If you're using your car for business, driving to various offices and sites on a regular basis, in addition to your daily commute, then you'll need to take out a specialised business car insurance policy on your vehicle.
Such a policy will give you cover you above and beyond that of a conventional car insurance policy, which will only account for social, personal and domestic uses of your vehicle.
In This Guide:
- What kind of cover can I expect from a business car insurance policy?
- Why is business car insurance more expensive?
- Types of business car insurance: Different classes
- How to get the cheapest business car insurance policies
What kind of cover can I expect from a business car insurance policy?
As with standard auto insurance, business car insurance policies come in various shapes and sizes, with different types of policy offering different kinds and levels of cover.
A standard insurance policy will cover you for general day to day usage of your vehicle, and this invariably includes your commute. This means that you don't need worry about needing a specialised business car insurance policy just to cover you for your drive to and from work.
However, if you're using your car for business, say by driving clients around, regularly visiting several different offices or sites, or driving a large number of miles in a small amount of time for work purposes, you will need a specialised policy to get the cover you need.
Unfortunately, business car insurance tends to be a little more expensive than conventional insurance, but there are reasons for this, and it is important not to lie in order to avoid higher premiums as being caught out will invalidate your policy.
Why is business car insurance more expensive?
As a general rule, using your car for business in the ways suggested above means that you will almost certainly rack up a significantly higher mileage than you would for personal use. This immediately increases the risk of accident and therefore the risk of the insurer having to pay out on a claim.
Not only this, but you will likely often be driving during heavy traffic at rush hour, driving on roads you don't know particularly well, and parking your vehicle in unfamiliar and potentially unsecure locations. All of this adds to the risk on the part of the insurer and thus premiums will naturally be higher than they would on a standard policy.
This doesn't mean that you have to pay over the odds though - by using a free and impartial online comparison service like ours you can make sure that you still find cheap car insurance policies.
Types of business car insurance: Different classes
There are different classes of business vehicle insurance available offering different levels of cover at different prices. The exact nature of each class will differ from provider to provider, and will change depending on your business purposes, so pay careful attention to the details of the policies on offer.
As already stated, simple commutes should be covered by most standard insurance packages but it is always worth checking the small print in order to be certain. If you use your vehicle for your job on a daily basis, if you are a taxi driver or uber driver for instance, you will certainly require a form of business car insurance for your vehicle.
You will also not need to take out a business insurance policy on a company car, as the company who provides the car should also pay for the insurance policy on top.
As a general rule, the more you use your car for business, the higher the class of policy you will need.
Class 1 business car insurance will usually cover you for travel to and from you usual place of work as well as regular visits to other sites and offices related to your work. These policies will often also cover a spouse as a named driver but only at a standard level - not for business use.
Class 2 business car insurance policies tend to offer the same level of cover, but will also cover a named third party for business use.
For the most comprehensive cover, for those who use their vehicle extensively for business, travelling hundreds of miles a week and requiring multiple named drivers at the same level of cover, class 3 business car insurance will be necessary.
Commercial vehicle insurance
It is worth noting that business car insurance of any class will not cover you for commercial use of your vehicle. This means that if you are a taxi driver, delivery driver or similar, you will need specialised commercial auto insurance policy.
How to get the cheapest business car insurance policies
In general, commercial car insurance policies will come with higher premiums that standard ones, but there are always ways to keep costs down.
First and foremost, as with any other policy type, your choice of vehicle is important. There are 50 different brackets within which different cars are placed, with the prices going up steadily from group to group based on factors such as engine size.
Another way to reduce premiums is to generally take care of your vehicle in a demonstrable way. This means driving carefully and attentively, and building up a no claims discount, as well as taking extra security measures when leaving your car parked.
The most effective way to ensure you get the lowest prices possible for your business car insurance policy is the shop around online and use an effective, free insurance comparison service like ours you can be certain that you'll find the best deals available.
