Motor Management Guide

Within this guide:

Driver vetting procedure
Driver management
Claims process/management
Vehicle amendments/MID
Ascend Risk Management

Motor Fleet Management

We are pleased to offer our new guide, designed to help you and your staff manage your business.

All these guides should be read in conjunction with your policy schedule and wording, as each will have specific terms and conditions to ensure cover is maintained.

In this motor fleet management guide we provide advice on:

You can also report all your claims immediately via our Ascend Claims App.

Kind regards,

Matthew Collins
Managing Director
Ascend Broking Group Ltd
Tel: 01245 449060
Email: [email protected]

Driver Vetting

All motor fleet insurance policies have policy conditions regarding who is able to drive. Special attention should be applied to any driver who:

Has had any serious convictions
Has been served a driving ban
Has an accumulation of points (more than 6)
Has an adverse accident history (5 years)
Has any medical conditions
Is outside the driving warranty (age/experience)

If in doubt please contact the team at Ascend Broking: [email protected]

1. Driver Checks

For the DVLA licence check, all drivers should complete the Additional Drivers form, which will include:

National Insurance Number

Copy of driving licence & number

Postcode

Refer to Ascend if you have:

More than 6 points
Any driving licence ban
Any medical conditions
Any adverse claims history

Or, if you are outside your policy driving warranty (normally under 25 years of age or above 65 and less than 2 year experience)

Downloads:

Always check your driving warranty. Advise us if any driver falls outside the warranty, as they may not be covered by your insurance company

Nominate someone within the business to administer the motor fleet check procedures

Young drivers

If cover is for any licenced driver, check terms/additional excesses for young drivers, as some policies only offer Third Party cover

Check use in respect of young drivers – some insurers restrict cover to business use only, excluding social, domestic & pleasure use.

If in doubt, please contact Ascend: [email protected]

Insurance policies will not provide cover for drivers that should have been referred or fall outside the policy warranty.

Do you employ agency drivers or European drivers?

Have you checked these are covered under your policy?

2. Driver Management

We recommend you review all drivers' licence and conviction histories every 6 months:

1 month before renewal

Any new employees

6 months after renewal

Download our suggested drivers' register:

Driver Licence Register – 6-monthly-driver-licence-record-check

Claims Management

What to do in the event of a claim

Download the Ascend claims app

Report claims immediately from the roadside with our Award-winning digital claims app

Claims downloads:

Managing Claims - What to do

What to do at the scene of an accident

Fighting fraud

Post accident interview form

Motor vehicle accident form

Ascend Claims App Download Set Up Instructions

Report claims as quickly as possible to ensure speedy defence

Notify insurers of any incident as soon as you can - in some cases cover can be declined if they deem long delays have prejudiced their position-defending or settling

Our claims service

Contact the claims team at Ascend:
[email protected]
Tel: 01245 449060

Other things you must consider

MID or vehicle changes

It is your responsibility to make sure the MID is updated with any vehicle changes. Please advise of us of all vehicle changes as and when they occur, even if your policy’s premium is adjusted on a quarterly or six monthly basis. This is so we can ensure the Motor Insurance Database (MID) is kept up to date, unless you have opted to update the MID yourselves. Should a vehicle not be showing on the MID, it will appear to be uninsured to the Police and they could stop you at the roadside and potentially impound the vehicle, prosecuting the driver for driving a vehicle without insurance

Hazardous Goods

You must advise your insurers if you move hazardous goods. Many insurers will be fine with low levels, which can include palletised movements where hazardous goods are restricted by weight or volume. Any other movements will be regulated and you should make your insurers aware of ADR qualified drivers, classes of goods carried and any specific contracts, for specific products.

Vehicle loading

Incorporate load checks within your drivers' walk around procedure. Load stability and security is important, as improperly loaded vehicles may have cover refused in the case of an accident where the load may have exacerbated the problem.

Leased/hired vehicles

What is your contract exposure for hired or leased vehicles? If the vehicle is written off what will the hire company expect from you? Many motor policies only pay the market value, which can be a point of frustration. Think about additional protection if your lease contract continues to take payments until the lease company receives settlement. Make sure you are not left with a deficit once the claim is settled. Check your contract terms and ask about GAP cover from your broker.

Vehicle maintenance

It might sound obvious, but poorly-maintained vehicles have a higher accident risk. In addition, if the vehicle is deemed as being un-roadworthy, any claim could be avoided by insurers. Regular servicing is important but do not wait for the service period before highlighting issues. Camera apps can provide your drivers with a valuable tool to complete pre-driving checks and take pictures for forwarding to the transport manager, instantly, to make a decision on using the vehicle.

Trailers

Check the cover under your motor insurance. All insurance will cover third party damage caused by a trailer when attached to a towing vehicle. Anything more should be checked as not all policies automatically include any further cover.

Check the following:

Does cover mirror that of the towing vehicle?

Is cover provided for trailers whilst detached from the towing vehicle? If so, is it at own premises or specified third party premises?

What cover is provided by subcontracted hauliers when towing your trailers?

Check your exposure when towing third party trailers. Are they expecting you to cover the trailer for damage when in your care? Is this whilst attached and detached?

If the motor insurer cannot extend to the cover you require, it may be possible to add to the transit liability policy.