An often asked question is whether or not you will be covered on your Motor Trade Insurance policy to carry out your other occupation. Whether a builder, an accountant or an estate agent you “can” be covered on a trade policy.

It is a common mistake to think that you will be covered automatically for this use on your policy without paying an extra premium or requesting it from your broker. Additional business use, as it is called, means that you can travel to and from different places with regards to your primary, or secondary, occupation. This is as opposed to someone that just needs to go to and from one permanent place of business – eg an office worker or a shop assistant

If you do not have the cover on your policy but try and get away without it then you could find yourself in some trouble. For instance, if you are stopped by the police in a van carrying tools for your work then you may find that they ring up your insurance company to see if you are covered. The insurance company will then inform them you are not. This generally leads to court, a fine and a six points. In a more serious example, i.e a claim, you could find out that your policy will be voided by your non-compliance and you are left with a mess.

Additional business use can be added to your policy from as little as 5% of your total insurance premium. Eg on a thousand pound premium you could pay just fifty pounds extra. That seems to me to be extraordinary value for money when you consider that a commercial van policy on it’s own for a builder could not be bought for anywhere near that figure.

So the question is, if you require cover for your other occupation and you also need cover for your trader work, can you afford not to add Additional Business to your Motor Trade Insurance policy?

When the time comes for your motor trade insurance policy to be renewed there are a number of things for you to take into consideration. Renewal time can lead to savings on your premiums if you go about things correctly, it is also the time when you should make sure that all details are fully up to date.

You should always be looking to find the best quote available rather than just accepting the renewal quote sent through from your current provider simply because it is more convenient. Even if you want to stay with the company currently providing your cover, the likelihood is that you will be able to get a reduction on the amount they originally quote. If you use a broker to get a quote then you can at least go back to your existing company to see if they can match or even better the quote you get. You should also check which added extras are currently on your policy, if you have got things on there that you don’t actually need then there is no point in paying the additional costs to have them.

In regards to the details that the insurers have for you, it is imperative that you supply them with fully up to date, factual information. Failure to do this could mean that if you do actually have an accident or need to make a claim, the provider may refuse to pay out or charge you an additional premium because the false information has invalidated your policy. Any change of address, circumstances  or driving convictions that you have had must be given to the company to make sure that the policy is correct. Of course, doing this may mean that you end up having to pay a little extra on your premium but that is by far better than finding out you cant claim when you need to.

To sum things up, your motor trade insurance renewal is the time for you to make sure not only that you are getting the best value for your premium but also that your policy is valid by confirming all of the correct information.

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If you are working within the motor trade, whether you are a mechanic, a salesman  or a valeter, then you should be able to take out a motor trade insurance policy. The biggest difference between a traders policy and a private car policy is that with trade cover, it is you who is specified on the policy whereas with private cover the vehicle must also be included. The benefit of this is that it means that you only have to take out one policy that can cover you to drive  vehicles you will need to use for your business, including those of your customers (This is always subject to terms and conditions of course!). There are a number of options available for your traders cover and you need to make sure you choose the correct one so that you get the best value for your money.

Road Risk Cover

This form of policy will provide you with cover for  vehicles that are both owned by the business and those that the business has in their possession for work purposes. It will not always provide cover to drive any car at any time so you need to be careful in regards to the vehicles you use under the policy .

Liability Cover

If your business is ever going to involve your customers coming to your place of work, it is important that you consider public liability cover. Taking this out means that if someone ended up having an accident or injuring themselves whilst on your work premises then you would be covered for  claims that they make against you. Without this, you could be hit hard financially when that customer takes you to court over the fall they had in your workplace. A second part of this cover is sales and service  – this covers you against defective workmanship that may later lead to a claim. An example could be a fitter claiming on his policy if his work has caused someone to blame him for the tyre coming off and causing an accident.

Combined Cover

As the name suggests, a combined policy can bring together the benefits of the other policies as well as adding extra areas of cover. Together with road risk and liability cover, you can also be covered for  damage to buildings, stock of vehicles , your equipment, machinery , tools and much, much more.

These are just some simple distinctions between these commonly mentioned types of cover so you therefore need to make sure that you carefully consider what it is you require. Your particular business may have no need to take out a combined cover policy  and so a cheaper, less complicated road risk one, might be more suitable. On the other hand, if your business would benefit from more cover and you choose not to take it out then you could suffer the consequences further down the line. We would therefore advise you to do sufficient research before you decide on what motor trade insurance policy you are going to take out. An obvious avenue for help should be your insurance broker who can help you decide what you need.

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Motorbike cover can be an important addition to your Motor Trade Insurance policy. Here are some reasons why this add on may help your business.

If you have held a full bike licence one year or longer and you have a trade policy then you should be able to add this cover. It can generally be added for a relatively cheap sum.

Some policies will give you cover equivalent to that you already have whilst others may only grant Third Party Only for bike cover  - but if you need to tax or drive a bike then it is still useful.

Just as there are different levels of cover insurers are willing to grant so also can there be different types of bike they will cover you on. This is a very important point to remember so please ask your insurance broker exactly what you are or are not covered for. Eg some insurers will cover you on any cc engine size while others will impose limits. These can be up to 250cc, 600cc, no engine size restriction, and to include superbikes but to name a few.

As a general rule quad bikes are not automatically covered when you purchase bike cover – again it is worth asking your broker if it can be added if you require it. Trikes can also be a problem on some policies and you may find you need a more specialist (and yes expensive!) policy.

Motor bike cover can be added onto your policy from £100 up. It’s worth considering if you deal with bikes in your motor trade or even if you just want your own bike covering. However, please remember that if it is just for your own bike you will only get trade value in the event of an incident.

So, if you thought a Motor Trade Insurance policy only covered cars and vans I hope that this short summary opens your eyes to the benefits of bike cover. If you require any information on this or any other motor trade issue please feel free to contact our helpful staff for advice.

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At the current time, the cost to UK motorists as a result of uninsured drivers is over £500 million per year - with this figure getting passed onto the insurance premiums of drivers across the country. The Motor Insurance Database (MID) was set up by the Motor Insurer’s Bureau as a way of reducing the number of uninsured drivers on the roads of the UK. It aims to do this by making it compulsory for all insured vehicles to be registered on their database. However, the rules for registering are different depending on whether you have taken out a private insurance policy or a motor trade insurance policy. Highlighted below are the steps you must take to make sure you don’t fall foul of the rules.

What is the difference between the two policies?

If you take out a private car policy then it is the responsibility of your insurance provider to register your cars details or any updates to your policy on the MID within 7 days of it coming into effect. However, if you are taking out a traders insurance policy, then it is down to you to make sure that you have submitted all of the correct vehicles to the database. This includes adding vehicles that are in your custody or control for more than 2 weeks and any taxed vehicles that are being held in stock. Our advice is to add your vehicle on as soon as possible to avoid problems – it’s free and quick so don’t take a risk.

What information needs to be submitted?

When you submit any vehicle onto the database there is certain information that is legally required. You must submit the Vehicle Registration Mark (and vehicle description to your insurer i.e registration,make,model,value, and engine size), the dates that the vehicle needs to be covered from and also when it is to be stopped being covered on your policy. If you are moving to a new insurance company for any reason  then you should definitely let them know a list of all your vehicles so they can add them to the database.

What happens if you don’t register?

There can be a number of problems that occur if you do not register all of your vehicles onto the MID – an important one being pulled over by the police. The police use their network of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras to identify those cars that have not been registered onto the database. If you have failed to submit your vehicle then you are leaving yourself open to the possibility of your vehicle being seized by the police due to them assuming you have no insurance. If your vehicle is seized then there can be a lot of hassle to get it back and you will feel the cost not only in monetary terms but also the time that you are without your vehicle. Also, if your vehicle is not on the database it may prejudice any claim you have with your insurer. Insurance companies will automatically suspect something is up if your vehicle was not on at the time of an accident – eg were you just borrowing a friend’s car or is the vehicle outside of your policy coverage.

To summarise, it is imperative that if you are taking out a motor trade insurance policy, you ensure that any vehicle that is covered by it is registered on the MID. Failing to do so will only cause you problems further down the line.

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