Fast Facts on Truck Insurance

I am just starting my own transport business with one vehicle, what Truck Insurances would you recommend?

We do not take the 'one box fits all' approach, after all everyone’s Truck Insurance needs are different.

Before making our Truck Insurance recommendations we need to understand your business in order to ascertain your needs.

The Truck Insurance cover you require depends on many different factors.

This includes your own circumstances, the type of work you do, type of truck you operate, nature of goods you carry, if you employ other drivers, etc.

As a guide to Truck Insurance you will need;

Commercial Vehicle Truck Insurance which includes trailer cover (where applicable)
Goods in Transit Insurance
Public Liability Insurance
Employers liability Insurance (if you have employees)
Legal Expenses cover

Other recommendations include:

Accident & Sickness Insurance cover
Vehicle Breakdown Insurance cover
Loss of Use Insurance
Continental Medical Expenses Insurance cover - (if you are involved in regular continental work)

How do I decide what level of goods in transit insurance I need?

You need to arrange insurance cover which meets the extent of your financial liability to your customer. In other words the amount you would become financial responsible to your customer for in the event of a loss.

This could be for the full value of the goods carried, this cover is known as `All Risks' or `Full Responsibility'.This insurance cover is often arranged by carriers of lower value goods such as quarry materials, building construction materials, tipper work.

Specialist carriers of high value goods such as Plant, Machinery, Cars, Boats, Portable Buildings etc. often also require this cover.

The alternative is to adopt conditions of carriage such as RHA (Road Haulage Association) or FTA (Freight Transport Association) Conditions of carriage which restrict your financial responsibility to your customer to an agreed amount per tonne.

This protects you from unknowingly being underinsured as the actual value of goods is not relevant from the carrier’s point of view. They are most often adopted by carriers of general goods within the UK.

For international movements of goods by road CMR cover applies, even if you are only involved in the UK leg of the journey.

What are the advantages of dealing with Ratcliffe's?

We understand the transport industry; we understand your needs.This is so important when arranging Truck Insurance cover - After all how can you be sure that you are getting the right cover, if you’ve only been quoted a price?

We are confident that not only will our price for Truck Insurance be competitive but more importantly cover will be tailored to meet your needs.

We offer comprehensive customer service through the policy year, backed up by our own dedicated claims department.