Motor Trade Road Risk Insurance Explained

A standard motor policy covers a specific vehicle, listed on a schedule, driven by named people. That works fine for your own car, but it does not fit a mechanic who drives dozens of different customer vehicles they do not own.

Motor trade road risk insurance is built for exactly that. It lets you and your authorised drivers legally drive customer vehicles, trade vehicles, and your own business vehicles on public roads, without each one having to be individually listed.

If you road-test a repaired car, collect a vehicle from a customer, deliver a completed job, or move stock between locations, this is the cover that keeps you legal and protected while you do it.

Road risk is usually available at a few levels, so you can match the cover to the value of the vehicles you handle and your appetite for risk.

These two covers are often confused because both involve driving, but they do different jobs. Motor trade road risk covers you to drive a variety of vehicles in the course of your trade, without each vehicle needing its own policy.

A commercial vehicle policy covers a specific vehicle or fleet that your business owns and operates, such as your service van or tow truck. It is tied to those vehicles, not to the act of driving customer cars.

Many motor trade businesses hold both, because they own their own work vehicles and also handle customer vehicles day to day.

One of the most important parts of a road risk policy is who is covered to drive. The scope of drivers is agreed when the policy is set up, so it needs to include everyone who genuinely needs it, principals and authorised employees alike.

Getting this wrong can leave a driver uninsured at the worst possible moment. We can help you work through the driver scope and the vehicle values your business handles so your cover fits how you actually operate.