If you own a business that uses four or more vehicles, and haven't either taken out fleet insurance or at least considered it, then you need to give it some serious thought. Fleet insurance is a must for anyone who has to handle multiple vehicles either for their business or as a personal hobby. Some of the types of entities that will definitely benefit from fleet insurance include...

• Couriers
• Companies that provide business cars to their employees
• Taxi cab services
• Limousine services
• Car rental companies
• Bus companies
• Security firms
• Individuals with a collection of cars

The types of fleet insurance that you can chose from will vary depending on your needs, but generally speaking, fleet insurance can be split into three main categories...

Comprehensive fleet insurance - This will cover any accidental damage to your own vehicles and other vehicles and property

Third Party Insurance - This will cover damage to other vehicles and injury to other people, but not to your own vehicles. This type of insurance is compulsory in many areas

Third Party Fire and Theft - As it says, this type of insurance is the same as your basic Third Party insurance, with the addition of covering you for fire and theft.

As well as these three basic types of fleet insurance, many insurance companies will offer you extras that you can add on to you insurance policy. This includes being covered for damage to your windscreens, coverage for breakdowns, towing expenses, the provision for courtesy cars if one of your vehicles is out of action for a while for repairs, even legal expenses and accommodation are offered as extras with some insurance companies. Of course, all these added extras will be an additional expense on your premium.

Things that May Afect Your Fleet Insurance Premium

As well as adding extras to your fleet insurance policy, there are other factors that may influence the price of your policy. For example, the age of your drivers will be a big deciding factor. Insurance companies will generally charge a lot more for car insurance for young drivers. The reasoning behind this is that statistically, motor vehicle accidents are caused by younger drivers a lot more than they are by older more experienced drivers. The insurance company will also look at what types of vehicles will be included in the policy. Obviously, the more expensive the vehicle, the larger the premium will be. Likewise, the age of the vehicle will be another deciding factor, as will the cars mileage. One thing that companies don't take into account is the drivers history when looking at their insurance. Many insurance companies will ask for a full rundown of each drivers history before accepting a policy, and if your drivers have a bad driving history, this can adversely affect the price of your premium.

Advantages of Fleet Insurance

There are many advantages to having fleet insurance as opposed to having a separate policy for each vehicle. The main one being ease of administration. Because all you vehicles are all covered under the same policy, it is easy to see at any given time where your policy is at. Another advantage is the fact that the policy is paid once each year and then can be forgotten. If you have each car insured individually, it can be a nightmare to handle, and the bills can literally come in every month. That said, as with any insurance policy, your fleet insurance company will insist that you keep up to date records for all your records. This includes not only mileage and log books, but also a comprehensive maintenance history for each car.

If you are in the market for a fleet insurance policy, make sure you shop around. The insurance industry is an incredibly competitive one, and as such, you definitely do not want to be settling for the first policy that comes along. A lot of insurance companies will actually match (or better) quotes that you have recieved from other companies. This literally puts you in the drivers seat, and allows you to pick and choose which  company you choose for your fleet insurance.