Fleet insurance is a way of insuring several vehicles under one vehicle insurance policy. It may be a private fleet insurance such as that in which all cars in a family are covered, or it can be a commercial fleet insurance under which company car fleet, taxi fleet, or minibus fleet may be covered.
The words fleet insurance is not confined to merely cars, or buses. It includes fleets of other motor vehicles such as motorboat fleets, car fleets, minibus fleets, bus fleets, truck fleets, and even aircraft fleets. Like any other auto insurance, fleet insurances cover incidents such as thefts, accidents, repairs, and damages or losses due to any natural calamity.
There are economies of scale to be achieved in this. For example, security devices that may be installed at the garage doors can prevent theft of as many vehicles as can be accommodated in the garage. Therefore, fresh installations are not necessary to get the required discounts on vehicle insurances or fleet insurances. This can bring down insurance costs by almost 50 percent!
In addition to saving monies on security installations, time taken to insure each vehicle one at a time is reduced. Commercial fleet insurance offer an additional advantage when claims are made. Unlike in case of private fleet insurance or private car insurance, the insurance provider understands that the business would have hired drivers, and also that vehicles being used for the business would be going to different places. Therefore, relevant questions will not be asked in case of commercial fleet insurance.
Another advantage of fleet insurance stems from driver's history. Under normal circumstances, driver's record about driving lapses is considered before arriving at the exact premium to be paid for purchase of any vehicle insurance. This aspect continues in case of private fleet insurance. However, when it comes to commercial fleet insurance, in most cases, this is not considered as a crucial point as it is not guaranteed that the drivers whose records have been examined and considered for determining the premium will continue working with the same business enterprise.
Many fleet insurance providers offer courtesy cars, or standby cars, if the fleet owner's vehicle needs to be sent for repair to any approved repairing workshop. Premium also varies as per the vehicle's make, age, and condition. Other things to look out for when taking fleet insurance are whether it covers costs relating to hazardous goods incidents, medical expenses, vehicle repair/vehicle replacement, detached trailer, unlimited usage of vehicles by managers and directors, loss of any equipment or personal possessions, loss of goods in transit, windscreen replacement following some damage, etc.
Since there are no fixed timings for making claims, it is necessary to check whether claims assistance is available round the clock. Some fleet insurance policies seem cheaper but that may be because they essentially cover the fleet of vehicles when the vehicles are in a particular city, State, or country. Discounts for using limited number of drivers, and installing advanced safety equipments should also be possible. Business enterprises solely dependent on fleets can also ask for business breakdown coverage.
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