Courier fleet insurance

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What is courier fleet insurance?

Courier fleet insurance is a single insurance policy designed to cover three or more vehicles making deliveries to multiple locations for hire and reward or goods in transit / removals. It’s more economical than purchasing separate insurance policies for each of your business’s delivery vehicles.

The policies are also distinct from standard fleet insurance, such as for company cars, which don’t address the unique risks and insurance requirements of vehicles used for deliveries.

Depending on the policy, courier fleet insurance may protect not just the vehicles themselves, but also the goods they carry against loss, theft, and damage.

Do I need courier fleet insurance?

You need courier fleet insurance if you have three or more vehicles used for courier purposes. That is, to deliver a third party’s goods, such as parcels or groceries, to multiple locations, usually directly to customers.

Courier fleet insurance responds to the unique risks of making deliveries: long hours on the road, multiple stops, and vehicles laden with valuable goods of interest to thieves and expensive to replace.

If you have fewer than three vehicles used for courier purposes, you should get separate courier car or van insurance policies for each. 

If vehicles in your fleet are used to make long journeys to drop off goods at one location, usually from suppliers to businesses, you need haulage insurance instead.

If vehicles in your fleet only carry items owned by you or your business, you need a carriage of own goods insurance policy.       

Holding an inappropriate insurance policy - such as standard car or van insurance for a vehicle used in a courier business - can mean your insurer rejects your claims, leaving you out of pocket. The insurer can even cancel your policy, making it more difficult for you to obtain insurance in the future.

What is covered by courier fleet insurance?

Courier fleet insurance typically covers two to three or more vehicles (the minimum and maximum numbers vary between policies). 

First, it provides standard auto insurance cover for those vehicles, with differing levels of protection depending on your preference:

• Third-party liability: Covers damage you cause to other people’s vehicles, property, and lives while driving; the legal minimum required for all vehicles in the UK,
• Third-party, theft and fire: Along with third-party liability, covers the repair or replacement of your vehicle if it’s damaged in a fire or stolen.
• Comprehensive: Along with the coverage provided by the other two policies, covers damage to your own vehicle.

Additional coverage may be offered by courier fleet insurance, either as standard or as add-ons:

• Goods in transit cover: Covers customers’ goods you are transporting against theft, damage, or loss.
• Employers’ liability cover: Protects your courier business against legal and compensation claims made by an employee, such as for injury on the job. Legally required for all businesses with staff, even if they’re part-time or temporary.
• Public liability cover: Covers legal and compensation expenses if a member of the public files a claim against your courier business for personal injury or damage to their property.
• Breakdown cover: Providing roadside assistance and towing if a vehicle in your fleet breaks down.
• Courtesy vehicle: Offers a replacement vehicle while one of your fleet is being repaired.

How much does courier fleet insurance cost?

Monthly premiums for courier fleet insurance vary widely and depend on the following factors:

• Number of vehicles covered: The more vehicles in your fleet, the higher your courier insurance premiums, but you should also earn discounts for each vehicle you add.
• The vehicles’ their type, value, and age: Newer, more expensive, and larger vehicles cost more to insure.
• How long your business has been operating: The more established and experienced you are in the courier business, the cheaper your cover will be.
• Named drivers: The experience and age of drivers named on the policy. Note that courier fleet insurance typically requires that all drivers in the fleet be aged 25 or older.
• The location of your business and where you make deliveries: Insurers will consider levels of vehicle theft and accidents in the areas the vehicles will be driving and parked.
• Security measures: Where you park the vehicles in your fleet overnight and any industry-approved safety measures (alarms, trackers, and immobilisers) onboard each vehicle will influence premiums.
• The type of goods you deliver: Delivering high-value or hazardous items will increase your premiums.
• Your claims history: If you’ve made a claim on auto insurance in the past five years, expect your premiums to be higher.