Chauffeur Insurance Tips
If you drive for a living, you’ll appreciate the value of your car. Driving is your livelihood, and chauffeur insurance protects that.
If you had any doubts about whether to spend any money on a specific business driving policy, ask yourself one question: could you afford to replace you car if it was damaged by fire or stolen? If the answer is no, you need chauffeur cover.
A chauffeur insurance policy goes above and beyond private motor vehicle insurance. If you work as a chauffeur and intended to rely on your regular private policy, you are on very thin ice because most insurers specifically exclude business use from domestic cover.
On the other hand, proper cover can give you the peace of mind that, should your vehicle get damaged or stolen, your insurer will pay out for the necessary repair work or for a replacement.
Depending on which policy you choose, you could also benefit from a complementary hire car while the damage to your original car is being repaired. You might also be offered a competitive deal on breakdown cover – handy when you are out and about.
As with private motor insurance, there are a number of steps that you can take to reduce your premium.
• No claims discount – exploit your no claims discount by ensuring that you get a substantial reduction for your previous reluctance to make a claim.
• Low mileage discount – if you work in a city, you may not actually cover very many miles, despite driving all day. So let the traffic work in your favour and claim a low mileage reduction. Insurers assume that the fewer miles you cover per year, the smaller risk you have of collisions and accidents.
• Keep the car in a garage – cars that are kept under cover are statistically less likely to be stolen or damaged by vandals – after all, they are not visible to the public. If you keep your car safely under lock and key after business hours, mention this to the insurer. They should be able to offer a discount.
Accidents have a habit of taking place at the most inconvenient of times, and not in business hours. So make sure that your insurer has a 24/7 claims line so that you can get hold of them as soon as something happens.
Finally, in a difficult economic climate, look out for an insurer who will allow you to spread the cost of the chauffeur insurance premium by monthly payments by direct debit.