers, from the local electrician up to large international companies, are prepared to leave hundreds of thousands of poundsworth of vehicles, without asking whether they are covered by insurance. In nineteen years I have not been asked once.
Lack of proper insurance cover is another area where cowboys can use the money they save to undercut us, but it is not a risk worth taking.
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Totally agree with John on his points – but I’d be interested to hear from anyone on the site who is using Signelite, because I’m sure their blurb says that you are covered to drive customers vehicles on the public highway
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I phoned Sign Elite the other day for a price. Spoke to a very helpful chap, and got a good competitive price and package deal. Couldn’t reccommend them more.
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quote John Childs:Take Phill’s advice on ringing around until you find what you need.However, it is almost certain that only something described as a MOTOR traders policy will have all the elements you might need. I emphasise the motor because some dippy insurance clerk might think you want a market traders policy, or something like that.
Road risks for named drivers (yourself and employees) is easy enough but one of the benefits of a motor traders policy is that they usually give you the ability to use unnamed drivers too. Like getting your Dad to help deliver a van, or using casual labour if the need arises.
I have myself and members of the family insured for all risks (that means the business pays for our social, domestic and pleasure use, even down to my bikes) but employees and casuals are business use only.
The other big benefit, in my opinion anyway, is that a traders policy can be tailored to cover anything and everything we might need. That’s road risks, vehicle damage, our buildings, equipment, engineering, public and employers liability, loss of profits etc etc. Everything under one roof with one renewal date and only one policy to worry about.
To be honest, except with the very smallest of businesses, run from home maybe, or other special circumstances, I don’t see how anyone in our line of work can operate without a motor traders policy. It is a constant source of amazement to me just how many customers, from the local electrician up to large international companies, are prepared to leave hundreds of thousands of poundsworth of vehicles, without asking whether they are covered by insurance. In nineteen years I have not been asked once.
Lack of proper insurance cover is another area where cowboys can use the money they save to undercut us, but it is not a risk worth taking.
thank you al for your advice,
John, i would say that i probably come in under the banner of ‘a very small business’ ! more often than not, a vehicle will be either done on site, or the customer will park it outside the house while i do the signing, it’s not often i can get em to bugger off to the cafe for a few hours ! so it’s not often something i need to cover myself for,
but… i’ve just submitted a quote for a small fleet of vehicles, well two actually, and it looks as though i’ll have the work, in this case we’re talking brande new top of the range sprinters and transits, i will probably have to pick them up, or at the very least, move them around the operators yard if i can arrange fitting at their warehouse, which is why i’m considering the motor policy, my only problem is that it’s probably quite a big outlay (compared to my last year earnings) for a small business.
as you say though, i’ve never yet been asked to show insurance for vehicle work, and only once, by an architect, when i got the job to fit some large permanent banners to an old art deco period cinema, though in that case all i needed to do was climb their scaffold and fit while the place was being revamped !
as for covering my workshop, i am rather disgusted that i am unable to, because it’s not classed as a commercial property, some will not insure it, of those that would, they then stop when i tell em it’s a timber structure (despite the fact it’s secure, insulated and uses fireproof wall board !). so i can’t even insure my contents, hence a rather ingenious ‘accident waiting to happen’ should someone break in, as well as an alarm.
anyways, i’ll try signlite in the week, thanks again !
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Hugh, are you phoning Insurance Companies directly or are you phoning Insurance Brokers? The reason I ask is because if you phone the Insurance company direct you normally get a call centre where the employees know very little about the type of insurance you need but if you use an Insurance Broker they will ask you lots of questions about what you are doing and then sort out a policy that will suit your needs.
When I first started I got my insurance directly from an insurance company, about 9 months after I started I did a job for an insurance broker so when my insurance was due for renewal I asked them for a quote, they had a look through the policy I had been using for nearly a year and told me I wasn’t covered for most of the work I was doing which came as a shock because I thought I was, after that I always used them for my insurance for both business and personal stuff.I am sure if you went to an insurance broker they would be able to find someone who would insure you workshop as well, a lot of houses built these days are timber framed but they get insurance without a problem
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Hugh,
I take your point, but when I started up my insurance cost ten percent of my turnover. A lot of money, but I thought it was a necessary expense. Even then though, after deducting what personal insurance for myself and Jenny would cost us anyway, the extra wasn’t too bad a price to pay.
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This is the insurance broker that I use for my insurance
http://www.carrickneill.co.uk/
Amongst the insurance they provide me with is cover to drive my customers vehicles
(I should point out that my brother in law is the MD) -
i haven’t phoned around for my renewal yet, i received a months notification a few days ago, so will ask around asap.
thanks for the link phil, if i mention your name, will it do me more harm then good 😮 :D, or a better rate lol !! i’ll try them tomorrow to see what they come up with,
i think the trouble i found lastyear, was that most of the bigger companies won’t take me serious, just offer a bog std liability +1 worker, because i don’t have what’s considered industrial premesis, my home based business workshop gets laughed at ! just like to find someone to take me seriously, not price me out, and not laugh !
thanks for all the advice.
Hugh
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