Let’s face it, if you’re setting up your own car trading business you’ll have a whole host considerations. One of the most important areas of your new business is making sure you have the right insurance cover in place, should the unthinkable happen.
What is motor trade insurance?
If your business earns its revenues through any sort of motor trade or service (e.g. buying, selling, repairing or servicing vehicles) then you have to have a motor trade insurance policy.
Also known as road risk insurance, motor trade insurance provides cover for motor trading businesses of all sizes. This includes any business that has a customer’s vehicle(s) in their care or control for any amount of time for the purpose of making a profit.
It’s important to remember that there are a variety of factors that may affect how much your motor trade insurance costs. These include:
- The type of vehicles used in your business.
- Where the vehicles will be kept when not in use.
- The driving experience of you and any staff members you employ.
- The whereabouts of your business.
- How many people are employed in your business.
What types of cover are available for motor trade insurance?
There are three types of cover available within motor trade insurance. These are:
- Road risk only: this type of policy is the minimum amount of cover you need, by law, to drive the vehicles on the road for repair or any other reason. You can get comprehensive, third party or third party fire & theft road risk only insurance.
- Liability: if you have the general public on your premises while doing business with them, you’ll need to take out liability motor trade insurance. This covers you for if a customer slips and falls on your premises, for example.
- Combined: This type of policy covers you for your entire business, including vehicles, liabilities, money and contents.
How to get the best value motor trade insurance
Getting the right insurance for your motor trading business can be costly, but it’s essential that you find the right level of cover. Here are some tips on finding the best value motor trade insurance:
- Be honest with yourself about the type of cover you need. Third party only cover may work out as cheaper, but it may prove much more costly in the long run if something goes wrong.
- Make sure you put in the correct information on your insurance policy forms. Failure to do so could not only result in your insurance working out as more expensive, but your policy could also be invalidated.
- Don’t be afraid to shop around! Don’t just go for the first deal you see, compare prices and you could get a better deal. By using brokers who sell the policies of multiple providers, you can get a picture of several options from someone with experience.
- Don’t simply auto renew your policy. You should look at that time of year that your policy comes up as an opportunity to shop around once again. Your current motor trade insurance provider’s renewal quote might not be the cheapest option out there. So as convenient as it may be just to let your current policy renew, it might end up costing you.
Did you know… it is possible to haggle with some insurers, so don’t be afraid to see if you can purchase the policy for a lower price than quoted.
For more information about motor trade insurance, or to get a free, no-obligation quote, click here.
