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Business car insurance

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  • Covers use of your car for work-related purposes

  • Compare quotes from up to 160 trusted insurers1

  • Just add business use to your policy when getting a quote

**Single annual policy. Shell Go+ account required. Only one £10 fuel reward can be used per transaction and each can only be used on fuel purchases of £10 or over. HelloFresh 18+ subscription service. Geographical exclusions apply. T&Cs apply
1Correct as of August, 2023

What is business car insurance?

Business car insurance covers you to use your car for any driving related to your work, with the exception of commuting. Because it allows you to use your car for work it's different to standard car insurance which usually only includes cover for social use.

The car insurance classes of use are:

  • Business car insurance gives you the cover you need to drive your car for work
  • Social only is also known as social, domestic and pleasure and covers you for all non-work related driving. This includes things like shopping, day trips and holidays, plus visits to friends and family
  • Social and commuting includes everything that social only does as well as cover to commute to a single place of work

Do I need business car insurance?

If you or a named driver on your policy use your car for work-related purposes as well as commuting, you'll need business car insurance.

If you're using your car for work, you should have business car insurance. If you have an accident and don't have the right cover in place you won't be able to make a claim. You could also be charged for driving without insurance.

What type of business car insurance do I need?

This depends completely on how you use your car and who uses it for work. There are 4 classes of use in total:

  • Business car insurance - use by you (class 1) is usually the cheapest type of business car insurance. It covers you as the policyholder if you’re driving to visit customers or between different sites or offices. You can also set it so that your partner has business use but you don't.
  • Business car insurance - use by you and spouse (class 2) extends this cover so both you and your partner can drive the car for business purposes. Your partner should be a named driver on your policy.
  • Business car insurance - use for all drivers (class 3) lets all named drivers on the policy drive the car for business purposes.
  • Business car insurance - commercial use is usually the most expensive class of business car insurance. These policies cover you if driving is a permanent part of your job and you're selling goods and services.

Here is a summary of the average costs associated with each class of use for business car insurance:

Vehicle class of use Average premium*
Business use by you
£478.04
Business use by you and your spouse
£375.49
Business use for all drivers
£564.74
Business use commercial
£1,117.19

*Based on Confused.com data, average annual premium for business class of use. December 2022 to May 2023

What does business car insurance cover?

A business car insurance policy offers the same level of cover as a standard car insurance policy does. The only difference is that you'll be covered for using your car for business purposes.

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What’s covered

  • Driving to meetings and appointments
  • Sales visits
  • Using your car to get to training courses or company away days
  • Regularly driving to another office or making site visits
  • Running business errands like driving to the bank or post office
  • Driving your colleagues or clients
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What’s not covered

How much is business car insurance?

The average price of a business car insurance policy is £3851 but your own policy price depends on several factors including:

  • Your Class of use
  • The level of insurance cover you need (comprehensive, third-party fire & theft, third-party only)
  • Your occupation
  • Your estimated mileage

While it's easy to be swayed by price, your cheapest option may not be the right policy for you. That doesn't mean there aren't ways to save yourself money on your car insurance.

The cheapest policy isn’t always best, but there’s no point in paying for cover you don’t need. And different business car insurance policies have different levels of cover. So it’s important to check how much cover the policy you’re considering offers and whether it's at the right level for you.

To keep the cost of business car insurance down, consider:

  • Using a black box or telematics policy that rewards careful drivers with lower costs. Although it's worth bearing in mind that some black box policies do come with driving restrictions, which may not be suitable for business use.
  • People do an average of 6,666 miles per year2. However, if you're taking out business car insurance, you're probably doing a lot of miles. By being more accurate with your annual mileage, you can help make sure you're only paying for the miles that you do.
  • Installing security devices in your car
  • Parking your car with security in mind - a locked garage is better than street parking, for example
  • Paying annually rather than monthly for insurance. Annual customers paid an average of £546 compared to £888 for customers who paid monthly2
  • Increasing your voluntary excess - if you’re willing to pay more towards a claim, you should see your costs fall

1 Based on average business use car insurance policies from February 2023 to April 2023
2 Based on Confused.com data, December 2022 to April 2023.

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**Single annual policy. Shell Go+ account required. Only one £10 fuel reward can be used per transaction and each can only be used on fuel purchases of £10 or over. HelloFresh 18+ subscription service. Geographical exclusions apply. T&Cs apply

Can I get temporary business car insurance?

Yes, you can get temporary business car insurance. Short-term business car insurance is flexible, lasting from 1 hour to 28 days.

This could work out cheaper if you only need to use your car for work-related driving every now and again, including things like driving to a corporate weekend away or training course.

As an example, the average cost of a temporary business car insurance policy for a driver aged 30-34 is £67.693.

Several insurers offer temporary business car insurance. Many offer instant cover, so you can drive away within a few minutes of finding a policy.

You should also be covered for everything you need, as all temporary business policies provider comprehensive cover which includes legal liability cover and damage to your car. If you're likely to use your car regularly for work, you may be better off getting standard business car insurance rather than a temporary policy.

3Based on Tempcover data April 2023.

What details do I need to get a business car insurance quote?

Having the following information to hand will speed up getting a business car quote:

Personal details

  • Your occupation, address and age
  • Any points on your licence as well as the conviction code
  • Previous claims or accidents from the last 5 years
  • Named drivers you want to add to your policy
  • Details of your no-claims bonus (NCB) in years

Car details

  • Registration number or make and model of your car
  • Any modifications made to the car
  • Estimated annual mileage

What our car insurance expert says

"If you use your car for work, such as driving to different sites, you should add business use to your car insurance policy. This ensures your policy stays valid while you use your car for work. When you get a quote, be sure to select ‘business use’ to only show policies that include this level of cover cover."

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Need more help?

Can I add a named driver to my business car insurance?

Yes. To add an additional driver, select "yes" when asked if you want to add an additional driver to your policy. When doing this, it's likely you'll need to know:

  • The additional driver's occupation
  • The type of licence they currently have and how long they've held it for
  • Their relation to you
  • Any details of past car insurance claims
  • Any motoring convictions from the past 5 years

If you're looking to add a driver to an existing policy you'll need to contact your insurer who can guide you through the process.

Adding a driver to your policy could bring your costs up or down, so it's worth checking before you commit to adding them.

Will my existing no-claims bonus be affected if I claim on business car insurance?

If you've added business use to your existing car insurance policy, you only use your standard no-claims bonus. So, if you had an accident while on a business trip, your no-claims bonus is likely to be affected.

If you're using a company car, your policy might have its own no-claims bonus. Claiming on your company car insurance policy shouldn't impact any no-claims you've built elsewhere.

Who pays for car insurance for business use?

Usually, your employer pays for the additional cost of your business car insurance, so it’s worth talking to them.

If your employer doesn’t fully pay for your business car insurance costs, they might contribute towards mileage during working hours.

If you’re self-employed, your business is the one to pay the bill.

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Page last reviewed: 13 June 2023

Reviewed by: Louise Thomas

After buying car insurance, 96% of Confused.com customers would recommend us (based on 153081 Reviews.co.uk respondents - as of 24/08/23). Read our reviews