Truck Insurance

A truck insurance policy, also known as a haulage insurance policy, is specifically designed for any business that uses trucks and other HGVs. It is often made up of various sections of cover and is usually categorised depending on the amount of trucks or HGVs that need to be added to the motor section of the policy. The truck insurance policies offered by Towergate are for companies or individuals running between one and five trucks of 7.5T or over.

Our panel of trusted insurers and ‘buy-right’ experts will ensure that you have the right level of cover for your specific needs. This way, you can focus on what is most important to you – running your business (while we protect it).

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.

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.

Our truck insurance policies are 'multi section', made up of various sections of cover . This enables you to choose exactly which sections you require. We offer a wide variety of insurance covers, all designed to meet the needs of a commercial vehicle operator, including motor fleet insurance; commercial motor insurance; goods-in-transit cover; employers' and public liability insurance; and personal accident and sickness insurance.

It's completely up to you. It depends on the nature of your business and your attitude to risk. Some sections of cover, such as motor insurance and employers’ liability insurance, are mandatory by law. Others are optional, such as personal accident and goods in transit. If you are unsure which products are right for you, our staff specialise in commercial vehicle insurances, so please don't hesitate to contact us.

Yes, you can. We even have a number of clients running vehicles up to 200T GVW! We pride ourselves on our ability to insure a wide array of trucks, lorries and HGVs and are one of the few companies in the UK who specialise in the heavy haulage market. Speak to one of our truck insurance advisers more information.

Yes. Employers' liability cover was made mandatory in the UK by the Employer's Liability Compulsory Insurance Act 1969, even if you only use an employee occasionally on a temporary basis. Employers’ liability insurance is available under the 'combined liability' section of our policies.

Yes. At Towergate, we know starting up any new business can be expensive and insurance cover can be a big part of the set-up costs, particularly for a new haulage company.

That's why we provide several discounts for new venture companies, including a maximum no-claims discount available for companies using drivers with a history of claim-free driving. Even if this isn't the case, we can still offer an up to two years' introductory discount.

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’.

• 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

Risk management tools can be a great way of bringing your premium down and cameras are a great example of this. Because cameras can be used to both defend your liability in the event of an accident and pick up fraudulent or staged accidents, many insurers are keen for their customers to use them. As such, discounts are available and vary from insurer to insurer, so please speak to us to see how you can benefit.

New legislation requires truck drivers to complete a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC). To qualify, drivers must complete five units of training of at least seven hours per unit. Although drivers do have the option of leaving the five days of training until just before the deadline, we are keen to do everything we can to help truck drivers complete this requirement.

We also know from years of experience that a practical driver training course with a HGV specialist driver trainer can have a significant impact on the number of truck insurance claims made by policyholders - something which helps reduce everybody's premiums in the long term. For this reason, we've arranged discounts for qualifying customers with between one and five trucks of 7.5T or over to take one unit of CPC driver training every three years. Additional practical or classroom courses can also be purchased via our sales team at any point during the year.

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.