Ways To Help Lower Courier Insurance

Courier businesses should give serious consideration to having both their vehicle insurance and their courier business insurance, such as Goods in Transit, Public Liability insurance and Employer’s Liability, all provided by the same insurance company.

Not only will they be able to negotiate better and possibly lower insurance premiums, having one insurance company can save a lot of administration time and manpower as there will only be one company and renewal date to deal with.

Many insurers who specialise in courier insurance are offering some very competitive deals for new business ventures for the first year of a policy. The usual no claims discounts held by drivers and those over the ’age’ thresh hold set by the insurance companies can also help to lower the costs and save you money.

The ‘age’ thresh hold is generally 21yrs, but this can and does vary between insurers, some have an young driver age limit of 25yrs.

The courier insurance market is a competitive place, as such the insurers are offering to beat like-for-like quotes which you may receive from their competitors. The best advice is to shop around to find a great insurance deals which meets your courier business needs from companies who specialise in this type of insurance.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that cheap is best – read the small print, terms and conditions to ensure the quotes you receive meet your needs, if you are in doubt or have questions use the free phone numbers or ring back service to ask before you make a commitment and part with any money.

Clarkson Fails Twice!

The recent TV showing of Jeremy Clarkson taking a scooter driving test in Vietnam has hilarious! Not only did he look extremely uncomfortable perched on the scooter he just couldn’t keep within the white lines on the figure of eight and failed the test! However, in Vietnam you are allowed to re-take the driving test straight away and yet again Clarkson managed to fail much to the amusement of his colleagues!

If only the motor bike driving test was that simple in the UK or maybe not? Although there are quite literally thousands of scooters driven by people from all walks of live in Vietnam their road conditions, rules and regulations are very different to the UK.

The number of mopeds being driven around UK towns has increased due to many fast food outlets offering home deliveries. The vast majority of the drivers are running on L plates and many have few or little driving skills or experience as anyone who has either followed or been subjected to their near side over taking will fully appreciate!

Business which offer home deliveries will however be able to take full advantage of low cost insurance premiums if they have numerous delivery mopeds. They only down side is that as many of the delivery personnel are very young their age may mean higher costs, so it can be a bit of a ’catch twenty-two situation.

The easiest way to find cheap courier or fleet insurance to go online and carry out some simple researches to find insurance companies who offer insurance to meet business needs at the most competitive prices.

AA meeting With Treasury

The AA are meeting with ministers from the Treasury to try and delay a fuel price increase. Next month the fuel duty is set to increase by 2p pet litre, and the Automobile Association feels that with recent financial difficulties now is not the right time.

Originally the 2p price increase was meant to take place this time last year, yet the oil price increases at that time meant that the price of fuel was already at record highs.

Even the experts are confused as to why prices remain so high. Petrol costs over 90p a litre and yet crude oil is $45 a barrel. The last time petrol was this price oil was over $68, so why hasn’t the price dropped significantly? Instead the government are seeking to raise prices even further.

The president of the AA warns the government that they should consider that drivers are under threat of serious financial difficulties due to the credit crunch already. With further increases small businesses that rely on a lot of petrol will be severely affected.

For a courier company the price of fuel can really make a large impact on expenditure. Even increases of 0.1p soon mount up to a company using hundreds of litres of fuel every day.

The problem faced by courier companies is that all of these expenditures soon add up, especially when combined with the cost of new vehicles, maintenance, and courier insurance. A small increase on each of these things, as we are seeing, really strains companies during the credit crunch.

Used Van Prices Continuing To Rise

With used van prices continuing to rise, the cost of maintaining and running a courier company is not getting any cheaper. As all costs increase, it is becoming difficult for some courier companies to break even each month, let alone make a profit.

This is of course in part due to the current economic crisis caused by the recession. With so many people unable to afford new vehicles, there is a shortage of used models in supply.

Evidently this is also having a major impact on the manufacturers, with so many companies going out of business or seeking major bailouts from the government. Some companies are looking to their work force to keep themselves afloat.

Ford have recently signed an agreement deal with its workers, including freezing their wages, eliminating the cost of living increases they receive as well as paid holidays and bonuses.

This deal was negotiated with the United Auto Workers Union, and is aimed to help Ford be able to keep competitive prices on their vehicles. As such it is not surprising that some of the best selling vehicles are Ford Fiestas vans, Connects and Transits.

Other motor vehicle companies are also now expected to make similar agreements with the UAW in the near future, which should hopefully have an impact in the future.

However with everyone hanging on to their older vehicles longer, this means that the prices of second hand vehicles will continue to remain stable. This has a knock on effect, causing the price of courier insurance on vans to remain the same rather than fall for the foreseeable future.

Spare a Thought For Courier drivers

Spare a thought for courier drivers during the treacherous weather conditions.

They may be having enough trouble getting to the destinations safely only to find that pathways have not been cleared and are potential skating rinks! Some members of the public take it upon themselves to clear their own paths, however, extra care should still be taken as black ice may still pose a problem when delivering to people’s front doors!

Drivers may also be wise to check that their employers have included Employer’s Liability cover with their  courier insurance policy. Employers have a legal responsibility to protect their workforce while they are carrying out their normal working duties. If you are unsure as to what is included, the terms and conditions involved in Employers Liability insurance speak with your employer to see where you stand.

You should also check whether the courier insurance is third party only or comprehensive. Third party insurance does not provide cover if an accident was caused by you. This may be an unavoidable situation id you start to skid on snow or ice. Despatch riders are also included on courier insurance, so they need to be sure of their or their employers insurance cover.

The Met office are forecasting more heavy snow fall over parts of the UK today. Combined with freezing overnight temperatures road conditions are going to cause major problems, particularly on any side roads which have not been gritted. This cold snap is thought to be lasting for a few more days at the very least.

Christmas Couriers

In the lead up to Christmas courier companies are cramming as many deliveries as they can in order to take advantage of the increase in Internet shopping.

Despite reports earlier in the year informing and advising courier drivers that towing a trailer means that most vans will then exceed the Gross Ton Weight making them illegal to drive on the UK roads, the number of van couriers using trailers is on the increase.

What is probably even more scary is that these courier vans are breaking the law on two other counts. Driving while towing a trailer requires the driver to have the correct driving license. It’s doubtful that many of them actually do have this. Driving without the correct type of license and being overweight will also mean that their van courier insurance will be invalid. Therefore if the parcels are lost, stolen or damaged they will not necessarily be covered.

There are estimated to already be over two million uninsured drivers on UK roads, vans towing trailers illegally will further add to the figures.

It may well be that in order to turn a profit before the end of the year these courier vans are prepared to take the risk of being caught rather than lose out on business, but at what cost if the get caught? Or are the courier van drivers blissfully unaware that they are breaking the law particularly if they are employed by a courier service which has a fleet courier van insurance and are given reassurance by their employers that ‘everything is covered‘?

Company Logos Can Reduce Insurance Costs

There seems to some myths associated with courier drivers, with some insurance companies not offering appropriate cover or even a policy as they feel that courier drivers are too great a risk. The fact that hours spent behind the wheel in all weathers and road conditions can make courier drivers experienced and far more diligent than many car users in my opinion.

You know how it is, courier drivers are often blamed for reckless driving and weaving in and out of traffic, especially if the courier is on a motor bike. Fast courier services are a key factor for some companies to maintain their reputation and meet client needs. Drivers of courier vehicles are equally frustrated by those who think they are driving safely and yet are potentially far more of a risk due to lack of experience and improper road use.

Motorway driving terrifies some less experienced drivers and they have a tendency to dodder and dither about making them a potential hazard. Those who just ‘love’ the centre lane of the motorway are my greatest frustration, too terrified to go into the outside lane to overtake, they toddle along doing about 50mph and believe they are driving safely!

Accidents do happen, so having a the right courier insurance is essential. Public Liability Insurance is a must, as is insurance for the goods you are carrying, breakdown cover, windscreens are often included with the policy or can be an optional extra. Simple measures like having a company logo on the vehicle can help reduce the premiums and many insurers are offering payment by monthly instalments to help spread the cost.

Face the Facts

With the marked increase in people using the Internet to do their Christmas shopping there is a real opportunity to earn extra income as a courier, however, you will need to make sure that you set up a legitimate business and have the right type of insurance cover. Many people are unaware about the different type of insurance needed when using a vehicle as a courier.

Unlike ‘carriage of own goods’ those who are transporting goods for a third party and being rewarded or paid will need to have a courier insurance policy which covers multiple drops and the goods.

The incorrect insurance can be a very costly error on your part, cheap courier insurance policies are readily available, but bare in mind that there are some insurance companies who appear to offer a real bargain until you make a claim, you may then find out the hard way that many aspects such as windscreen cover is not included, neither will you be covered if you leave the keys in the ignition or vehicle and as a consequence it is stolen.

It may sound rather daft that people are still leaving keys in the ignition despite all the warnings and advice, however, it is all too simple to overlook when you are in a hurry and jumping in and out of your vehicle frequently. Let’s face most of us are convinced that theft will never happen to us right under our noses, the sad truth is that it only takes one incident to become a statistic and with a vehicle full of Christmas goodies your vehicle might escape theft but the contents may not.

Accidents do Happen

Historically courier insurance has been an area of insurance which was seen as second-rate and many insurers would not give consideration to such enquiries, with the dramatic increase in courier services providing reliable and timely deliveries many businesses are electing to use couriers rather than the Royal Mail.

Finding the cheapest and most competitive courier insurance is relatively simple with the influx of on-line insurance companies and brokers, however, courier service insurance in the UK is regulated by the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA), therefore you should make sure where the insurance company is based otherwise the insurance policy they offer may not meet the UK regulations and when you make a claim you may find that your insurance doesn’t cover you, which can potentially mean disaster for you and your company.

Some excellent cheap courier insurance deals are available on-line and to save you time many brokers will do the ‘leg work’ for you to find the most competitive price to meet your needs making your life even easier. Goods in Transit, parcels and packages and even insurance for undisclosed package content is widely available for all types of courier vans, dispatch riders and motor bikes.

With Christmas courier deliveries expecting to rise sharply over the next few weeks making sure you have the right courier insurance may seem like a huge expense, but at the end of the day accidents and incidents do happen, spreading the cost of your courier insurance by opting for monthly installments rather than compromising on the amount of insurance cover is a far better option in my opinion.

Careful Driving May Help Reduce Courier Insurance

Gordon Brown

The UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has at last admitted that we’d all like to see fuel prices drop as fast as they rise when the price of oil falls. It must be said that the pump prices are slowly showing a reduction and not before time in my opinion, the cost of a barrel of oil has been falling steadily over recent months and therefore so should the price of fuel at the pumps!

Courier services have been using a number of different tactics such as looking at low emission vehicles and asking their drivers to drive responsibly to reduce the risk of accidents and damage to their vehicles to help reduce both fuel and repair costs.

Careful driving and less insurance claims will also help to reduce the cost of courier insurance to help keep them in business. Courier services which took full advantage of the postal strikes earlier in the year have managed to build on their client base by offering timely and cost effective delivery of all manner of different commercial and consumer goods, this prompt action proved to be so beneficial that clients have remained on their books rather than return to postal services, which can only be a good thing for courier services throughout the UK.

Looking for inexpensive courier insurance cover is simple with the on-line services available, but like most things in life ‘cheap’ is not always the best or right for your courier service, have a look at to see whether your courier insurance includes ‘good in transit’ and offers sufficient insurance for the type of goods you are carrying without huge excesses. Unfortunately many courier companies get caught with inadequate insurance cover simply because they didn’t take time to ask questions and read the small print!