Business cover on car insurance

queline

Can anyone answer this question for me please?
Can an employer force its employees to take out business insurance and does the employer have a duty to ensure that its employees have business cover if they are using their own vehicle for business purposes?
I do have business insurance so am not affected by the answers to the above, however I do have another question which affects me personally. My employer wants me to collect quite a large amount of cash from head office once a week and transport it to another site, should I be informing my insurers of this and would they actually cover me?

Quentin

Your employer has a "duty" to ensure you are properly covered by insurance when carrying out the company's business.

The consequences for you not being insured and being involved in an incident whilst on company business could be severe and expensive!

On your second question, your insurers won't cover the money!

lisyloo

Can an employer force its employees to take out business insurance

An employer cannot force employees to use their personal car for business use unless this is part of the contract or was agreed at interview.
In fact some of my colleagues only have one car per household and often the wife has the car during the day.
I don't actually have a car so when my employer wants me to travel on business I hire one for £35 per day and claim it on expenses.

It is normal for employers to advise their employees that they should have business insurance if using their personal car for business and often a mileage allowance e.g. 40p per mile is designed to cover wear&tear, depreciation and insurance costs as well as just fuel, although business insurance often costs very little.

I don't think they can force you to use your car (unless previously agreed) or force you to take out insurance, but once they had advised you then they could not be found negligent for not telling you.

You won't be coevered for carrying wads of cash so you need to discuss this with your employer.

queline

Thank you both for your replies, all as I suspected I just wanted someone to back me up before I take it further! I do have business cover but the fact is that apart from myself and one other colleague no one else does! All staff are paid mileage allowance and I have said that they need business cover which for me made no difference to the premium. I intend to approach the management to see what they have got to say as they are paying these people the allowance! This includes quite senior staff too and some of my colleagues have stated that they would lie if involved in an accident and say they were not working at the time!!! I have told them that the insurance company will not pay out if they find that their claim is false in any way and if the police are involved they would get found out anyway. Then again I ask myself why should I worry about it if they are prepared to lie and make a fraudulent claim?

Regarding the cash I will be refusing to carry out this task so thanks once again!

Quentin

This issue may be covered in the company's manual for employees using their own cars for company business.

But it's not really your any of your business is it?

mikey72

Cash won't be covered on the car insurance. (Nothing you carry will be)
It will be covered by the companies insurance, (providing they have it declared), and usually needs to comply with the insurers requirements, such as two people in the car, not left unattended etc.

As to the rest, so long as you're insured, leave it well alone.

lisyloo

Regarding the cash I will be refusing to carry out this task so thanks once again!

Outright refusal does not seem to me to be a flexible, co-operative approach.
You certainly need to raise your concerns about your personal liabilities and insurance for the cash.

As for your colleagues you need to be careful not to mark yourself out as a trouble maker.
Pick your fights carefully and be careful how your approach things (believe me I know - I've got it wrong before).

olly300

queline wrote: »

Thank you both for your replies, all as I suspected I just wanted someone to back me up before I take it further! I do have business cover but the fact is that apart from myself and one other colleague no one else does!

Just mention it to your employer you heard someone (don't give names) say they don't have business cover on their car. Then let the employer deal with it.

Any sensible employer will send out a reminder telling people to get it.

queline wrote: »

Regarding the cash I will be refusing to carry out this task so thanks once again!

That's daft.

If they refuse to insure the cash so its covered when an employee is moving it around then it's not your problem.

If it is insured then you need to stick to the guidelines they give you about taking care of it.

I worked ages ago for a company that gave employers bits of business equipment to use off site. The company didn't realise they need to insure the equipment for us to use at different locations. A group of us made it clear that if the equipment got stolen in our houses or in a different site we wouldn't reimburse them for it.

queline

Um its not realy just the whole insurance issue is it? Its my personal security as well, a lone female carrying huge amounts of cash around. Surely I can refuse to do it on those grounds let alone anything else? But what about damage to my car if someone tried to break into it and just stole the cash, causing damage in the process? Insurance companies will get out of paying if they can so wouldnt they not pay out for repairs to my car on my policy when they found out that the cash doesn't belong to me?

mikey72

It is an issue, risk assessment, safety in the workplace, all come into it.
It's one of the reasons the company's insurer specified two people were required.
You shouldn't be put into a position of risk.
If you are attacked, you would expect the company to pay, and pay for personal injury.
(We took a company car as well)

lisyloo

You seem to have some valid concerns assuming this is not part of your agreed role.
I think you are justified to refuse.
All I'm saying is that you need to be careful how you deal with things.
You need to explain your concerns about your personal safety and that of your personal property to your boss so they don't just think you are an awkward person.