Fleet Insurance is designed for businesses with multiple vehicles and allows your business to have all its vehicles insured under one policy. This makes it more manageable in terms of allowing your firm to:

• Regularly add or remove vehicles from your policy.
• Arrange cover on any driver basis (age and usage restrictions often apply)
• Fleet policies can cover a mixed fleet of commercial vehicles including lorries, vans and HGV’s as well as standard cars.

It is essential for your drivers and vehicles to be fully covered in the event of any accident. Having all your vehicles under one policy provides one renewal date and one set of policy documents.

However its important to note that premiums for fleet policies are calculated by underwriters using a “confirmed claims experience”. When the renewal of your fleet policy is due you will be issued with a “confirmed claims experience”. This replaces “no claims  bonus” that accrues on each individual vehicle policies when no claims are lodged during the policy period. See the following FAQ for more information on the workings of “confirmed claims experience.”

At the expiry of your fleet insurance you may wish to return to arranging individual policies. In this instance your proof of NCB will typically only be valid for up to two years after your last individual vehicle policy expired. You are likely to be asked by your new vehicle insurer to explain the gap in cover since your last individual policy. If you have had claims on your fleet insurance policy, you might be told that you are no longer able to apply your no claims bonus and will have to rebuild your discount from 0 years.

A confirmed claims experience is a one page document which details costs of all incidents involving vehicles on your fleet insurance policy for the current year/period. It will also state the total “vehicle years” for that policy period.

“Vehicle years” represents the total exposure of vehicles insured under your fleet policy during the policy period. It is calculated by summing the time each vehicle was on cover, expressed in years. This includes adjustments for any mid-term additions or removals of vehicles. For example, a vehicle insured for six months contributes 0.5 vehicle-years to the total.

The claims experience will include details and costings relating to incidents: of a non-fault nature reported for information purposes only, windscreen repairs and replacements, vandalism, theft, third party damages etc.

The claims listing will provide the finer details on each individual claim including name of driver, age, date of accident, circumstances, amounts paid and reserved by insurers for particular claims.

Your confirmed claims experience document will provide a total costing for all claims relating to vehicles insured by the policy. This will be judged against the premium received to calculate a “loss ratio”.  This figure along with other context relating to the risk, such as frequency of incidents and additional risk management introduced during the policy period and other alterations impacting the risk, will be used by underwriters to calculate their fleet insurance renewal quotation. It normally will be presented on a premium per vehicle basis also known as “rate per vehicle”.

Your company can potentially take out a fleet policy with as little as two vehicles. Typically if your firm has between 2-15 vehicles, then a mini-fleet policy would be of benefit in terms of premiums charged and operational convenience.

A typical motor fleet policy can include the following:

• Any licenced driver aged over 25 on all vehicles (subject to insurer approval)
• Any licenced driver aged over 17  (subject to insurer approval)
• Flexible monthly instalment plans are available
• Uninsured loss recovery
• New-for-Old vehicle replacement for cars under a year old and goods vehicles under six months old (depending on insurer)
• Medical expenses and personal effects cover’s built in
• 24-hour emergency, claims and legal helpline
• Optional 24 hour UK mainland roadside assistance
• Optional European cover

Having all your vehicles under one policy means one renewal date and one set of policy documents, which can save you both time and money.

A fleet insurance policy can cover you for a variety of different uses including:

• Contractors Fleets
• Mixed vehicle type fleets (including cars, vans and commercial vehicles)
• Couriers
• Hire and Reward
• Private Hire
• Haulage
• Social, Domestic and Pleasure
• Third party or Comprehensive

Vehicles covered on my fleet policy

At plan, we will provide cover for a wide range of vehicles including:

• Cars
• Vans
• Tippers
• Flatbeds
• Curtain-side Trucks
• Tail Lift Trucks
• Articulated Lorries
• Busses
• Coaches
• Agricultural Vehicles
• Special Types such as Forklifts

Having the right insurance in place with correct up to date document templates and guides can help you minimise the risk and liabilities that can take a huge hit on your companies’ profits.

We can provide our fleet insurance clients with extensive risk assessment and management assistance. These include bespoke health and safety documents, task based risk assessments, method statements and much more that will be specific to your business’s activities . These additional documents can be requested when you take out a policy with Plan.

Templates that are available also include business continuity templates that may be updated annually. These will serve as guidance and develop in step with your business operations. Your company will also receive regular notifications regarding legislation changes that are relevant to your fleet and overall business.

You should be able to use your no claims bonus to move from individual policies onto a Fleet insurance policy (providing the no claims bonus is in the name of the Director or Company).

Calculating the cost of a fleet insurance policy is more complex as it is dependent on various factors such as the area you’re based in, your business activity, the type of vehicles you operate and how well your policy has performed over a number of years in terms of claim costs for the insurer.

You will not receive any no claims bonus (NCB), however, you will receive a confirmed claims experience (CCE) report for your fleet. A confirmed claims experience report that indicates low claims costs compared to the premiums charged, will help you obtain more competitive premiums for your policy. More detail can be found under our “What is Confirmed Claims Experience on a Fleet Insurance Policy” FAQ.

We would recommend discussing the following options with your commercial insurance account executive:

• Contractors All Risk
• Goods in Transit
• Professional Indemnity
• Tools
• Plant
• Excess Layer Liability
• Property Insurances
• Directors & Officers
• Cyber Liability
• Specialist Schemes and Tailored Packages