Published in Economic Times on 8 October, 2015, Written by Kapil Mehta
As business expands, companies tend to buy more vehicles and each vehicle is separately insured. This is expensive and difficult to manage. It is common for companies to forget renewal dates or misplace policy contracts. The matter is more severe when insurance is done by multiple insurers because some insurers are more competitive in certain vehicles. In such cases fleet insurance is an excellent way to insure vehicles. It is administratively simple and cost effective.
What is Fleet Insurance?
Fleet insurance is a type of insurance that will cover four or more vehicles under one policy. This type of insurance is generally used by companies that use many vehicles for commercial or personal purposes. The SME needs to pay only a one time annual premium to cover all their vehicles.
What are the benefits of the scheme to the firm?
The first benefit of fleet insurance is that many different vehicles are covered under one policy. This eliminates much of the worry and stress of handling a different insurance policy for each different vehicle. Second, when a claim is made in case of fleet insurance, the process is much smoother than any other type. Third, Fleet insurances are much easier to budget for from an insurance perspective. Finally, because vehicles are being insured in bulk the SME has much better negotiation ability. This leads to lower costs.
What can be covered under Fleet Insurance?
Fleet insurance covers cars, vans, taxis, trucks and many other vehicles, which are used for commercial or personal purpose. It covers the losses and damages to your vehicles caused by any accident or third party damage. The insurance policy provides cover for following occurrences:
1)Loss or damage to vehicles by accidents, fire, burglary, natural calamities and other unexpected causes
2)Third party injury or death and damage caused to property
What’s not covered in Motor Fleet Insurance Policy?
There is a list of exclusions or items not covered in motor fleet insurance policy. A commercial fleet insurance usually excludes:
1.Accidental damage while driving under the influence of liquor or drugs
2.Wilful negligence is also excluded from the policy
3.Consequential losses
4.Wear and tear
5.Depreciation value of the vehicle
6.Mechanical & electrical breakdown
7.Failure of brakes
Note: This is an indicative list of exclusions only. The policy wordings will contain the detailed list
How to file a claim under Motor Fleet Insurance Policy
In India, to initiate a claim process for a motor fleet insurance policy, one typically needs to provide several documents, including a completed claim form, the vehicle’s registration certificate, the driver’s license of the person driving during the accident, a verified copy of the First Information Report (FIR), and a copy of the insurance policy. If the claim pertains to vehicle damage, additional documents such as repair cost estimates and payment receipts may be necessary. The insurer may also require other documents for cases involving third-party bodily injury or property damage.
How can SMEs buy this scheme?
The requirements of fleet insurance are different for every company, but there are some basic factors that should be considered such as number and type of vehicles to be insured. The amount of premium paid for the Corporate Fleet Insurance is mainly dependent on the type of vehicle insured and the amount of Identified value. The age of vehicles and the condition they are in greatly affect the price of the cover. In order to calculate premium, various factors are considered such as type of Vehicle, value of vehicle, number of vehicle, type of cover requested, location and operating radius of the vehicles and claims history of the vehicles. Fewer the claims lower the premium.
If you already have individual insurances for all your vehicles then when a fleet is created all your insurances, on renewal, will be transferred to the insurer offering fleet insurance.