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1: Will the cover fit your fleet?
There are a number of breakdown cover types available and not many of these may be well suited for your fleet. Vehicle weight, size and elevation can all be considered a factor, particularly if European cover is necessary, and some cover is tailored to a particular kind of vehicle, such as minibuses, motorcycles and HGVs. It is vital to discover a break down cover provider who can reply quickly with appropriate resources in case of an incident.
Breakdown cover – is it the same as roadside assistance
2: What are your vehicles used for?
If you’re running a fleet of specialist vehicles such as courier vehicles, ambulances, ice cream vans or taxis, consider cover that is specially developed to meet your requirements.
3: Basic cover v. thorough?
Depending on your small business policy, you may well be seeking to cover your fleet as cost effectively as possible or conversely you may well be under great pressure to set up the cover with all the great features! The right cover for your vehicles will depend greatly on lots of factors: what lengths from foundation are they travelling? Where are they garaged – using one site or at the drivers’ homes overnight? Will they be travelling beyond your UK? Removing services you don’t need can help lower costs without leaving your drivers or vehicles stranded when they want assistance.
4: How will you tell if the malfunction cover will live up to the hype?
With a plethora of breakdown cover options available, it could be difficult to determine how good the cover actually is – customer service, speed of roadside response and roadside fix rate are all areas that can make the difference between an excellent, satisfactory or disappointing service. You will discover independent and purpose measures of break down cover quality – whether via consumer companies (such as Which?), industry and company awards, assessment websites or communal media recommendations. It really is well worth checking a number of sources prior to making your final choice.
5: Can you be eligible for any special discounts?
Most breakdown cover providers have preparations with specific trade organisations and business associations, offering preferential rates on malfunction cover as a benefit of membership. If your company is a member of an trade association, talk with them if they have such a design in place – or consider learning to be a member. Occasionally the malfunction cover savings can actually offset the price of the membership.
6: Would you benefit from ‘whole fleet’ offers?
Some breakdown cover policies will help you to add optional extras such as European cover or parts and labour cover to all of your fleet at a minimal ‘per vehicle’ cost. That is a cost-effective way of taking care of additional cover where you might not exactly know beforehand which vehicles may necessitate these services.
7: Do you have a rapidly changing fleet?
If you think you may regularly need to include or replace vehicles during the course of your malfunction cover period, it’s well worth checking with malfunction providers if they apply any constraints to amendments that may be made, or whether there is a demand for vehicle substitutions. You may even want to consider setting up a primary Debit power to facilitate easier and more convenient repayment of pro-rata fees through the term of cover.
8: Consider buying online.
Break down cover providers often offer special introductory bargains to online clients – and unlike buying over the phone, you can go for and pay for your cover online 24 hours a day, 365 days per annum.
9: Check all the facts!
Unless you are purchasing your breakdown cover on the ‘pay-for-use’ basis, it will be controlled by the Financial Conduct Authority just as as any other insurance coverage. This is good news for business customers as you will reap the benefits of statutory safety if something will go wrong. This includes a 14 day ‘cooling off period’ if you change your mind after purchasing cover, a committed action to provision of full conditions and conditions of cover, and rigid rules around reaction to complaints. Be sure you keep all of your insurance plan documentation in a safe place in case of any queries.
10: What about the future?
As technology brings new advancements to the malfunction cover marketplace, consider additional services either within the malfunction deal or as a bolt-on. Smartphone apps, Gps device live-time monitoring, telematics, online accounts management and in-cab entertainment for recovery vehicles could all become a fundamental element of the malfunction cover offering in the approaching years. Check when purchasing if you can benefit from these improvements, either now or soon.
