Does Tradesman Insurance Cover My Vehicles?

If you’re a builder or contractor, you might have a van you use to transport equipment and materials. But will your builders’ insurance cover it on the road?

No. Car or van insurance is not covered as standard with builders’ insurance. If you drive a van, lorry, truck or other commercial vehicle, you will need to insure it separately.

In Ireland, the minimum legal amount of cover to have on the road is third party only. Builders’ insurance does not come with third party only cover for vehicles, therefore your vehicle will not be insured on your builders’ policy.

In this article, we’ll cover the following questions:

● What insurance do I need for my van?

● Are tools and equipment covered if they’re stolen from my van?

● How do I insure my commercial vehicle?

Driving on the road without the proper insurance is a serious offence, and could lead to a conviction. It makes no sense to risk losing your business by not having insurance.

What insurance do I need for my van?

Third party, or third party only car insurance, is the minimum level of motor insurance you need to legally drive in Ireland and in the UK. This means that every driver on the road has, at a minimum, third party cover, and if they do not then they are breaking the law.

Third party car insurance covers you if somebody else makes a claim against you. So, if you cause an accident or any damage to a person or other vehicle while driving, your third party cover will pay for the resulting costs.

If your van is damaged and you only have third party insurance, you will need to be able to afford to repair your van. The other party will be taken care of by the insurance claim, but you will need to pay for any damage to your vehicle or costs arising from personal injuries yourself.

If you have an accident while driving the van listed on your policy, third-party insurance will cover you for:

● Third party injury to a passenger or a person in another car

● Damage to another person’s car

● Damage to another person’s property, including driving into their wall

Are tools and equipment covered if they’re stolen from my van?

Not unless you have more comprehensive cover than third party only. As third party car insurance is the minimum insurance cover you need to get on the road, it doesn’t actually cover all that much. As previously stated, third party cover is for the benefit of the other driver, not for yourself. Its purpose is to minimise the damage you may cause when you have an accident. It also won’t pay for any medical or legal costs for your own injuries, including physiotherapy.

The good news is that you can protect your tools (and other contents) either as an add-on to your van insurance, or as a separate policy. This will protect you not only if they’re stolen, but also if they’re damaged in an accident. Get in touch with us to arrange extra cover – no two policies are the same.

For example, many policies won’t cover your tools if they’re left in the van overnight. You may find it’s not practical to unload and lock up your tools every night, in which case you’ll want to pay a little extra for overnight cover. That way you’ll be covered not just if your tools are left in the van overnight, but also if you park your van outside.

How do I insure my commercial vehicle?

Give us a ring today, and we can help you find comprehensive commercial vehicle insurance. No matter if you have one van or a fleet, we have experts on hand who will be able to advise you on the kind of cover you need as well as arrange the most reasonable price.

All builders’ businesses are different, and you will need a different level of cover than your friends or competitors. Carefully read your policy terms to make sure you have adequate cover – or ask us, and we’ll be happy to help.

And keep in mind that, as a business, you may get a better deal by buying more than one policy at once. If you would like extra insurance for your tools or materials, now’s the time to make sure you have all the cover you need.

Talk to our builders insurance experts and they can guide you through the process of putting in place the right cover for your business.