I require a motor trade policy. Need help please!
I require a motor trade policy. Need help please!
Author
Discussion

hsnrentals

Original Poster:

15 posts

98 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
REMOVED

Edited by hsnrentals on Wednesday 29th August 11:45

832ark

1,247 posts

186 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
You obviously went into this without doing much research, makes me wonder what you understand about your responsibilities as a trader as well?

hsnrentals

Original Poster:

15 posts

98 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
I am guilty of this but working in the world of computers, is a different world to cars.

I really do want to make this work hence why I've made a new account on here and asking for help to find decent insurance quotes.

We are all beginners at one stage or another.

Buff Mchugelarge

3,316 posts

180 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
Give tradex a ring. They covered me when I was mobile valeting. Couldn't fault them.

Lewis Kingston

241 posts

107 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
Worth giving Peter James a bell, too. smile

hsnrentals

Original Poster:

15 posts

98 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
Thanks just trying these now.

Nickp82

3,976 posts

123 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
I got my first trade type policy (a Road Risk policy) with Bollingtons earlier this year, I spoke to some other brokers but found them to be pretty switched on and after a bit of negotiation they came up with a good price (circa £800 with maximum individual vehicle value of £10k and max insurance group 37).

After a few weeks they will set you up with MID which makes life a lot easier too.

ETA - it also has accompanied test drive cover.

Little Pete

1,915 posts

124 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
I carry out service, MOT and diagnostic work on modern and classic cars, with some engine building thrown in and my premium is £8500.00. I don't sell cars so I cannot compare directly but £2000.00 doesn't seem a lot to me, especially if it includes things like public and employers liability and not just road risks. According to my broker fewer and fewer insurance companies want to get involved with the motor trade. You will probably get a cheaper quote if you search out companies on line but you will only find out how good the cover is when you need to claim! Re think your business plan and get decent cover.

joropug

3,071 posts

219 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
I used to sell motor trade insurance , those who worked from home we would never spend much time on as the insurers are really limited and often ridiculous prices. If you go to lots of brokers, some insurers may not provide quotes twice (or if they do , at the same rate) so do some research on brokers too to make sure you're speaking to someone competitive right of the bat. After all an underwriter won't want to price match themselves.

Makes a world of difference if you have a premises. I could often get full trade insurance cheaper than just road risks of there's a premises (with office) attached.

anonymous-user

84 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
Do you also rent vehicles for self drive hire?

av185

20,464 posts

157 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
832ark said:
You obviously went into this without doing much research, makes me wonder what you understand about your responsibilities as a trader as well?
Only on PH.

Bumblebee7

1,533 posts

105 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
av185 said:
832ark said:
You obviously went into this without doing much research, makes me wonder what you understand about your responsibilities as a trader as well?
Only on PH.
Fair comment I think. Buying and selling family saloons at around £5k means cars that could possible go wrong in a big way, as a motor trader you are liable for faults up to 6 months from purchase if the fault was likely to already be present when the car was purchased. Saying you only have a budget of £800-£1,000 for necessary insurance sounds like corners are being cut and running an exceptionally tight budget. Correct me if I'm wrong but that's certainly how it comes across. So returning to the comment, what would happen if one of the customers came back with a head gasket fault or similar that came out to £££'s?

hsnrentals

Original Poster:

15 posts

98 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
I'm aware of the 6 month rule.

We keep all money sold from cars a side and isn't spent until 7 months.

The cars we buy tend to be 50k mileage and we have them checked over before purchase.
Most purchases are from private buyers and not auctions etc.

The insurance isn't trying to cut corners but our personal insurance and the odd changing of car. We're buying a car maybe every 2 weeks so to spend £2000 may sound like normal to some however being a bit conservative we spend £300 on adding cars and removing them. This would just save the hassle of having to do this that's all.

Just because we don't want to spend £2k on insurance to start off with and thanks to these guys on PH we're getting quotes of £1300 so far. For the same product - it helps to do research and always search for comparisons.

We are looking into rentals next year potentially to start off with new M3, C43, RS5 as main 3 cars then expand hopefully.

anonymous-user

84 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
hsnrentals said:
I'm aware of the 6 month rule.

We keep all money sold from cars a side and isn't spent until 7 months.

The cars we buy tend to be 50k mileage and we have them checked over before purchase.
Most purchases are from private buyers and not auctions etc.

The insurance isn't trying to cut corners but our personal insurance and the odd changing of car. We're buying a car maybe every 2 weeks so to spend £2000 may sound like normal to some however being a bit conservative we spend £300 on adding cars and removing them. This would just save the hassle of having to do this that's all.

Just because we don't want to spend £2k on insurance to start off with and thanks to these guys on PH we're getting quotes of £1300 so far. For the same product - it helps to do research and always search for comparisons.

We are looking into rentals next year potentially to start off with new M3, C43, RS5 as main 3 cars then expand hopefully.
Going into vehicle rental with restrict the motor trade market and as a new venture the insurance on those vehicles will be mahoosive (that's a technical term) if you can get it at all.

hsnrentals

Original Poster:

15 posts

98 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
I understand, when the time comes we'll happily pay for the insurance cos it will be "worth" it.

For the time being, we just need an easy insurance to get on the motor trade ladder.
Then we might look at Copart or Auction Houses but at the mean time we're staying away until we get experience.

We have business indemnity insurance up to £10m anyway on top.

PistonBroker

2,724 posts

256 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
joropug said:
I used to sell motor trade insurance , those who worked from home we would never spend much time on as the insurers are really limited and often ridiculous prices.
I still do and, likewise, usually shy away from the Road Risks Only market. In fact, I've only got one market for Road Risks Only but a whole bunch for Combined.

Happy to run a quote here if you'd like OP - I'm on 01823 230249 - but I'm not sure a budget of £800-£1,000 will cut it.

akirk

5,778 posts

144 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
hsnrentals said:
we don't let them test the drive the car unless they bring their own insurance which usually isn't an issue as most policies let them drive other vehicles as long as they are insured
I would be cautious here...

a) most polices don't automatically now include DOC (driving other cars)
b) those that do, may well exclude certain categories - which could include cars owned by the trade
c) those that do are almost definitely going to be Third Party insurance only - so the legal requirements may be met, but the value of your car will not be protected
d) those who have fully comprehensive DOC (e.g. Hiscox / Chubb / etc.) are possibly not the ones turning up to buy a £5k family saloon...

worse case in an accident you may have legal liability / they may not be insured
best case in an accident you are probably not covered for your car

hsnrentals

Original Poster:

15 posts

98 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
The ones that do bring a physical printout stating they do have DOC and so far no issue. I know this isn't the best way to do it but starting off we want to keep the costs low so we can spend extra on cars if they need it.

So far we've only had to carry out wheel alignment and we give a call every 3 months up to 6 months on how their vehicle is doing. So far we've had all our customers quite happy with the vehicles.

May just go with the £1300 quote which includes demonstration purposes so other drivers can drive also.

Thanks for your help on PH.

singlecoil

35,834 posts

276 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
Little Pete said:
I carry out service, MOT and diagnostic work on modern and classic cars, with some engine building thrown in ...
Surprised there's no link in your profile, plenty of PHers looking for the sort of thing you do, I should think.

Old Merc

3,820 posts

197 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
OP, Is car sales your sole business, and do you submit accounts to H.M.R.C. In other words are you a proper motor trader? or do you have a full time day job and sell cars part time for pocket money.If its the latter I think you will have problems with a MT policy.

I used to have a car repair business with premises,employees etc, full motor traders insurance was straightforward,but very expensive. I have now "retired" and work from home part time looking after a few of my loyal regular customers. Its only 2 or 3 jobs a month but I`m still classified as a motor trader. Getting properly insured has been a bit of an issue. I am now with Covea at a cost of £1500. Its just the basics and includes road risks for ME ONLY driving customer`s cars, our two private cars for my wife and I driving SDP, customer`s cars left overnight, AND public liability.

Remember working from home can cause an issue with your local authority,your home insurers and your neighbors. Will your cars be stored off road (DVLA?). If you deal with "Jo Public" you must have public liability insurance.

All you can do is go to Covea (or who ever) explain EXACTLY what you do and how you operate, its very important that you are truthful or you could be in trouble when you make a claim.