How does trucking and business car insurance work?

Are you financially protected with truck insurance or business car insurance? After all, with more than 30,000 vehicle hijackings taking place annually in South Africa, we all need to be prepared.

If you’re using your car for business work, you want to be certain that your insurer does not decline your insurance claim. To ensure you avoid this problem, read this article and learn the difference between using your car for business and for personal purposes. It’ll also help you to understand why it’s a wise move to have truck insurance and when you need to have business vehicle insurance.

What is business car insurance?

Vehicles have a number of important functions in many workplaces, including transporting employees, moving equipment and goods, and driving to business networking functions. If you have such a car, it’s worth getting business vehicle insurance from a reliable and reputable insurer.

Any vehicle travelling on South Africa’s roads is exposed to various risks, including collisions, theft and accidents. It’s estimated that about 70% of cars in South Africa are uninsured, meaning a lot of drivers and businesses are running a risk on the roads [1].

Few people have saved enough money to finance the loss of or damage to their business vehicles. If your vehicle has business car insurance, it’ll be covered against unfortunate events such as damage, theft or loss due to fire. Moreover, business vehicle insurance may provide cover for any employees who unfortunatly incur injury while driving a business car.

Do I need business insurance for my car?

Car insurance is crucial to protect yourself financially in case of theft, accidental damage or loss. Whether you need business vehicle insurance or personal auto cover depends on how you use your car. For this reason, you need to understand the difference between using a car for business or for personal use.

When you use a vehicle for business, it contributes to the functioning of your workplace. If you use your car for purposes such as attending meetings outside your place of employment, you need commercial vehicle insurance. On the other hand, if you use your car only to travel to and from work and for personal purposes, you need to have personal vehicle insurance. Having the wrong insurance can result in your claim being rejected in the event that you cause an accident or if your car is stolen or lost.

Is car insurance more expensive for business use?

The premium on personal car insurance varies – based on factors such as where the car is parked during the day and night; the insured person’s age, gender and also the type of vehicle. It also takes into account the type of insurance you choose, whether comprehensive, third-party-only cover or third-party, fire and theft car insurance.

If you’re using your car for business purposes, you’ll be introducing additional risks. For example, your car might travel longer distances, including being on the road more often during peak hours. 

The type of business travel you do can impact the premium you pay. A car transporting employees to a worksite everyday is exposed to different risks from another that is used every now and then for commuting. Due to these differences, premiums vary.

When using your car for business, it’s essential to share the exact plans for your work vehicle, so if you do have to make a claim, it will be approved.

When do I need business car insurance? 

In general, it’s not mandatory to have business auto insurance in South Africa. However, if your vehicle is financed, your lender will demand that you take the right kind of business car insurance – otherwise they won’t loan you the money to buy the vehicle you need for your business.

In certain cases, you might want to travel beyond South Africa’s borders to do business in countries like Zimbabwe. Before you cross the border, you’ll be required to have at least third-party business car insurance.

It’s advisable to have business car insurance because repairs can be expensive. In addition, if an employee is injured in a car crash, you’ll need to cover their medical expenses. Without business car insurance, it could be very expensive to cover all necessary costs.

What’s the difference between business car insurance and truck insurance? 

Business vary and more often than not, the insurance needed will be different. For example, some businesses can function using cars, while others may need trucks to operate. 

A courier business may have cars, bakkies and/or heavy trucks depending on the size of packages delivered. Such businesses would need to have business car insurance to protect the financial investment in their bakkies and small vehicles. However, business vehicle insurance does not offer protection for trucks – for this, you need specialised truck insurance. 

There are different types of truck insurance you can choose from which we will go on to explain below.

What’s the best commercial vehicle insurance for trucks?

The logistics industry makes South Africa’s economic wheels turn in various sectors, including agriculture, retail and manufacturing. Exports to neighbouring countries contribute to the country’s revenue and help support the creation of jobs.

Trucks handle the movement of goods that smaller vehicles, like vans and bakkies, can’t handle. Transporting goods does come with its own set of risks. Truck drivers may experience collisions, theft and hijacking – this makes it’s good sense to have truck insurance.

The best commercial vehicle insurance for trucks depends on your business’s requirements and finances. Auto & General offers three types of truck insurance plans: comprehensive, combined comprehensive and all-risk, and combined comprehensive and goods-in-transit insurance.

Comprehensive truck insurance covers risks such as fires and explosions, theft, hijacking, storms and windscreen damage. 

What about contents insurance for business vehicles? 

Truck hijackings are a fact of life in South Africa – each year from 2015 to 2020, at least 1,000 trucks were hijacked annually [2]. Car hijackings top the list of vehicle crimes at about 57.5% of the total. 

When a vehicle gets stolen, you not only lose the vehicle but also the contents it carries, such as valuable tools and equipment. Some of these tools or contents are very expensive to replace, making it not only sensible but also necessary to have goods-in-transit insurance.

Auto & General’s commercial comprehensive vehicle insurance can include goods-in-transit cover depending on the type of your business. 

Goods-in-transit insurance can also be combined with comprehensive truck insurance to cover for financial loss, damage or theft of the valuable contents of your truck.

Get a quick truck and business car insurance quote

No business that relies on business cars and trucks can survive for long if hit with the cost of repairing or replacing them. Commercial vehicle insurance is the solution to protect against such financial loss.

Get a quick truck insurance quote or commercial vehicle insurance quote online now and keep the wheels of your business turning.