We have over 20 years’ experience in this area. Unlike most brokers, who usually have access to around 30 insurers, we have access to around 130 insurers, Lloyds’ syndicates and managing agents. Each of our clients is allocated to an experienced and dedicated account handler so you are always treated as a person, not a number.
We can arrange insurance for single vehicles or fleets of any size for private hire, public hire, contract work, express and stage carriages, overseas travel, charities, societies and other organisations.
The usual definition of a minibus is a vehicle with 9-17 seats, buses and coaches 18+ seats and can be single or double decker. Vehicles with less than 9 seats can generally be accommodated in a fleet policy but for single vehicles best dealt with as a car or light commercial vehicle.
Keeping your vehicle(s) on the road and earning their keep is vitally important, so an insurer with a responsive claims service is key. We simply will not deal with insurers whose claims service is not up to scratch.
In addition to cover for damage to your vehicle – including fire and theft, windscreen and other glass, the next important area of cover is liability in various forms:
- Passenger liability – your customers need to know that they will be looked after in the event of being injured or having their property damaged;
- Third party liability – the minimum insurance cover for using public roads to pay for damage to people and property;
- Employers’ liability – if you employ anyone – even on a casual or voluntary basis – you are legally required to have Employers’ Liability insurance. In addition to drivers, you have to consider tour guides, escorts, office staff, mechanics, cleaners and so on. In addition to the care of employees on your premises, on/in your vehicles, you are also responsible for them if they work from home or travelling to and from work;
- Public liability – if you or your employees are on someone else’ property, you can cause injury or damage. One client was in a business meeting, had left his briefcase on the floor which someone tripped over, causing a quite serious head injury;
- Products liability – if you provide food or drink, you can be liable for injury or illness, even when you provide pre-packaged items. In this situation, you are the retailer and therefore the first port of call for any claim. Eventually, it may pass on to the wholesaler or manufacturer but not before costing you considerable time and effort;
- Directors & Officers liability (sometimes called management liability) – the days of being able to claim limited liability are gone and company directors can be sued by any number of parties including staff, customers, shareholders, creditors and a wide range of Government agencies such as HMRC, HSE, VOSA etc.;
- Tour operator’s liability – is designed to defend tour operators if they are accused of failing to supply what the customer was expecting, or if something goes wrong on the trip for which the traveller holds you responsible. A good tour operator’s policy will combine professional indemnity with public liability, so claims for errors and financial losses can be covered as well as claims for injury, illness or damage;
In the event of an incident causing damage to your vehicle, there will be expenses which are not covered by the vehicle insurance including policy excess, loss of earnings, personal injury to staff and so on. Whilst there are any number of claims management companies who will clamour for your business once they get wind of an accident having happened, they will generally charge anything up to 30% of any award – that’s your money – our recommendation is a Before The Event legal expenses policy which immediately puts your claim into the hands of qualified and experienced solicitors to act on your behalf at no additional cost.
Any business can be involved in legal issues such as employment disputes, contract matters, tax enquiries and the like so we would also recommend a business legal expenses policy. These policies also include valuable free telephone helplines on a variety of legal and financial matters as well as counselling services for you and your staff. This may be of particular value following a serious accident.
For advice and quotations, please contact us on 01442 242400 or via our website www.aicinsure.co.uk