For businesspeople just setting up in the motor trade, or those who just want to consolidate all of their business activities under one easy to understand policy, home fleet insurance is becoming a popular option. This is especially prevalent now with people choosing to work from home rather than face a long commute to diverse locations

According to the UK Office for National Statistics, 49 percent of workers reported working from home at some point in the seven days to 14 June, up from 41 percent the previous week. The Annual Population Survey (APS) data shows that around 1.7 million people in the UK mainly work from home (approximately 5 per cent of the country’s 32.6 million workforce) with figures definitely on the rise in the last five years or so, as working from home becomes easier and more accepted.

Whether the coronavirus pandemic brings about a long-term change in attitudes toward home working in the coming years remains to be seen.

What is Home Fleet insurance?

Home fleet insurance covers numerous vehicles in your possession under one bespoke policy including both business or personal use. As a business owner, keeping track of multiple individual vehicle insurance policies can be a nuisance, so a home fleet policy consolidates all your insurance needs under one roof.

What can be covered:

• Private cars and vans
• Private and public hire taxis
• Minibuses, buses and coaches
• Motorbikes and courier mopeds
• Lorries and HGV’s and haulage vehicles
• Minibuses, buses and coaches
• Ambulances

Having home fleet insurance means one premium, one renewal date and one flexible policy that covers all your vehicles. The higher the number of vehicles in relation to drivers, the greater the premium can be saved. And as your fleet grows, you can add or remove vehicles from one policy making it easier to manage

Generally, there are three distinctive levels of cover within a typical home fleet insurance policy:

• Comprehensive cover gives you and your business the most protection, covering any damage caused to your own or third-party fleet vehicles or property as a result of an accident, whether it be fault or non-fault.

• The second level of cover is third party fire and theft, which covers all third-party vehicles or property against any damage, whilst covering your own fleet vehicles against damage from theft or fire.

• The simplest level of cover is third party only, which offers no protection for your own fleet vehicles, but will cover claims made against you for damages by any third parties.

Great Insurance discounts

Your business needs can be complicated, which is why fleet Insurance can also be provided for foreign use, protection for personal belongings and trailers attached or connected to a vehicle insured under the policy. And remember, an established fleet with a good claim’s history can often garner some great discounts.

One of the ideal things about some types of home fleet insurance is that you can input some restrictions when establishing your policy. Setting an any driver policy means that anyone with a valid UK driving licence can drive any of your vehicles stated on the policy. So, you could theoretically have anyone who meets the relevant insurance conditions (age, driving history, convictions, etc) drive without the hassle of having to contact your insurer to check details and add them on to the policy.  This works well if you want members of your family to drive various business and private vehicles.

Conversely, if you have some younger members, you might want to have specific named drivers for each vehicle instead. Installing a black box to record their driving skills could also help to provide evidence for maintaining a reduced premium or to qualify for a discount.