Recovery Truck Insurance
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Why Compare Recovery Truck Insurance With SimplyQuote?
We understand running a recovery truck business can be challenging and stressful and having to sift through multiple insurance quotes shouldn’t add to your workload.
Luckily, SimplyQuote‘s 100% free, online comparison tool is designed to do the heavy lifting for you, simplifying the process with the click of a button. Quickly compare multiple recovery truck insurance quotes from a wide range of UK insurance providers in a matter of minutes.
This level of freedom and flexibility gives you peace of mind knowing your trucks are covered with the right insurance plan; so you can focus on what’s important: running your business!
What Do You Need To Get A Quote?
We’ll provide you with a list of vehicle recovery insurance quotes after you provide us with the following information:
- Personal details: Give us your full name, surname, age and UK address.
- Business details: This includes the nature of your business, business premise address and company registration information.
- Vehicle details: Tell us about the types of trucks you use (i.e. make and model), your average annual mileage and registration plate details.
- Driver details: This includes the driver’s full name(s), age(s) and valid UK/EU driving licences.
Note: Most insurers prefer insuring drivers who are at least 25 years old.
Why Do You Need Recovery Truck Insurance?
You need recovery truck insurance if you’re a breakdown and recovery operator in the UK. It protects you from any loss, damage or accidents that occur as a result of running your business.
Furthermore, it’s a legal requirement that all vehicles driving on UK roads have motor trade insurance. This protects you, your business and your drivers from third-party claims should you/they be involved in an accident.
To further drive this point home, operating recovery trucks can be dangerous – especially when recovering vehicles in inclement weather or risky locations are needed.
Due to the risks involved in this type of business, you need to ensure you have the right cover and the right recovery truck insurance policy in place to ensure you are both legally and financially covered.
Recovery truck insurance is also called:
- Recovery operator insurance
- Recovery van insurance
- Breakdown and recovery truck insurance
What Does Recovery Truck Insurance Cover?
Recovery truck insurance covers vehicle recovery operators in the event of a collision with another vehicle. Comprehensive policies will pay out if your own recovery truck is damaged.
It’s worth mentioning that recovery truck insurance policies may differ between different insurance providers but as a whole they generally all provide cover for:
- Road risks insurance – is the most basic level of cover for the motor trade. It’s an essential, legal requirement that allows you to drive your own recovery vehicles and recovery trucks that don’t belong to you.
- Breakdown cover – ironically, a breakdown policy covers your recovery business when one of your vehicles breaks down. This also includes roadside assistance cover.
- Public liability insurance – protects your business against any claims made in court by a member of the public. This could include accidents happening on your business premises or claims made against your employees, as well as accidental damage to third-party vehicles/property.
- Employers’ liability insurance – is a legal requirement for any business that employs staff, even if it’s only on a casual or part-time basis. It provides cover against any claims made against you by an employee, like if they suffer a work-related injury or develop an illness related to their line of work.
What’s not covered
- General vehicle wear and tear
- Negligence (e.g. leaving the keys in your truck and it’s stolen)
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Malicious damage to your own vehicle
- Unspecified modifications
- Electrical or mechanical failure (e.g. sav-nav systems, faulty electric windows)
- Uninsured goods in transit/personal belongings
What kind of vehicles does recovery truck insurance cover?
- Flatbeds
- Rollback tow trucks
- Hook and chain trucks
- Integrated tow trucks
- Wheel lift tow trucks
Looking for the cheapest recovery truck insurance? Get your quote today!
Get QuotesWhat Levels Of Vehicle Recovery Insurance Can You Get?
There are three main levels of vehicle recovery insurance available:
Third-party only (TPO)
TPO is the lowest level of cover required by UK law. It protects you, your business and truck drivers if you’re in an accident with third-party vehicles or persons.
It does not cover damage or repair costs for your own vehicles.
Third-party, fire and theft (TPFT)
TPFT is a middle-ground level of cover on a recovery vehicle insurance policy. It includes basic TPO with the addition of paying out should your recovery vehicle be damaged by fire or stolen.
This policy still won’t compensate any costs incurred for your vehicles or drivers.
Comprehensive
Fully comprehensive policies are a combination of TPO and TPFT levels and offer compensation to repair/replace your recovery vehicles even if you’re at fault. Additional benefits of comprehensive plans may include key replacement, personal belongings cover and goods in transit insurance.
It’s the highest level of recovery vehicle insurance you can get.
What Optional Extras Are Available For Vehicle Recovery Truck Insurance?
Here’s a list of add-ons you can include in your vehicle recovery insurance policy:
Carriage of vehicles cover
This policy insures the vehicles you recover. This means your business is covered against any accidental damage to customers’ vehicles or in the case of unfortunate road accidents.
Goods in transit insurance
While this is not a necessity for recovery vehicle operators, you may want to add this to your insurance policy. It essentially covers any items (apart from the vehicle itself) that are transported while in your care.
Tools and equipment cover
Having a tool and equipment policy add-on will provide instant cover against any loss, theft or damage to the tools you use as part of your day-to-day operations – including whilst out on the road or on your business premises.
Business premises cover
This addition protects you if your business premises are damaged or destroyed, such as fire, flood, burglary or vandalism. You can opt for additional contents insurance to protect items inside your business premises such as computers, printers and other hardware or furniture.
EU Cover
If you recover vehicles from European countries (i.e. across the UK border), EU cover is a good add-on to have, for example if you have a franchise recovery vehicle business, offering services across Europe.
Combined recovery operator insurance
Combined recovery operator insurance (or combined motor trade insurance) is one step above standard road risks insurance cover. It offers further protection for recovery businesses in the event of a loss or claim.
Additional benefits of this policy include:
- Liabilities and indemnity
- Engineering inspection
- Loss of licence
- Uninsured loss recovery
- Defective workmanship
- Premises, plant, and tool cover (including on-premises cash, stock, office contents, machinery, tools, buildings)
- Business interruption
- Goods in transit
Looking for cheap recovery truck insurance? Get your quote today!
Get Quotes
How Much Does Recovery Truck Insurance Cost?
You can expect to pay as little as £499 per year per recovery truck vehicle. However, pricing may differ between different insurance providers and is dependent on the type of trucks you use, the age of your drivers and your previous claims history.
What impacts vehicle recovery insurance prices?
- Drivers’ age and experience
- Recovery vehicle type (including condition, size and emission levels)
- The level of cover you opt for
- Any additional add-ons to your policy
- Where trucks are parked overnight
- Claims history
How Can You Get Cheaper Recovery Truck Insurance Rates?
Here are a few handy tips to reduce the costs of your motor trade insurance policy:
- Compare policies from multiple insurance providers to find the best fit.
- Regularly service recovery vehicles to minimise wear and tear.
- Keep vehicles secure when not in use such as locked garages.
- Reduce your annual mileage to lower premiums.
- Opt for annual payments as opposed to monthly instalments.
- Hire experienced (and older) truck drivers (over 25).
- Only add on the extras you need to minimise unnecessary expenses.
- Consider telematics “black box” technology to track how your drivers drive.
- Implement robust driving training programs to ensure drivers know how to handle recovery trucks.
How To Compare Recovery Truck Insurance Quotes With SimplyQuote?
Finding a cheaper insurance policy for your recovery trucks is easy when you have SimplyQuote on your side:
- Fill in the quick questionnaire: Tell us about your business, the type of recovery vehicles you use and where you’re situated in the UK.
- Select optional extras: Choose any additional cover you want to include.
- Compare quotes: Quickly scour the insurance market for the best deal with SimplyQuote’s online comparison tool.
- Put more cash in your back pocket: Start saving money today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Recovery truck insurance is a type of commercial motor trade insurance specifically designed for vehicle recovery businesses.
Recovery insurance is important because it protects your vehicle recovery business from any unfortunate accidents, claims made against the business or loss/damage to property.
As a business, it’s a really good idea to have a good, comprehensive policy in place – for peace of mind and the security of your firm.
To switch your motor trade policy, you’ll need to wait until your plan with your current provider expires, to avoid paying hefty cancellation fees.
Some elements of a recovery vehicle insurance policy are required by law, such as:
- Road risk cover
- Employer liability insurance.
Yes, anyone operating recovery trucks in the UK requires a category C1 or C-license.