Commercial Vehicle Insurance from £45/month

Commercial vehicle insurance covers vans, HGVs, tippers and fleets used for business — including carriage of goods, any-driver arrangements and drivers with points or convictions. A gap to check is goods in transit: the vehicle is insured, but the goods it carries — and your liability for them — are not.

Cover this trade usually needs

Cover	Why it matters	Typical limit
Commercial vehicle	The van, lorry or tipper itself — comprehensive, TPFT or third party only	Vehicle value; like-for-like courtesy van available
Goods in transit	The goods you carry and your liability to their owner	Maximum value on one vehicle
Public liability	Injury or damage caused while delivering, collecting or working from the vehicle	£2m–£5m typical
Employers' liability	Drivers and loaders — a legal requirement if you employ anyone	£10m (legal minimum £5m)

Key risks

• The vehicle is off the road after an accident and the courtesy vehicle is a small car, not a working van.
• Tools or goods are stolen from the vehicle overnight.
• A driver with points or a conviction is declined by online insurers.
• An any-driver policy has age or licence terms that exclude your actual crew.

Regulations and licences

• Road Traffic Act 1988 — third-party motor insurance is a legal minimum.
• O-licence undertakings for HGV operators, including maintenance records.
• Hire-and-reward use must be declared when carrying other people's goods for payment.
• MID (Motor Insurance Database) updates required for every vehicle change.

What we check before quoting

• Vehicle list, values and overnight parking.
• What you carry and whether for hire and reward.
• Drivers' ages, licence history and any convictions.
• Annual mileage and whether you travel into the EU.
• Whether a fleet policy would beat separate policies.

Gaps we see most often

• Goods in transit not arranged alongside the vehicle policy.
• Courtesy vehicle is a small car rather than a like-for-like van.
• Class of use wrong — business use instead of hire and reward.
• Drivers under 25 excluded by an any-driver policy's small print.

Limits clients and contracts usually ask for

• Goods in transit set at the maximum value carried on one vehicle.
• Public liability £2m–£5m; employers' liability £10m (legal minimum £5m).

Key facts and sources

• HSE states that health and safety law applies to work on the road in the same way as on a fixed site, for company and grey fleet vehicles alike. HSE — Driving and riding safely for work

Turn defect reports and replacement hire into a usable claim file

For business vans, connect each walkaround report to the vehicle, driver and action taken on defects. DVSA's published checklist applies in England, Scotland and Wales; use the relevant Northern Ireland guidance where appropriate. Record when a reported defect was assessed and when the vehicle returned to service, rather than retaining an unchecked tick sheet. Ask the broker how maintenance evidence should be supplied following an incident, without presenting a completed checklist as a guarantee of roadworthiness or insurance acceptance.

Keep a current record of permanent modifications, fitted machinery, racking and specialist bodywork, with invoices and photographs. Distinguish the vehicle's own equipment from customers' goods and portable tools carried inside. If a vehicle is damaged, this helps the engineer identify what belonged to the insured specification and what requires a separate claims discussion. Notify the broker when equipment is added or moved between vehicles rather than expecting a registration number alone to describe the complete business asset.

Before hiring a replacement after an accident, record the operational need: payload, dimensions, towing requirement, body type and any access restrictions. Retain availability enquiries and itemised hire terms, including deposits, damage liability and cancellation charges. Ask the broker about authorisation and applicable limits before committing where practicable. The cheapest available van may not perform the work, but business inconvenience does not itself establish entitlement to an equivalent specialist vehicle or recovery of every hire day.

Separate a vehicle's repair delay into engineering assessment, parts availability, workshop scheduling and any decision to defer authorisation. Keep communications with the repairer and evidence of steps taken to limit disruption. If drivers switch to hired vehicles, check permitted drivers, use and insurance responsibilities before dispatch. DVSA's checklist supports safe van operation; it does not define motor-policy hire benefits, cover for attached equipment or compensation for lost work, which need their own wording review.

DVSA — Carry out van daily walkaround checks