What is truck insurance?

Truck insurance does much more than simply provide you with protection again loss or damage to your truck, vital though that is; it provides truck operators with the cover that they are legally required to have when driving a vehicle on the road. That legal requirement involves unlimited cover for third-party injury or death, and cover for damage to third-party property for an amount not less than £1.2 million. That's just the minimum level of cover you need to drive a truck, or indeed any vehicle, on the road. In practice, most truck policies provide substantially more protection against third-party property damage than the legal minimum.

Do I need truck insurance?

No matter how many trucks you operate, whether you’re an owner-driver or a fleet operator, you’re going to need truck insurance; not just because it’s a legal requirement, but because your trucks represent a very significant investment that requires protection. Comprehensive cover provides protection against not just injury or damage caused by your truck, but also loss or damage to the truck itself.

What does truck insurance cover?

Cover for loss or damage to your truck and third-party liability cover are the key areas of protection that are normally offered under all truck insurance policies.  Most truck insurance policies also provide a range of other cover extensions.  These may include:

• Use outside the UK
• Personal belongings
• Loss of keys and replacement locks
• Broken windows and windscreens
• Trailers and disabled vehicles
• Audio, visual and communication equipment
• Guidance and tracking equipment
• Medical expenses
• Personal accident

Truck insurance exclusions explained

Care needs to be taken when taking out truck insurance to make sure the cover you are buying is what you need and that there are no exclusions that are detrimental to the cover you need. In addition to exclusions such as war risks, damage or contamination caused by radioactive materials, and terrorism, exclusions under a truck insurance policy typically include:

• Liability arising out of an agreement you have made unless that liability would have arisen regardless of you entering into that agreement.
• Claims relating to a truck being used for a purpose that is secluded on the certificate of insurance.
• Claims involving a driver that is not allowed to drive, such as a driver under 25 years of age where the policy excludes driving by persons under the age of 25.
• Claims involving the driving of a truck by someone who doesn’t hold a valid licence for that type of vehicle.
• Claims involving a vehicle being driven ‘airside’.

Things to consider when choosing your truck insurance policy

When choosing a truck insurance policy, it’s important not to just buy on price, albeit price is always an important consideration.  Look closely at other things too like:

• Making sure the insurer is financially sound and will be there to pay a claim should things go wrong
• Making sure the cover provides the protection you need; that there is no ‘small-print’; that takes away vital protection
• Whether your broker has been recommended to you and is a truck insurance expert meaning you can rely on the advice they give
• What sort of service you can expect from your broker and insurer should you need to make a claim

How much does truck insurance cost?

Truck insurance can be a substantial sum of money. Exactly how much each operator has to pay varies from insurer to insurer and depends on a variety of factors. These may include:

• Whether any of your trucks are of exceptional value
• Where your trucks are driven and whether they go abroad
• The nature of your business activities and whether you ever visit hazardous sites or carry hazardous loads
• The profile of your drivers in terms of age and experience, and accident and conviction history
• Whether you have telematics devices or camera systems deployed actively to monitor and improve driving style and behaviour

A haulier running up to five vehicles will usually see their trucks rated individually. Above that number of trucks, policies tend to be fleet-rated, whereby the premium depends significantly on past claims experience across your truck fleet.

This is a marketing article by Towergate Insurance.

Truck insurance from Towergate

We can offer tailored truck insurance with a series of options for drivers of single trucks or hauliers with fleets of up to five HGVs. Our cover ensures you have the right cover in place within a single policy, with no truck too big or too small. We can cover any truck ranging in size from 3.5t vehicles right through to trucks used to move abnormal loads.

Call for a quote on 0344 346 1418 or request a quote online. Alternatively, read more about our truck insurance and what we cover.

For larger vehicle fleets, we also offer fleet insurance.

All cover is subject to normal underwriting terms and conditions.

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.