I’ve done a search on here but couldn’t find much info…
I’m going down the self employed / LTD company driver route.
Will I have to have business car insurance as I will be travelling to different places of work instead of just one?
Thanks in advance.
No but you will need commuting
Direct Line give you Business Use for no extra cost. You only need Business Use if you are doing high mileage driving, and being paid to drive your car i.e. you are earning money as you drive, not just driving to work to clock on & then start earning.
You don’t need Business Use if you’re just driving to work (i.e. a local depot) & back each day, just Commuting. Some Insurers state Commuting = to and from the same place of work each day. But if you had an accident on your way to/from work are they really going to ask “do you drive there each day…?” if they did, the answer is… yes.
I took the National Farmers Union car insurance when I was contracting. Covered me for business use and was only about £50 more than my previous policy.
Cheers
Paul
One issue you may encounter with the commuting to a place of work, is that insurers seem to expect that your commuting to 1 fixed place of work ie: working for 1 employer. but as a Ltd Co driver you will no doubt be travelling to more than 1 site. The dilemma is do you tell your insurance Co that you work at more than 1 site for insurance purposes?
BIG LEBOWSKI:
I’ve done a search on here but couldn’t find much info…
I’m going down the self employed / LTD company driver route.
Will I have to have business car insurance as I will be travelling to different places of work instead of just one?
Thanks in advance.
Yes you will need business insurance. Good news is that as long as its only travelling to clients I’ve yet to come across a company that charges extra for it. Currently insured through Swift and its no extra.
alix776:
No but you will need commuting
Is completely the wrong answer. Insurance companies class commuting as going to a single place of work. ALL agency drivers should have business use on their insurance as they do not commute to a single place of work.
In my experience, more than one place of employment means business car insurance. Its best to tell all the relevant facts otherwise if you need to make a claim and you havent got the correct insurance, then you know what will happen
Conor:
alix776:
No but you will need commutingIs completely the wrong answer. Insurance companies class commuting as going to a single place of work. ALL agency drivers should have business use on their insurance as they do not commute to a single place of work.
When you take out the car insurance you tell them you don’t have a fixed place of work and it is put on as an exemption. So yes I am correct in what I’m saying and bussiness insurance is over kill.
alix776:
Conor:
alix776:
No but you will need commutingIs completely the wrong answer. Insurance companies class commuting as going to a single place of work. ALL agency drivers should have business use on their insurance as they do not commute to a single place of work.
When you take out the car insurance you tell them you don’t have a fixed place of work and it is put on as an exemption. So yes I am correct in what I’m saying and bussiness insurance is over kill.
You’re wrong, the OP would need what’s generally known as “Class One Business Use” which in effect covers you for driving to various places of work.
If stopped by the police there’s a potential they could prosecute for no insurance if they discover you have solely commuting use or it could be discovered by an Insurer in the event of an accident.
If when applying for Insurance you declare you have various places of work then the Insurer would normally stipulate you need Class One Business Use, there are a few Insurers that may accept you commuting to various places to start / finish work but anything beyond this eg attending CPC course, visiting your accountant etc etc would prompt these Insurers to stipulate Class One Business Use.
Well it dosent worry me at all anyway I know im covered
And no I don’t have class one business insurance
Hi all.
Thanks for replies.
I had a chat with my current insurer and they said I am covered as long as it has commuting to work (which it has) and not permanent place of work on it.
Plus I have to go to and from one place of work a day.
I can’t turn up at Joe Bloggs and do half a shift then go onto Fred Flintstones to do more work as that is classed as using your car for business travel.
I asked the girl who gave me a quote at Adelaide Insurance who cater for LGV / PSV drivers and she said the same thing.
BIG LEBOWSKI:
Hi all.
Thanks for replies.
I had a chat with my current insurer and they said I am covered as long as it has commuting to work (which it has) and not permanent place of work on it.
Plus I have to go to and from one place of work a day.
I can’t turn up at Joe Bloggs and do half a shift then go onto Fred Flintstones to do more work as that is classed as using your car for business travel.
I asked the girl who gave me a quote at Adelaide Insurance who cater for LGV / PSV drivers and she said the same thing.
To be safe ask them to confirm this in writing and then you will have no problems if the police stop you whilst driving to/from various starting / finishing places of work as the police normally interpret commuting use as to and from a permanent place of work which is how the majority of Insurers define commuting use. If they stop you out of office hours and cannot call your Insurers to confirm what you’ve been told they may impound your car.
Bear in mind that should you drive to say your accountants, agency, driving course basically anything connected with your business but not a place of work you would not normally be covered by an SDP & Commuting a.k.a SDP & TFPPB
Just for the record…
"Hi There,
My wife recently had a minor incident in our car, whereby she was struck by a motorist from behind as they were exiting a roundabout. The key piece of information is that she was travelling to a work event and not her usual place of work.
Our policy was for personal and commuting, The insurance company has said that she was not covered as business use was not stipiulated on the policy and she was not travelling to her usual place of work.
They have since recommended going for a 50/50 claim as there were no independant witnesses and the other party is also claiming for damage to their vehicle and whiplash. (Ridiculous…it was their fault and the cars were travelling at about 15mph)
They have also advised that whatever the claim is settled for they will be reclaiming the cost from us due to the breach in policy.
To say I’m mortified is an understatement. Has anyone experienced this and what are my options.
We were not aware we were breaching the policy and have since added business use to the policy.
Any advice on options or where to take our query would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance"
Bottom line is this…
Insurance companies are bottom feeding scum suckers who will spend countless hours trying to find ways of not paying you out…they will happily take your money year after year then use the smallest of small print to screw you over.