WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
Below you can find our FAQ’s. If you’re still struggling to find the answer that you’re looking for, give us a call on 0121 248 9300 and we will be happy to help.
LIABILITY INSURANCE
1. Do I need liability insurance?
If you employ more than one person, it’s a legal requirement for you to have employer’s liability insurance. Public liability insurance isn’t a legal requirement, but it’s sensible to protect your business against potential claims from members of the public, and can easily be provided alongside employer’s liability insurance in a combined liability insurance policy.
2. What is public liability insurance?
Public liability insurance covers your business for the cost of compensation claims, legal expenses, costs of repairs, and medical fees, in the event that a member of the public is injured or suffers a loss as a result of your business activities. It can cover incidents on your business premises, at a customer’s premises, or elsewhere.
3. What is employer's liability insurance?
Employer’s liability insurance is designed to protect your business against compensation costs should any of your employees suffer an illness or injury as a direct result of their employment. This is especially important for anyone working in a mechanical, construction or trade environment where there is an especially high risk or injury.
The law says that as a minimum, your employer’s liability insurance should provide cover for £5 million. Tradesure employer’s liability insurance provides cover for £10 million as standard, with higher rates of cover available.
4. Do I need employer's liability insurance?
It is a legal requirement to have employers’ liability insurance if you employ more than one person. Your business employs people if you:
- Pay someone hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly
- Deduct National Insurance contributions and Income Tax from your employee’s pay
5. What is combined liability insurance?
Commonly a business will take out both public liability insurance and employer’s liability insurance together – this is known as a combined liability policy. Tradesure offer combined liability insurance with additional cover for:
My Policy
1. What no claims bonus (NCB) do you offer?
We can transfer your NCB from a private motor policy, motor trade policy or commercial vehicle policy up to 50% after five years. In the event of one fault claim, only two years’ NCB will be lost.
2. Can I add motorbikes on to my policy?
Most insurers will allow a motorbike to be added to a motor trade policy, as long as you have held a full UK bike licence for at least 12 months. Call us to check this is possible with your policy.
3. Can I pay for my insurance by instalments?
Yes you can. Just ask us about our finance options. |
4. If I have any convictions during my insurance policy, do I notify you?
Yes, you will need to notify us of any criminal or motor convictions as soon as possible. If you do not, this could invalidate your motor trade insurance policy.
5. Can I get immediate cover over the phone?
Yes – we can provide immediate cover over the phone once payment has been set up (or paid in full if you prefer).
6. What happens if I have a claim?
If you need to make a claim, please call our 24 hour helpline on 0121 248 9476
Motor Trade
1. Do I need a motor trade insurance policy?
If you are trading vehicles, buying and selling them on a part-time or full-time basis then you will need a motor trade insurance policy. You’ll also need motor trade insurance if your business involves repairing or servicing other people’s vehicles, or any work where you have a customer’s vehicle in your care, custody or control for the purposes of doing your job. Most likely in these circumstances you will be looking for a road risk policy. With a road risk insurance policy you can test vehicles on the road, collect or deliver a vehicle before and after repairing it, service, valet, MOT test it and carry out other work on the vehicle with the security you are covered in the case of an accident.
2. What types of vehicles can be covered under my motor trade insurance policy?
The vehicles you drive for your business will be covered, and we can cover the private car driven by the policyholder and when driven by the policyholder’s spouse, civil or common law partner when they are a named driver on the policy. Employee vehicles are excluded from the policy.
3. Do I need to tell you about all the vehicles in my possession?
You need to declare all vehicles that are in your care or are sale stock at the start and renewal of your insurance. You are also legally required to tell us about all taxed vehicles used on the road – the only exception being where a vehicle is not held for more than 14 days.
During the course of the policy, any vehicle which you have owned for more than 14 days needs to be declare on the Motor Insurance Database (MID). We can update this for you during office hours, or you can update it yourself online.
4. Are my employees covered for private use or in their own vehicles?
No. Motor trade insurance does not cover an employee’s own vehicle; it is their responsibility to insure their vehicle separately. An employee is only covered to drive vehicles for motor trade use only.
5. Whats the maximum number of vehicles I can insure on a motor trade policy?
There is no restriction on the number of vehicles you can cover, but you will need to tell us the maximum value of any one vehicle. If you drive a vehicle worth more than this you will only be paid out the maximum you declared at the start of your policy. This can be increased at any time during your policy; just give us a call.
6. Am I able to drive the vehicles on my motor trade policy for private use?
No; only your own personal vehicles are covered for social, domestic and pleasure use. Any customer vehicle is for motor trade use only.
7. How much will I be paid if the vehicle is a write-off?
You will be paid the trade price for the vehicle, less the policy excess.
8. Do I need to let you know if there are any changes to my business?
Any changes to your circumstances could affect your policy and premium, so you must contact us to keep us updated on any changes to your business. For example, this could be a change of address, or getting a motoring conviction.
9. What age does a driver need to be to be added to a motor trade policy?
The youngest driver that can take out or be added to a motor trade policy is 25 years of age.
10. Do I need to provide you with a copy of my driver's licence and copies for the named drivers on the policy?
Yes, you will need to provide us with a copy of your driver’s licence and copies of the licenses of any other drivers insured on the policy. You will need to provide proof of the front and back of your photo driver’s licence, as well as a DVLA share code so that we can get a print-out of your driver’s licence and confirm what you are entitled to drive.
11. Will you still insure me if I work part-time in the motor trade but full-time in another occupation?
Yes. A motor trade policy isn’t just applicable for full-time traders. If you are part-time, but able to prove you are running a valid business as a motor trader, we are happy to offer you a motor trade insurance policy. We may also be able to offer you additional business use to cover your main occupation, dependent on what that may be. Give us a call on 0121 248 9300 for more information.
12. Can I let my customers test drive the vehicles before they purchase from me?
Demonstration cover can be included in your policy as an additional option, if requested. A named driver would need to accompany the customer during the test drive.
13. Can I change the level of cover that my motor trade insurance policy provides during the insurance period with you?
Yes you can make changes to the policy at any time.
14. Are the vehicles covered at my home or business premises?
If you work from home, that address is defined as your business premises for cover. A dedicated business premises will require an extra premium for cover.
15. Do I need to tell you if have a new vehicle?
You will need to advise us of any new vehicle within 14 days of purchase so it can be added on the MID. If you update the MID yourself then you do not need to inform us.
16. What is proof of trading?
At any time you could be asked to provide proof of trading to confirm you are running as a motor trader. Proof of trading should be in the form of:
- Copies of purchase invoices and sales receipts for vehicles bought or sold
- Auction House invoices and Auction House Membership
- Proof of joint bank account for business partnerships
- Copies of any invoices and receipts for part or work carried out on any customers vehicles
- Submission of Accounts
CONTINUOUS INSURANCE ENFORCEMENT
1. What is Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE)?
Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) is an additional compliance and enforcement approach to reduce the number of uninsured drivers. Premiums are affects when an uninsured driver has an accident and with this it is extremely important these individuals are stopped.
It is an offence to use a vehicle without insurance. From 2011, it has been an offence to keep a vehicle without motor insurance unless it has been declared as SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification).
Under CIE, the registered keeper of a vehicle will be sent an Insurance Advisory Letter (IAL) if it appears that the vehicle has no insurance. The letter will set out what options the registered keeper can take to comply with CIE. If the registered keeper still fails to comply, their details will automatically be sent to the DVLA for enforcement action.
2. What is the CIE penalty for not having insurance?
If you fail to have the correct cover for a vehicle you will be given a fixed penalty of £100. The vehicle in question may also be seized and even disposed of, whilst the owner could face a court prosecution with a maximum fine of £1,000.
3. Are there any vehicles exempt from CIE?
If a vehicle is between registered keepers or registered as ‘in trade’ with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), it is excluded from continuous insurance enforcement.
Vehicles you keep for your own use are not excluded. Different rules apply for Northern Ireland.
4. I am a motor trader; how does CIE affect me?
Vehicles that are registered as being ‘in trade’ with the DVLA are excluded from CIE. This means that motor traders have up to 90 days before they need to register themselves as the keeper of the vehicles if they haven’t sold them or disposed of them in that time. They will need to ensure by this point that the vehicles are made SORN or insure them.
THE MID
1. What is the Motor Insurance Database (MID)?
The MID is the central record of all insured vehicles in the UK. It is managed by the MIB and is used by the Police and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to enforce motor insurance laws.
2. What is my obligation to register or remove vehicles from the MID, and how do I go about doing this?
You must ensure that the MID is kept up to date. You have 14 days to register vehicles which you must comply to. For more information about the MID click here.
3. Will you update my MID on my behalf? Does this cost anything?
Yes we will and it costs you nothing, although you will only be able to contact us with your updates during office hours. You can also update the MID yourself online.
4. The MID isn't recognising my vehicle details when I update it. Why?
Sometimes the MID struggles with older vehicles due to the documentation. Or if a private plate has been put on recently, the DVLA may not have updated the system at that moment. Feel free to call the team here who will assist.