Fleet insurance is a multi-vehicle policy that covers a number of vehicles owned by the same company. This is usually an entity such as a company or local authority or service. Some families with few vehicles may have private fleets, but these are typically for a small number of vehicles and are treated similarly to private car insurance. This article is more about corporate fleets.
A corporate fleet policy is usually very flexible as it can cover many different drivers with different roles and different types of vehicles.
For example: A large construction company might have a few cars for vendors and various vans and trucks for the builders and their equipment. A fleet policy is KFZ Flottenversicherung flexible enough to cover all of these vehicles in one policy. Some private cars can also be added as long as they are owned by the directors or owners of the company themselves.
No claims for discount
With fleet insurance, your no-claims bonus works differently than with your private car. First, it’s commonly known as the “harm experience.” Because if the fleet is large enough, at least one vehicle will be involved in an accident every year, so the entire “experience” or “history” of all vehicles in the fleet is taken into account for a “no-claims bonus”. .
Who can drive on a fleet policy?
As mentioned above, fleet policies are designed to be flexible. Most insurers offer the following options:
- Named drivers only
- Any driver over 30
- Any driver over 25
- Any driver, any age
It’s worth noting that the last category – any rider, any age – needs a little clarification. The category does not give carte blanche to include Tom, Dick or Harry in the policy and there are usually several caveats. To use a company vehicle on this basis, a driver must have a clean driver’s license, an undemanding driving history, and no disabilities or illnesses that would interfere with his driving.
Fleet Management
This is where fleet insurance differs most from normal private car insurance. With a corporate fleet comes the added responsibility of managing the vehicles and drivers.
It’s not uncommon and very easy to understand why drivers with a few claims and points on their license might not be entirely honest about their driving history. For them, it could mean the difference between employment and unemployment. To counteract this, a driver policy is necessary that lays down the rules for company drivers. This usually involves making copies of each KFZ Flottenversicherung license at regular intervals, e.g. every 6 months as this is the type of information an insurer would want to verify in the event of an accident.
But that’s not all. If an employee is injured in a traffic accident while conducting Company business, the Company may be held liable if he/she failed to comply with his/her own employment responsibilities. This means that the company must be able to fulfill its duty of care towards its employees by checking the safety and roadworthiness of the vehicles used in the course of the company’s operations. This applies to every vehicle used for business purposes, regardless of who actually owns the vehicle. Therefore, another policy is also required for vehicles, which includes proof of regular maintenance and safety checks.
