Business class 1 car insurance.

Tee71

Hello. 
I am a carer and take my client to shops and some support groups, does business class 1 cover me to do this? 
I have used this for many years as stated in my contract but a colleague thinks otherwise. 

Mildly_Miffed

Rather more importantly, what does your insurer say?

DullGreyGuy

You need to speak to your insurer... class 1 typically wouldn't cover being paid to carry people or parcels etc. Typically insurers are comfortable if you are going to a conference in Manchester and you take a colleague who lives near you in the car as long as your not being paid anything more than costs (eg HMRC allow 5p mile) 

In your circumstances you aren't just incidentally carrying a colleague because you're both happen to be going in the same direction but you are explicitly being paid to take a client somewhere. This normally would be beyond the scope of Business use and into Hire & Reward.

Tee71

Mildly_Miffed said:

Rather more importantly, what does your insurer say?

For years it has been ok with them. 

Tee71

DullGreyGuy said:

You need to speak to your insurer... class 1 typically wouldn't cover being paid to carry people or parcels etc. Typically insurers are comfortable if you are going to a conference in Manchester and you take a colleague who lives near you in the car as long as your not being paid anything more than costs (eg HMRC allow 5p mile) 

In your circumstances you aren't just incidentally carrying a colleague because you're both happen to be going in the same direction but you are explicitly being paid to take a client somewhere. This normally would be beyond the scope of Business use and into Hire & Reward.

Hmm, I am paid an hourly wage with no added mileage.   So what type of insurance should I have for this purpose?

DullGreyGuy

Tee71 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

You need to speak to your insurer... class 1 typically wouldn't cover being paid to carry people or parcels etc. Typically insurers are comfortable if you are going to a conference in Manchester and you take a colleague who lives near you in the car as long as your not being paid anything more than costs (eg HMRC allow 5p mile) 

In your circumstances you aren't just incidentally carrying a colleague because you're both happen to be going in the same direction but you are explicitly being paid to take a client somewhere. This normally would be beyond the scope of Business use and into Hire & Reward.

Hmm, I am paid an hourly wage with no added mileage.   So what type of insurance should I have for this purpose?

If you say you have spoken to your insurers and they are comfortable with it then thats fine. Just note the time/date of the conversation so you can refer to it in the future.  Its one of those things in a bit of a grey area and its best to ask the company in question than make assumptions. 

If you wanted no risk of a fight then you'd buy Hire and Reward insurance, it would be different policy to your current one and virtually exclusively distributed via brokers and other intermediaries. It's typically much more expensive than private car insurance. 

Are you self employed or work for an agency/employer? Have you asked them if they provide any top up insurance to cover carrying clients? I know some pizza chains etc have insurance so their casual biker delivery people just buy normal insurance and trips with product are covered by the the chains insurance not the bikers own. 

Tee71

DullGreyGuy said:

Tee71 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

You need to speak to your insurer... class 1 typically wouldn't cover being paid to carry people or parcels etc. Typically insurers are comfortable if you are going to a conference in Manchester and you take a colleague who lives near you in the car as long as your not being paid anything more than costs (eg HMRC allow 5p mile) 

In your circumstances you aren't just incidentally carrying a colleague because you're both happen to be going in the same direction but you are explicitly being paid to take a client somewhere. This normally would be beyond the scope of Business use and into Hire & Reward.

Hmm, I am paid an hourly wage with no added mileage.   So what type of insurance should I have for this purpose?

If you say you have spoken to your insurers and they are comfortable with it then thats fine. Just note the time/date of the conversation so you can refer to it in the future.  Its one of those things in a bit of a grey area and its best to ask the company in question than make assumptions. 

If you wanted no risk of a fight then you'd buy Hire and Reward insurance, it would be different policy to your current one and virtually exclusively distributed via brokers and other intermediaries. It's typically much more expensive than private car insurance. 

Are you self employed or work for an agency/employer? Have you asked them if they provide any top up insurance to cover carrying clients? I know some pizza chains etc have insurance so their casual biker delivery people just buy normal insurance and trips with product are covered by the the chains insurance not the bikers own. 

I will speak with the insurance company to be sure.  I am employed by the client, they have some of the care funded by the local council, I don’t think there is any help from them in terms of insurance.  Thank you for taking the time to reply. 

EnPointe

you need to speak to your insurer 

 when  i was working in a warehouse  , i was asked  why i needed  class 1  , presumably the underwriters though  I might be  doing deliveries  etc...  when i explained I was Trades Union rep, a Safety rep  and  sometimes  was asked to deliver training it was all ticketyboo 

In my current role in the  health sector  i was again asked  about my  Class1 insurance requirement  and when I explained it was to cover me  because i might have to take my own car to a different  base  to start my working day and collect  Trust owned  vehicle  or to attend training / meetings etc  at different bases / training centre or  one of the HQ sites they  were happy ; If  I were to be carrying  equipment and supplies other than  own personal kit  or  to use my own car to attend  patients' addresses  that  might be different matter and  may get into specialised  inusrance  due to the nature of this particular  role

Mildly_Miffed

Tee71 said:

Mildly_Miffed said:

Rather more importantly, what does your insurer say?

For years it has been ok with them. 

Only your current insurer's opinion matters.

And, when it comes to renew, this is a question you need to ask of any insurer before buying the policy.

baser999

Few years ago my partner worked for a care agency as their area advisor and was required to visit potential new clients, check on existing clients and carers etc. When it was more convenient than taking public transport I’d drive her, drop her off and go grab a coffee for a couple of hours. Although she was a named driver on our policy, the insurers advised that we’d need full business cover since it exceeded the normal ‘commuting’ use as we were travelling to various locations. Surprisingly the upgrade to business cost little more 

DullGreyGuy

EnPointe said:

If  i were to be carrying  equipment and supplies other than  own personal kit  or  to use my own car to attend  patients' addresses  that  might be different matter and  may get into specialised  inusrance  due to the nature of this particular  role

Carrying equipment generally won't, you just aren't insured for the equipment. If a material part of your job is driving though, like a travelling sales rep, then business class 3 is typically required.

baser999 said:
Surprisingly the upgrade to business cost little more 

For many it's free or pennies compared to commuting... if you add it mid term then the admin fee for the change probably represents virtually all the price you pay.