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Fleet insurance essentially is a group insurance for cars. It allows for cost reductions as well as ease of administration. For any company that owns more than four or five vehicles, we strongly recommend structuring a fleet insurance policy. Fleet insurance is very popular across large corporate entities in Dubai however it’s slowly gaining popularity among the SME sector, who usually just insure all their vehicles individually.
If you take as an example, a hydro company, they have multiple vehicles on the road that their workers use for business. They range from executive driven vehicles to the work trucks packed with equipment. Some of these businesses have 50-60 vehicles on the road each day.
Commercial Insurance Companies have recognised the enormous price of insuring these vehicles separately. They have set up a fleet insurance policy for businesses that have more than 5 vehicles in use. All commercial vehicles are rated for their individual use. You can have one rate for a car, and a different one for the truck that is fixing hydro lines. The rates vary depending on what the vehicle is used for each day. The commercial fleet policies often are given a standard discount of 30-40% off the premium of all the vehicles insured.
There is always a large turnover of vehicles. They are damaged, out of date, or have been totalled in an accident. At one time, and probably still in some companies, the insurance policy was written so the insured’s business could substitute vehicles on their own. They would just have to submit records at the end of the policy term. The liability insurance cards are sometimes written up as follows: ALL VEHICLES OWNED AND/OR OPERATED BY DUBAI HYDRO. This created less work for both parties. All vehicle descriptions are updated at the end of the year with DIN and the correct VIN of all vehicles.
Along with the change of vehicles, there are drivers who come and go each year. The client knows the rules as far as the type of drivers they can insure. They will have to produce the drivers abstracts each year when the policy comes due for renewal.
The coverage available is basically the same as you would put on your vehicle. There are Mandatory limits as described by law. The policy would include Full comprehensive or third Party liability, medical expenses and emergency care. There are a few Companies that are offering a Personal Accident Benefit.
There are commercial products available that can be paired with fleet insurance. If one of your vehicles happens have an accident, whereas the contents have spilled all over the road. You will no doubt want to have coverage for the cargo. Always speak to your broker to make sure your business is completely covered.
More and more people are turning to the road assistance programs available. AAA, or CAA are the most popular. It assists the Insurance Companies by absorbing some of the costs of towing, start-ups and fuel.
At insurancemarket.ae we can setup a custom-made fleet insurance policy for a company that owns two cars or more.
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