Car insurance is a topic that any vehicle owner knows quite well. However, when you have a company where cars or other types of company vehicles are used, they carry special insurance, called company car insurance.
But what are those insurance? What types are there? How can they be calculated? Are there more advantages than with normal car insurance? We explain it to you below.
What is company car insurance
In general, company car insurance is a way to protect that vehicle that has a professional use, that is, it is used to perform a job. It is not the same as a private insurance, for example the one you have on your car or motorcycle, because you do not use it for work, but for travel, leisure ... in other words, personal use.
This type of insurance has different conditions than those known and also different requirements That will depend on the type that is chosen (since there are several options). But before talking about the types of car insurance for companies, you should know what kind of vehicles can be insured with this. In general, you can make sure:
- For company cars. That is, for passenger cars that your employees or company managers use to be able to do the job. Here you can also include vans or trucks because they are vehicles used for delivery, transport, technical service ...
- For machinery. We are talking about machinery vehicles, which can also have insurance.
- In trucks and heavy vehicles. They are vehicles that, due to their conditions, require more specific insurance for them.
- In fleets. Finally, you have company car insurance for "fleets", understanding as such a large number of vehicles in the company. For example, in a bus company, they may have many to cover the different routes.
Types of company car insurance
Within the insurance modalities for company cars, we find two types:
Insurance by fleet
They are one of the options most chosen by companies since it is characterized by encompassing all the company's vehicles in a single contract. In this way, a type of insurance based on coverage is chosen, being able to opt for third party, extended third party or full risk insurance.
And what coverage are the most common? Well, they can be windows, theft, fire ... The truth is that companies are given great flexibility because what it is about is to create an insurance that covers the needs of each vehicle.
As a peculiarity, is that all vehicle policyholders must be assured, that is, to all who can use it at some point. Even in the fleets of car rental companies the same is done.
Different insurance of the same fleet
Another option among the types of insurance for companies is to insure each vehicle according to its use. They would be within the same fleet, but each would have its own conditions and coverage.
Es very similar to individual insurance, but with certain advantages, especially if it is a high number of vehicles to be insured. Of course, in many cases both the policyholder and the owner of the insurance are the same "person", and may be in the name of the company.
How to calculate car insurance
Before, to calculate the car insurance in an insurer, you had to go to an office so that they would comment on the different options, coverages and make you an approximation of the cost of that insurance. However, new technologies have made it possible to leave this behind and get you to carry out the process yourself.
To do it, you have to enter the website of the insurer that interests you and they will have a form or a section in which, through a few steps where you determine the type of insurance you want, vehicle and coverage, they will give you a final result (sometimes on the screen, other times in your email) with the estimated price. For example, car insurance can be calculated here.
What others do is call you by phone to advise you and see if you are interested in insurance. In those cases, they can sometimes improve the price they have given you online, or they are more flexible. In any case, this calculation is provisional, since later you can assess whether or not to include more coverage and, thus, have a more complete car insurance.
Benefits of company vehicle insurance
Considering having company car insurance, whether it is fleet or not, can lead to certain benefits for the company. And it is not the same to insure a single car than to do it to 20 vehicles. Insurers tend to offer significant savings for the number of insurances to be contracted, sometimes up to 40% or more on the price and depending on the coverage that is contracted.
- They can have as many coverages as individual insurance; or have more coverage because the use that is given to a private car is not the same as a company car.
- Insurance is more flexible. A company insurance is more flexible because it adapts to the characteristics of the business, the number of vehicles and the conditions it must have (if there is insurance for different drivers, roadside assistance, replacement vehicle ...).
- Procedures are streamlined. Companies don't usually do just one company car insurance; do several. And the management is carried out, with exceptions, in a single policy.
- They can be contracted online. Goodbye to having to take time to go to an office; now you can get them online and manage everything.
- Insured repairs. They make workshops of the brand available to their insured, or to the insurance company itself, in such a way that, if there are problems with the vehicle, they go to specialized workshops with original spare parts.
Don't you think it's worth finding out about company car insurance and starting to save?