Fleet insurance for vehicles used by construction businesses

What construction fleet insurance is

Fleet insurance covers a group of vehicles under a single arrangement, usually with common terms, one renewal date and a schedule of vehicles. For a construction business the fleet is mixed: light delivery vehicles, heavy trucks, trailers and specialised vehicles with mounted equipment.

A motor policy typically has several sections: loss of or damage to the vehicle, theft and hijacking, and liability for damage to other people’s property. Some businesses also arrange cover for passengers and for goods being carried.

Who may need fleet insurance

• Contractors whose bakkies and trucks carry crew, materials and tools to site.
• Earthmoving and haulage contractors running tippers, side-tippers and low-beds.
• Pipeline and drainage contractors with water tankers, crane trucks and flatbeds.
• Plant hire businesses that deliver machines on their own transport.
• Businesses wondering whether road-going machines such as TLBs and graders should be treated as vehicles, as plant, or as both.

What may be insured, subject to terms

Light and heavy vehicles

Bakkies, panel vans, rigid trucks and tractor units, scheduled individually with their values.

Trailers and low-beds

Trailers are often insured separately from the truck pulling them, and may have their own sum insured.

Mounted equipment

Cranes, tipper bodies, tanks and other equipment fitted to a vehicle. Value these explicitly rather than assuming they are included.

Theft and hijacking

Cover for theft and hijacking, often conditional on a tracking device, locking systems and driver procedures.

Third-party property damage

Liability for damage to other people’s vehicles and property in an accident, with an indemnity limit.

Goods being carried

Materials and equipment on the vehicle are typically dealt with under goods in transit cover rather than the vehicle policy.

Important limitations and questions to discuss

Business use and permitted drivers

Policies set out who may drive and for what purpose. Use outside the permitted terms, or by an unlisted driver, can affect a claim.

Driver licences and competence

A valid driver’s licence and, where required, a professional driving permit are usually conditions of cover.

Roadworthiness and overloading

Loss arising when a vehicle is unroadworthy or overloaded may be excluded or reduced.

Off-road use

A vehicle used on rough site terrain faces different risks from one used on highways. Tell the insurer how it is used.

Plant that travels on public roads

Machines such as TLBs, graders and mobile cranes may need to be considered under motor, plant or both. Agree the boundary in writing so there is no gap and no unintended overlap.

Tracking and security conditions

Theft and hijacking cover may require approved tracking devices to be fitted and active.

Excess and driver age

Excesses may vary by vehicle type and driver age or experience.

Information we usually need for a quotation

A fleet quotation is built from a vehicle schedule and information about how the vehicles are used.

You do not need everything on day one. A short description of the work is enough to start, and the quote form only asks for the details relevant to your enquiry.