Loading the risk: Why you need a good skip lorry insurance broker

Skip lorries are some of the heaviest duty vehicles found on the road. They are used for hauling construction material and waste and are considered invaluable assets to the construction and recycling industries. Whether you own a single skip lorry or a fleet of them, it’s important to ensure that you have the right skip lorry insurance in place.

What is skip lorry insurance?

Skip lorry insurance provides cover for vehicles with a gross vehicle weight above 7.5 tonnes. Like with other commercial vehicle insurance policies, skip lorry insurance is available as either third-party cover only, third-party, fire and theft or fully comprehensive cover.

Why you need specialist skip lorry insurance

As with many other areas of running a company, business owners with commercial vehicles need to have appropriate insurance in place to protect them against mishaps or accidents. In addition to meeting legal requirements, skip lorry insurance also offers the following for peace of mind for your business.

Financial protection against all possibilities

Skip lorries are large and powerful vehicles that have the potential to do a lot of damage in the event of an accident. Running a business that uses skip lorries regularly can be risky. If you own a large fleet of vehicles then the risk of accidents occurring is multiplied.

Even the best drivers are not immune to accidents. If such an event were to occur and you weren’t covered by the correct levels of insurance cover then it could end up costing your business thousands of pounds. An accident in which a third party is injured may cost you even more.

Skip lorry insurance will keep your business protected in the event of an accident by covering the cost of damage to properties, injuries to third parties and, with comprehensive cover, will also cover damages to your own vehicle. Without the right insurance cover in place business owners are potentially putting their operations at risk. Exposed to this risk, a business is likely to see a severe impact on their finances and in the worst case see their business shut down.

Getting you back in business

An accident, fire or theft is likely to cause huge problems for your business so it is vital to make sure that you have suitable skip lorry insurance cover in place. You may think that skip lorries are tough and resilient vehicles, but there are any number of reasons why you might find yourself without them.

The frequent use of skip lorries at construction sites and waste recycling sites puts them at risk of damage by fire due to exposure to hot processes, electrical equipment or even exposed flames.

Another type of loss of vehicle is through theft. Skip lorries are high value assets that can cost thousands of pounds and so would have a big impact on the business if it were to be stolen. Even an attempted theft can leave your vehicle out of action if it has been damaged during an unsuccessful theft attempt.

Both theft and fire damage can be devastating if impacting more than just one vehicle if you have a fleet – after all, when not in use they tend to be parked together so if one is at risk then they all are.

The last circumstance where you might find yourself at risk is due to mechanical breakdown of a vehicle. It is not just the cost of repairs you need to think about. You also need to think about the impact of your vehicle being out of action and unable to work for you. Taking out Breakdown cover in addition to your skip lorry insurance will alleviate this risk.

Having comprehensive skip lorry insurance means that the cost of repairing or replacing a damaged or stolen vehicle will be covered. Having additional Legal Protection cover can also provide you with a replacement like-for-like vehicle so that your business can continue operating as usual.

Protecting business reputations

The reputation of your business is at stake every time a skip lorry in your fleet makes a delivery, but even more so when you need to respond after something has gone wrong. How you deal with a situation will be noticed by all stakeholders – from clients and suppliers to employees and competitors.

The best way to be prepared for any eventuality is to have the appropriate insurance protection in place – that way your response will be professional, efficient and ‘business as usual’.

Comply with local authority requirements

If your skips are left on the public highway then it is a requirement of local authorities that skip hire liability insurance of up to £10 million is in place. Very few underwriters will quote for this specialised area of cover so it is important that, in addition to skip lorry insurance, you also have skip hire liability insurance protection.

Skip hire liability insurance is important as it protects you from claims made by third parties for damages awarded as a result of injury caused to them or for damage to their property. Any compensation payments for which you are legally responsible will be covered by these policies therefore business owners benefit from financial peace of mind in the event of any claim.