Reviewing your fleet insurance
January 15, 2026If you’re running a busy enterprise, including your fleet of vehicles, insurance might be one of the least pressing things on your mind. Your fleet insurance sits in the background – through legal necessity as much as anything else – and you rarely need to use it until something goes wrong.
But regularly reviewing that fleet insurance – whether or not its annual renewal is imminent – may pay dividends by ensuring you have the appropriate type and level of cover, at a competitive price.
What’s involved in a fleet insurance review?
Keep in mind an overall objective – how well does the fleet insurance you currently have match your vehicles, their drivers, the risks inherent in your business deliveries, and the premiums you are paying?
To achieve those aims, you may need to conduct your review at least once a year and examine the following broad headlines:
What’s the makeup of your vehicle fleet?
- the number and types of vehicles are the basis of your fleet insurance – and might include a mixture of cars, vans, heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), and even specialist vehicles;
- how old is each vehicle, what is its mileage, how is it used, and what is its current (replacement) value;
- do you own the vehicle, or is it hired or leased;
Who’s driving?
- has there been any change in your team of drivers – delete any who no longer work for you;
- do you need to consider allowing named drivers only or any driver under your fleet insurance;
- what are the age profiles, experience, and driving records of your drivers – and are you making sure to conduct an annual check on the validity of each one’s driving licence;
- are your selection criteria and vetting procedures sufficiently robust for the recruitment of new drivers;
What claims have you made?
- review any fleet insurance claims you have made – not just in the past year, but in the past three to five years;
- that review may highlight the frequency of claims and the costs associated with each claim (excesses and administrative costs, for example);
- is there any pattern to the claims – do they result mainly from driver errors, for example, or because of thefts and break-ins;
- keep in mind that your claims history is likely to be one of the major factors used by your fleet insurer to determine the premiums you pay – so understanding when and why claims are made might be critical;
Further reading: Fleet risks – are you having lots of claims?
Evaluating the risks – identifying room for improvements
- the more you can do to minimise the risks, the greater your chances of securing discounted, competitively-priced premiums – and fewer exclusions;
- consider the installation of telematics and onboard cameras to monitor drivers’ behaviour and identify areas for improvement – allied to the possibilities of further driver training programmes;
- ensure that all your vehicles receive regular maintenance checks and services;
- is there scope for improving the overall security of your vehicle fleet – maintaining a secure yard, for instance, or fitting trackers or immobilisers to all or some of the vehicles;
Excesses
- your fleet insurance typically may come with excesses (the first part of any successful claim for which you are financially liable) – but are these at the level you require;
- you might want to use your review to strike the right balance between reducing the cost of your premiums by shouldering a bigger excess against the risk of making a claim for which you have to pay a greater share.
Need help with the review of your fleet insurance?
Although an annual review of your fleet insurance can be relatively straightforward, it pays to get it right. If we can help with any aspect of your fleet insurance review or answer any queries you may have, please do not hesitate to contact us here at Alan Blunden Insurance Brokers – we’d be delighted to help! Call 01702 826060.
Further reading: