Minibus Insurance Buyer's Guide

Do I need minibus insurance?

Getting the best minibus insurance for your business’ needs is vital, so you can concentrate on running your organisation successfully. Similarly, if you are using a minibus for a charitable, voluntary or community purpose such as schools, nurseries, church groups, charities and sports clubs, you want the peace of mind minibus insurance provides you.

There are many potential areas where you need to have specialist cover to ensure you are protected, such as:

• Accident management for your minibus – if you have a claim whilst on a minibus operating contract you need to ensure the vehicle and occupants are recovered to a safe location, and the accident reported swiftly to your insurer.
• Minibus breakdown cover – As a minibus operator it is vital that should you break down you can get you and your vehicle as well as any passengers to a safe location.
• Public liability insurance for minibuses – When dealing with members of the public it is important to consider public liability cover. Should you accidently damage property or injure a member of the public during your minibus operations you need to be protected against claims.
• Glass cover for your minibus – With minibuses having more windows than the average vehicle, having glass cover through taking a comprehensive policy could save you time and money should your vehicle be vandalised or have a cracked windscreen.

What does minibus insurance cover?

Minibus insurance is specialist cover designed to be flexible and to meet the demands of a busy operator.

The exact details of cover will depend on the policy, but typical features of a minibus insurance policy might include the below:

• Comprehensive or third-party, fire and theft (TPFT) minibus insurance
• Protected no-claims bonus
• 24-hour claims service
• Trailer cover
• Public liability insurance, with between £1 million and £10 million available
• Breakdown cover
• Legal expenses and replacement vehicle cover - a replacement vehicle can be arranged for claims that are not your fault
• Legal expenses and accident management
• Cover for minibuses up to 25 years old

Other additional aspects might include:

• Cover for previously banned and previously convicted drivers
• Cover for special types of minibus, such as those modified for persons of reduced mobility
• Multi-vehicle cover
• Payments in instalments to help spread the cost
• Uninsured loss recovery to cover your out-of-pocket costs

Minibus insurance for drivers

With comprehensive minibus insurance, as a driver you can claim from your insurer for accidents that are deemed to be your fault. It also applies when fault can’t be proven, for example if you return to your minibus after parking in a car park to find that someone has hit you and driven off.

Without comprehensive cover, you risk having to pay out for potentially expensive repairs yourself. A comprehensive policy gives you that added level of cover and importantly peace of mind that you won’t have to pay for expensive repairs – just your compulsory and voluntary excess.

Minibus insurance exclusions

Minibus insurance is usually designed for vehicles with between 9 and 17 seats. For smaller vehicles standard vehicle insurance is a better choice, and if you have more than 17 seats coach insurance will be more suitable.

Other common exclusions for vehicle insurance may also apply, such as:

• The minibus being damaged or stolen due to the keys being left in the ignition or the vehicle left outdoors during the hours of darkness
• Using the minibus for purposes other than included in the insurance
• Losing the keys

Minibus insurance from Towergate

Whether you are starting out in business or you’re an established operator with a fleet of minibuses, you can be confident that in choosing minibus insurance from Towergate, one of the UK’s leading commercial vehicle insurance providers and the 2019 winners of the UK Commercial Broker of the Year at The British Insurance Awards.

Our minibus insurance is designed to understand your industry and the risks involved, but also the subtle differences from one business to another, and access to the leading markets means that we can find tailored and specialist policies to suit your needs.

Designed for one or more vehicles with between 9 and 17 seats, our minibus insurance can cover all under one policy, with one set of paperwork. If you run a fleet and want to add or remove vehicles, simply give us a call and we can usually make the amendment the same day. 

Call us on 01603 753 880 or request a quote online. 

About the author

Chris North FCII is a respected industry leader with over 40 years' experience, who has worked in the insurance industry in a variety of roles, accumulating a wealth of knowledge. He is currently Technical Manager for Towergate's motor division, providing expertise on all matters relating to motor fleet insurance, in particular haulage and self-drive hire fleets.