Business car insurance for a company vehicle
A business vehicle is rarely just transport. It has fittings inside, tools in the back and sometimes an expensive machine on the towbar, and those parts do not automatically fall under the car policy.
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In brief
For own-damage cover, insurers work on the basis of the factory specification. A business vehicle almost always differs from it: racking systems, a workbench, an inverter, a roof rack, a chiller unit or a tail lift. That fitting-out and accessories are not insured as long as they do not appear as a separate item on the policy schedule. The same applies to signwriting, which has to be reapplied after a claim. Declare on the application what has been fitted and what it cost.
Things go wrong even more often with the contents. If your van is broken into, own-damage cover pays for the damage to the vehicle: the lock, the sliding door, the bodywork. The stolen tools fall outside it. For those you need tools insurance or a business contents and goods insurance. If you carry materials and equipment from one location to another, that belongs on an own goods in transit insurance; if you carry customers' goods, it is a question of carrier's liability.
Finally, watch the use set out on the policy. A van with a commercial registration is intended for carrying goods for your own business. If it is used regularly for something else, for instance courier runs for third parties, that calls for a different capacity and usually a different policy. In that case look at the van insurance for couriers.
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What to look out for
Four things that routinely go wrong on a fitted-out business vehicle.
Theft clauses for vans
On vans there is often a clause about where the vehicle stands overnight and about additional security: extra locks, an alarm or parking on a locked site. If the van is emptied on the street while the clause requires something else, that is a ground for reducing the payment. Some policies exclude tools left in the vehicle overnight altogether.
Load, securing and damage to others
If a load falls from your vehicle and causes damage, you are liable under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. That damage to others runs through the vehicle's liability cover, but the load itself and the clearing-up costs usually do not. Exceeding the permitted payload or poor load securing can also be held against you as contributory fault.
Trailers and towed equipment
A trailer coupled to your vehicle shares in the liability cover of the towing vehicle, but damage to the trailer requires its own cover. If you carry a machine or plant on a trailer, that object falls under neither the car nor the trailer cover. For that there is plant and machinery insurance.
What falls outside the cover
Not covered are tools, stock and materials in the vehicle, undeclared fitting-out and signwriting, and use that differs from the business activity declared, such as hire or carriage for payment for third parties. Damage from overloading, from carrying dangerous goods without the required paperwork and from driving without the right licence category also falls outside it.
What does your premium depend on?
- Type and weight of the vehicle: a large van is rated differently from a compact van
- Value of fitting-out and accessories: stated as a separate item on the policy
- Working area and annual mileage: a lot of city driving produces more small claims
- Storage outside working hours: an enclosed site or the public road
- Sector and business activity: determines which loads and which risks come with it
- The company's claims history: earlier thefts and collisions count
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered on a fitted-out business vehicle
| Situation | Extended | Comprehensive |
|---|---|---|
| Bumper damage in a car park where the culprit has remained unknown | No | Yes |
| Fire in the load area caused by a short circuit in a battery charger carried on board | Yes | Yes |
| The van rolls down a slope because the handbrake was not applied and is itself damaged | No | Yes |
| A stone from a tipper truck ahead breaks the windscreen | Yes | Yes |
| The turnover you lose in the two weeks the van is in the workshop | No | No |
| A collision during a paid courier run for another company | No | No |
The contents of the load area follow their own policy and are separate from these columns.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Are my tools insured if the van is broken into?
Not on the car insurance. That pays for the break-in damage to the vehicle itself, not the contents. Tools, machines and materials belong on a tool or business contents insurance, where a clause about the time and place of the theft often applies. Look carefully at whether theft from a vehicle overnight is insured; on many policies that is limited or excluded.
Do I have to declare the signwriting separately?
Yes, if you want it paid for after a claim. Advertising, wrapping and striping belong to the accessories and do not count towards the list price on which the own-damage premium is based. Also state what applying it cost, because on repair that is the actual loss and not the value of the film.
What happens if I drive overloaded?
You risk a fine and an argument about cover. Driving above the permitted payload or with badly secured loads can be regarded by the insurer as a circumstance that increases the risk. In an accident where that plays a part, it can lead to recovery from the business or to a reduction in the own-damage payment. Liability towards victims does remain arranged through the WAM.
I also use the van privately. Is that a problem?
Only if it has not been declared. Private use of a business vehicle should be stated on the policy, including the question of who may drive it outside working hours. In a weekend claim with a family member at the wheel, the insurer looks at what was declared. Declaring it costs no extra time and saves you having the argument afterwards.
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