Fleet insurance

Pros:

It’s easier to arrange insurance on multiple vehicles as there’s only one renewal date so you’ll save time on admin.

Insuring multiple vehicles is usually cheaper than insuring them individually.

You can insure all drivers on every vehicle with an ‘any driver’ policy. This means that drivers will have access to all vehicles, which saves them waiting around for a certain vehicle to be free.

You can add more vehicles as your business grows.

Cons:

One accident could affect the premiums of all vehicles on the policy, so if you do have a particularly accident-prone driver, you could put them on a separate policy.

If you don’t update your policy and you need to make a claim, it could be invalid as especially in larger fleets, vehicles can come and go regularly so be sure to stay on top of your details.

Cost savings will be less significant for smaller fleets.

Younger drivers can push up your costs so it could make sense to insure them separately.

There may be restrictions on how you use your vehicles, for example personal use may not be covered.

When it comes to cutting the cost of fleet insurance, it’s all about reducing risk. You could do so by:

• Using electric or hybrid vehicles
• Employing drivers with clean records aged of 25 and over
• Sending your drivers on a training course
• Carrying out regular maintenance
• Making drivers responsible for paying their own excess
• Adding additional security

Electric or hybrid vehicles may reduce policy prices. The engines on these vehicles generally have less power than regular vehicles, so they’re considered safer by insurers. Their CO2 emissions are lower too.

Employ drivers with clean records that are over the age of 25 as premiums are lower. Having a younger driver is sometimes unavoidable but by limiting their mileage, and only allowing them to drive in the daytime or accompanied could help to reduce costs.

Sending your drivers on a training course will make them aware of hazards and will iron out any potentially unsafe habits. These courses can help improve aspects of driving like fuel efficiency, driving in bad weather conditions and hazard perception.

Regular maintenance is important for any vehicle. Encouraging daily checks on tyre pressures, oil, brake pads and keeping a regular service record will keep your vehicles in good condition.

Making drivers responsible for paying their own excess as this would hopefully encourage safe driving.

Providing security options for your vehicles overnight, like a CCTV monitored car park or locked garages, could decrease your insurance costs. Immobilizers inside the vehicle will also help, even if the initial cost is expensive.

Technology in the vehicle could be beneficial to reducing your premiums. A black box can assess each individual driver to see how safely they drive and adjust their premiums accordingly.

Dashboard cameras or dashcams are also a useful tool as they record everything that happens on the road. These can be fitted in the front and back of the vehicle and are great for providing evidence if there is an accident.