Motor Trade Insurance For Small Business

If you work in trades associated with cars or the automotive industry there will likely be times when you will need to drive cars that don't belong to you. For example moving new stock around in a car dealership or test driving a customers vehicle after you have carried out some service or maintenance on it.
Driving cars in this manner for business purposes clearly cannot be allowed under a normal private motor insurance policy, however it would be impractical if not impossible to add named vehicles onto any type of policy in the course of your normal days work.
For this reason a special class of commercial motor insurance exists called motor trade road risks insurance. The cover this policy provides satisfies the Road Traffic Act to enable the policyholder to 'drive any vehicle' in the course of their business, and if they choose for social, domestic and pleasure purposes as well.
A motor trade policy offers the most flexible driving cover available and nearly every scheme can be tailored to a particular motor trade's road risks.
Road risks insurance is calculated differently from private motor premiums where the declared value of a car is used for rating. In a road risks policy the trader sets a level of indemnity or amount that he wishes to cover himself for driving other vehicles. This could be as little as five thousand for a part-time used car dealer or mechanic up to a hundred thousand for a valet in a Ferrari Dealership for example.
A new car dealership of prestige cars would need a policy that not only covered the cost of replacing a new car should it be written off but also an extension to cover members of the public test driving the car accompanied by a named driver. However a used car dealer working from home or a mobile mechanic would only need basic road risks cover with perhaps a tools cover extension. Many road risk policies vary in what is considered basic cover and motor traders should be aware of extra covers such as legal protection and windscreen covers, as they would with a normal motor insurance policy.
Motor Traders with premises such as forecourts or shops will require what is known as a combined motor trader policy. This is simply a basic road risks policy allowing employees and named drivers to drive any vehicle combined with other risks that a motor trader might face, such as liability and property damage.
Liability insurance forms the basis of a combined motor traders policy, in particular product and public liability which covers your business against claims from members of the public to who you have supplied services or parts or who have suffered injury whilst visiting your premises.
If you employ any staff in either workshops, garages offices or out on the road in commercial vehicles or vans, you are required by law to have employers liability insurance cover in force. This cover protects your motor trade business against claims from employees and staff who might suffer an accident at work and claim against you in the courts.
Full combined motor trade insurance policies offer motor traders buildings and contents commercial property insurance cover for garages, workshops, office contents, machinery such as car lifts and compressors and tools, shop cover and stock.
Additional options such as business interruption insurance is available to cover catastrophe situations such as a fire where you may lose all your stock, or group personal accident which will cover members of staff against accident and sickness.
Anyone who works in the motor industry can apply for a motor trade insurance policy. Policies are available for car dealers, car valets, parking attendants, mechanics, body repair shops, service garages and motor parts shops, to name but a few trades eligible.
Motor trade cover is available to all small businesses including sole traders without premises and people working from home and on a part-time basis.

Compare quotes from a few companies before you buy a motor trade insurance policy. Premiums vary widely however the best UK commercial insurance brokers have access to a wide range of specialist motor trades schemes and Lloyds underwriters, which are invariably much cheaper.

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Remember Business Insurance Deductions!

I have talked to a lot of small business owners. Most of them are very clever and hard working people who are very motivated when it comes to running their business. But they may not like to think about taxes and insurance that much. Those things can be regarded as chores that business owners wish they did not have to deal with.
But most businesses need to use different insurance policies as a way to lower operating risks. Insurance, in turn, is an operating expense. A lot of it can be deducted from taxes. This can reduce business tax bills. It also reduces the real cost of the business policies! Spending a little time researching insurance deductions can certainly be worth it!
Business Health Insurance
Small business owners and self employed individuals can usually deduct the premiums paid for medical plans. In fact, this deduction is a big incentive to get and keep proper medical coverage. If you run a small company, a $10,000 family health insurance premium may seem like a big burden. However, if you can turn around and take that premium off of your income when tax time comes, the burden may be smaller.
Are there other types of deductions to consider?
Of course, health insurance is not the only type of business policy you probably need. Almost any type of coverage for your small business will qualify for a deduction.
What Does The IRS Say?

• Generally, you can deduct the ordinary and necessary cost of insurance as a business expense, if it is for your trade, business, or profession.

What does this mean? It means you should find out if the property, liability, and professional policies can be deducted as a business expense in order to reduce your total tax bill.
If you run a home business, you may add business coverage as a rider to your personal auto or home insurance policy. Find out if you can deduct that portion of your bill from you income as a business expense too.
Get Good Tax Information
I am not a tax pro by any means. I have, however, spent a lot of time on the IRS website looking into business deductions. You can go to IRS.gov, at any time, and research your own business tax questions. You will also get good advice from a qualified tax professional or insurance agent.
We all want to do a good job covering our companies and preparing our tax returns! In this case, doing a good job can save you money!

Find out more about business insurance deductions. You can also visit us for online insurance quotes at any time!

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Commercial Insurance Combined Policies

Commercial Insurance is a wide genre with many business types, covers and risks.
A commercial insurance combined policy is modular with a basic set of cover options included. This allows various risks and cover options to be added to the policy as desired by an individual business in an incremental fashion or at a later date during the policy term, if business needs require.
The modularity of the underwriting and premium calculation allows proposers to tailor the covers to fit their individual trade or business insurance requirements whilst retaining the widest range of policy options to cover all enterprises requirements, under the same policy wording.
Most commercial and business insurance is packaged in some way, with a basic blanket level of cover and indemnities to which further options can be added. However it is possible to buy standalone commercial insurance cover for public liability and professional indemnity insurance and also for most types of commercial property insurance, for example where just buildings cover is needed.
At the sales and marketing level, commercial insurance combined packages are differentiated and sold by the various trade and business types.
This is because different business types require differing liability and cover limits, depending upon the particular risks in that business sector. For example a shop insurance package may place high value on including window and glass cover in its package, however this wouldn't be much use to a painter and decorator who is just looking for tradesman's public liability and tools cover. Similarly the shop owner would not find much use for a contractors all risk option but requires goods in transit cover for his deliveries.
Good commercial combined packages allow flexibility in their underwriting to cater for all variations of trade risks and online services allow you to freely add and remove options to build up a combination of covers that suits your business risks and pocket.
A combined policy will always contain a liability section as standard. This provides options to add employers and product liability to the basic public liability cover.
If the business owns or rents commercial property then buildings and contents cover can be added if required. Certain combined policies, such as for office insurance will offer office contents as a separate option. Similarly a shop insurance package will offer cover for stock held in the premises.
Commercial packages aimed at various trades usually also offer a plethora of add-on options for an additional premium.
Some of the more popular of these covers include business interruption insurance or loss of profits insurance which covers a businesses losses whilst being unable to trade due to a claim. Professional indemnity insurance which covers negligent advice is available under combined liability policies. Fidelity guarantee insurance protects a business against fraud or theft of money by an employee. Group personal accident cover and income protection is often available on combined policies which cover staff against accident and sickness.

The Internet has made it easy for Commercial Insurance suppliers to offer combined policies online. Shop around for cover and compare prices for all the risks that your business might face, as this is time well spent. A basic public liability insurance quote should not take more than a minute or two to complete online.

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