Truck Insurance
According to figures from the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), there were 450,000 trucks running on UK roads last year. The report also expects that the number of lorries on the roads will increase in the future – up 50 – 100% on the 1990 figure by the year 2025. With these trucks covering many billions of miles every year, it is vital that all lorry owners get the right commercial truck insurance.
Truck insurance
Insuring trucks/HGV/lorries can be extremely expensive, as insurers class them as business and commercial vehicles. They cover many miles, are valuable assets and often have stock worth many tens of thousands of pounds. It is therefore vital that you shop around to find not only the best cover, but the most competitive premium.
What affects your insurance premiums
The premiums for truck insurance are generally determined by a number of factors. These include:
• The age and condition of the particular vehicle
• The age and experience of the truck driver, and how long they have worked for their employer
• The no-claims record of the company and the particular driver
• The value and type of stock being transported in the truck
• The location of where the truck will operate
Truck insurance is generally more expensive than car insurance. This is because the value of a truck and its stock is generally much more than a car and if the truck is involved in an accident, the overall cost of the claim is liable to be much higher than for a car accident.
Different types of commercial truck insurance
Depending on the size of your business and the number of vehicles you wish to cover, there are various different types of truck insurance you should consider:
• Basic commercial truck insurance
• Trailer cover
• Public Liability insurance
• Employers liability insurance (if you have employers and drivers)
• Goods in Transit insurance
• Legal Expenses cover
‘Goods in transit’ is one of the most important types of commercial truck insurance because of the high value of goods your truck is likely to be carrying. This cover is often taken out for the full value of the goods carried, and is known as ‘all risks’ or ‘full responsibility’ cover.
Alternatively, you can adopt official ‘conditions of carriage’ which restrict the financial responsibility you have to your customer to an agreed amount per tonne. This protects you from unknowingly being underinsured and this type of cover is most often adopted in the UK by carriers of general goods.