Car Transporter Insurance

What is car transporter insurance?

Car transporter insurance is a form of motor trade insurance for businesses that transport cars, vans or provide other vehicle delivery services. It is commonly known as vehicle transporter insurance.

The policy is built to protect you from incidents during loading and unloading, as well as loss or damage that occurs while vehicles are in transit. Having the right liability cover in place can be critically important if an accident happens while you are moving a customer's vehicle.

Every transporter business faces different challenges, so your insurance needs will differ too. That is why it helps to speak to a specialist insurer, who can tailor a motor trade policy to your business and advise on the types of cover you may need.

Who needs vehicle transporter insurance?

Anyone who moves other people's vehicles as a business needs vehicle transporter insurance, whether you deliver cars for dealers, collect vans for customers or run a national haulage operation. It applies from part-time motor traders through to large companies.

Car transporter insurance is specifically for transporting vehicles. If you deliver parcels or packages using a company vehicle or your own car, you need courier insurance instead, which can be combined with goods in transit cover for a more complete policy.

What does car transporter insurance cover?

A car transporter policy usually combines road risk, goods in transit and employers' liability cover, although each policy varies from business to business.

• Road risk cover: every vehicle on public roads must have road risk insurance. A road risk policy for car transporters should include cover to drive your customers' cars, which is necessary even if you only drive them to load them onto your transporter.
• Goods in transit cover: designed to cover damage caused to vehicles while you are transporting them.
• Employers' liability insurance: a legal requirement for many businesses. You may be required to hold a minimum of £5,000,000 of cover.

If you are unsure which cover you need, complete the quote form and a car transporter insurance specialist can give you no-obligation advice.

What additional cover can I add to protect my business?

Beyond the core transporter policy, you can add business premises cover, public liability and other covers depending on how your business operates.

• Business premises cover: protects against damage to your premises, such as fire or flood, and can be tailored to include contents like IT equipment and furniture.
• Public liability: covers your business if it harms or has a negative impact on someone else. It suits sole traders as well as small, medium and large companies.

Other covers you may need include business interruption insurance and cover for hauling vehicles abroad.

What is not covered by car transporter insurance?

Car transporter insurance does not cover delivering parcels or packages, which needs a separate courier policy. It is also not a substitute for the other business covers listed above, so damage to your premises, claims from the public or losses from business interruption are only covered if you add those sections to your policy.

Because each policy is tailored to the business, what is and is not included will depend on the cover you agree with your insurer. Check the policy wording so you know exactly what your transporter policy protects.

Is employers' liability insurance a legal requirement for car transporters?

Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement for many businesses, so if your transporter business employs staff you will usually need it. You may be required to hold a minimum of £5,000,000 of employers' liability cover.

Road risk insurance is also compulsory for every vehicle you use on public roads, and for a transporter that must extend to driving customers' vehicles while loading and unloading them.

How much does car transporter insurance cost and what affects the price?

There is no set price for car transporter insurance. Hauling cars and other vehicles is risky and claims can be costly, so pricing reflects the level of risk in your business. The most accurate way to find out what you will pay is to compare quotes.

Factors that push the price up or down include:

• Age of named drivers: motor trade policies for people under 25 tend to be harder to arrange and more expensive, as young drivers are considered higher risk.
• Experience: traders new to the industry pay more than those with more experience.
• Claims history: building up a no-claims bonus should bring your price down each year.
• Payment method: paying annually avoids the interest charges that come with monthly payments.
• Shopping around: insurers are known for offering their best deals to new customers, so it pays to compare rather than auto-renew.

How do I compare car transporter insurance quotes?

Complete one short form with details about you and your business, and specialist motor trade insurers on our panel will contact you with quotes tailored to your transporter business. You compare the quotes and buy from the insurer you prefer.

This saves you going from broker to broker and repeating your details each time. The comparison service covers part-time motor traders through to national businesses, and the same service is available to other motor trade businesses including car valeters, vehicle sales, MOT garages, mechanics, scrap dealers and tyre fitters.