A Guide to Company Car Insurance

When you’ve invested a significant amount of money in your company car, the next step is to find the right insurer. With so many company car insurance options, many people make the mistake of just choosing the cheapest option, without considering the details. A cheap policy is all well and good until you need to make a claim and discover your insurance is not quite fit for purpose and you’re left with an insurer who won’t pay out.
Business car insurance is typically more expensive than standard cover. This is because the insurers have statistically determined that a motorist who drives a vehicle for business as well as pleasure is more at risk of an accident or of making a claim. The driver will usually cover more miles, sometimes in heavy traffic and on unfamiliar roads and potentially have to leave the vehicle parked in areas that may not be as secure as you would like.
There are different classes of company car insurance and you will need to look at individual insurers for the details covered in each policy, they will vary depending on the purpose that the vehicle is used for. The different classes will usually be along these lines: Private and occasional business use – this will cover you for personal use and commuting as well as occasional business use. However, this is only is the vehicle is not registered to the company and must not be an essential part of earning your income. For most businesses the Private and business use class is more realistic as this provides the same cover as before but the vehicle can be registered for business use. Lastly, there is commercial travelling which provides cover for those who regularly travel as part of their job, such as field salesmen. Make sure you check out different insurers online, in order to make sure your fully informed of all of different policies offered for business car insurance out there.  As your employees are likely to be using the car so frequently, it’s also your responsibility as the company and employer to make sure that any vehicles your employees are covered for breakdown. So whilst you’re looking around for the best company car insurance policy, make sure you look for the best breakdown policy, too – there are many policies out there that offer extra deals and extra peace of mind for company fleets, such as Budget Direct Roadside Assistance.
It is down to you and the insurance company to determine which policy is suited to your particular needs. Company car insurance will cover a whole range of uses so you need to be honest and realistic about whether it will be mainly travelling between different work locations, visiting customers or giving lifts to other employees. Anything journey that happens on behalf of the company will need to be covered under your company car insurance policy.
If cost is an issue, it is a good idea to consider the insurance before you decide on your company car make and model. As with standard insurance, the engine size and security devices fitted will affect the cost of the policy. Economical cars with smaller engines will be low cost to run and also help to keep insurance premium prices down. Consider where the vehicle will be kept overnight. If the vehicles are kept at a secure locked business premises, this will further help to reduce your quote as will having a millage limit if that is possible.