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by mlhradio

3 Ways to Reduce Your Motor Trade Insurance

For many garages and car dealerships, the amount they pay for their business insurance premiums is often one of their largest outgoings. This article gives businesses in the motor industry three tips which could help them reduce the amount they pay for their motor trade insurance premiums.

Before we look at ways motor traders can possibly save money on their insurance premiums, it is first perhaps worth looking at what type of motor trade insurance is currently available.

There are two main types of motor trade insurance the first of which is road risks insurance. Road risks insurance as the name suggests simply covers vehicles when they are being used on a public road. This cover is actually a legal requirement under the road traffic act and road risks only policies are favoured by motor traders without premises and who perhaps trade from home.

A more common type of insurance policy is a combined motor trade insurance policy and this as the name suggests includes a variety of covers and is more suited to those businesses in the auto industry with premises and employees. As well as a road risks section a combined policy can include cover for material damage, contents, buildings, stock as well as cover including public and employees liability.

So if these are main types of motor trade insurance policy available, what are the 3 ways in which to save money?

One way to reduce your premiums could be to look at what your current policy covers you for and reviewing whether the level of cover you have is correct. In some cases motor traders end up paying for cover they do not actually need and by asking your current insurance broker to review your risk you can very often reduce your premiums accordingly.

Another way to reduce your premiums is extremely simple but very few motor traders actually do it. Top tip number 2 is therefore to ask your current insurance provider if they can get a lower premium. Some insurance providers will simply renew existing insurance policies without doing the leg work of searching each year for the very best deal. If you receive your renewal terms and you are not happy with how it compares to what you paid last year you should therefore ask your broker or company what else they can do.

The final way to reduce your motor trade insurance premiums is to actually consider changing to a different insurance provider. Whilst staying loyal to a service provider is important to many people, the fact is there is an extremely good chance of paying less for your motor trade insurance premiums if you decide to place your business with a motor trade insurance specialist or broker.

The reason for this is that motor trade insurance brokers will most likely have specialist policies and rates that are simply unavailable from your current insurance broker. If you work in the motor trade and are therefore looking to reduce the amount you pay for your combined motor trade insurance, follow these 3 very easy but highly effective tips and make sure you reduce your motor trade insurance in the coming year and beyond.

by TheCamerons

Motor Trade Insurance

Anybody who works with vehicles, or sells or deals vehicles, will need motor trade insurance. Motor trade insurance policies tend to cover the driver, not the vehicle, giving the driver greater flexibility and freedom when doing test drives, demonstrations, and moving vehicles on the road and within trading premises.

The first thing an insurer is likely to ask is what type of vehicles you are working with – for example, are they private cars, commercial vehicles, or HGVs?  And next, what is the nature of your business, are you involved in selling / dealing vehicles, or in their maintenance, service and repair? It is very important to have a clear picture of your business to give to potential insurers, to make sure you get quotes covering all necessary aspects of your business.

There are various types of policies that a motor trader can opt for. Some cover road risks only; i.e. risks when actually driving the vehicles, and others offer broader coverage.

If you are in the business of vehicle sales, you will need cover that allows you to test drive and demonstrate a number of different vehicles, as well as collect and deliver them, take them to the workshop for repairs if necessary, etc. usually, this is called a ‘road risks’ policy.

There are different levels of cover, from Third Party only – which is the minimum legal requirement and doesn’t cover you in case of fire or theft – to Comprehensive, which has a much broader level of cover for your and other people’s vehicles.  Insurers will require quite detailed information about the vehicles registered to you or in your care as part of your business, so check with them how this information is submitted and maintained – you want an easy to use and accessible system.

You should also check whether a policy covers+ Social, Domestic and Pleasure use too (referred to as SD&P by those in the know). If it does, that means you can use your vehicles for driving to and from work, for example, as well as in the course of operating your business.  Including SD&P may raise your premium, so think carefully about how you will use your business vehicles.

If you are operating in a showroom, forecourt or garage you must consider premises insurance, which protects your property in case of damage, or theft of, or damage to, the contents of that property, such as machinery, tools, money and personal items.

Finally, there is liability insurance, which goes beyond simply covering damage to or loss of vehicles and property, but also protects you against liability to customers and staff in case or injury or legal grievance.

The law says that if you employ any staff at all, you must have Employer’s Liability Insurance to protect you from compensation claims, should your staff be injured at work. Public Liability Insurance is not required by law, but is strongly recommended as it protects you in case someone is injured on your premises and decides to sue you. And Product Liability Insurance will protect you if a vehicle or part you provide later turns out to be faulty, and causes damage or injury.

Some specialist insurers may offer packages that combine road risks, premises and liability insurance, which are specifically designed for motor traders. It is definitely worthwhile finding out who the best specialist insurers are, and talking through your individual needs with them.

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