Do you have questions about fleet insurance? Alberta business owners can contact us any time to get their questions answered quickly and easily by a knowledgeable insurance broker. You may also find some of the answers you're seeking in the FAQ section below, where we give our responses to some of the most common questions we hear from business owners about vehicle fleet insurance in Alberta.
How Many Cars Are in a Commercial Fleet?
The term "fleet" is used to refer to vehicles that are used in a business or for business purposes. In this context, the word "fleet" implies that there are more than FIVE vehicles used for company purposes. Now, beyond that minimum number, the number of vehicles in a fleet can vary greatly, depending on the size and type of business that you're running.
Now, a business does not need to own the vehicles that make up its fleet. Commercial fleets can be made up of:
- Company-owned vehicles
- Leased vehicles
- Or employee-owned vehicles (which are primarily used for business purposes).
When it comes down to insuring vehicles, registering a fleet can result in significant savings. Especially when compared to insuring each vehicle. It's also important to note that commercial vehicle insurance includes additional coverage that personal auto insurance lacks.
Why Do I Need Commercial Vehicle or Fleet Insurance?
In the province of Alberta, it's mandatory for all vehicles and their drivers must carry insurance. And that includes business-owned vehicles or vehicles used for business purposes. Commercial-use vehicles have an elevated risk of being involved in a traffic accident because they're on the road more often—especially in industries where long-haul drives are the norm.
There's one major difference that separates the two: if you're in an accident while driving a commercial or work vehicle, it's a liability. If you or one of your employees is involved in an accident, regardless of who's at fault, your commercial fleet insurance can help protect you from having to pay the costs out of pocket (i.e., medical costs, vehicle repairs, liability coverage issues).
How Does the Process of Getting Commercial Fleet Insurance Work?
When it comes to acquiring commercial fleet insurance, the first step is a risk management assessment. This is done to determine your business's needs. The assessment includes a full review of your operations, as well as your insurance exposure. Although the choice of insurance coverage is ultimately yours, it's recommended that, as a business owner, you purchase a minimum liability coverage of $2 million. For a business, liability insurance is critical.
What Information is Needed for a Business Fleet Insurance Estimate?
If you think you're ready to take the plunge and inquire about a quote for fleet insurance, Alberta insurance experts at Krywolt Insurance can help. To prepare for obtaining your quote, you will need to provide details about your vehicles to your broker or carrier. Some questions you should be prepared to answer include:
- How old are the vehicles in your fleet?
- What is the condition of the vehicles?
- How often will the vehicles be used?
- Are the vehicles kept in a secure location overnight?
- How many vehicles are in your fleet?
- What will your vehicles be used for?
- Are all your vehicle operators properly licensed?
How Do I File a Vehicle Fleet Insurance Claim?
Filing a fleet insurance claim is similar to filing a normal commercial car insurance claim. File the claim immediately with your insurance company following an accident. Most insurers offer online forms where you can file a claim at any time. Ensure you include pertinent information, and be sure to get the insurance details of the other drivers/drivers involved. If a police report was filed, be sure to include that information as well.
What Are the Advantages of Fleet Insurance?
There are numerous benefits to opting for business fleet insurance rather than insuring each of your commercial vehicles individually. It's significantly more efficient to have fleet insurance, as it covers all business vehicles on a single policy regardless of vehicle type, number of drivers, or intended use. This is especially helpful if you use one vehicle in multiple capacities, such as for both delivery of goods and transport of people.
If administrative work is not for you, then vehicle fleet insurance is the way to go. With this policy, you'll spend less time submitting paperwork when it comes to renewing your policy. Think about how long it would take you to renew the insurance on 100 taxis—compared to doing all of them at once.
Finally, one of the main draws of fleet insurance is that it usually saves business owners some money. Because your assets are quite valuable—100 cars to one—usually insurance companies are more willing to negotiate on rates.
How Does Commercial Fleet Insurance Work?
Business fleet insurance can be obtained through your insurer. It is designed to cover accidents and liabilities for all vehicles used in the scope of your business operations. Examples of vehicles that can be insured with fleet insurance include:
- Large trucks used for shipping and transport
- Cargo vans, including electric cargo vans
- Any type of car, van or SUV used for commercial purposes
How Much Does Fleet Car Insurance Cost?
Do you have a fleet of cars? The cost of vehicle fleet insurance varies depending on your carrier, the size of your business, and how many vehicles are in your fleet.
Additionally, there is a wide range of other factors that may impact the cost of your fleet insurance policy, including:
- Age, Condition and Value of Your Vehicles: Just like with a personal auto insurance policy, the newer and more expensive your vehicles are, the more costly they are to repair or replace. Thus, the more you will pay in insurance.
- Fleet's Intended Use: Different industries pay different premiums depending on what the vehicles are being used for. Plumbers, electricians and other home-service industries tend to pay less than taxi companies or car rental services.
- Types of Vehicles in Your Fleet: As with personal auto insurance, passenger cars tend to be less costly for companies to insure than SUVs.
- Your Policy Options: The more endorsements you add to your insurance policy, the more you will pay for insurance. Plus, the better protection you will have in the event that something goes wrong. Paying out-of-pocket for damage to your fleet of vehicles could be financially crippling for even the most savvy business owner.
- Your Claims History Over the Past 3–5 Years: The great advantage of fleet insurance is that the more profitable your fleet is for the insurance company, the higher the discounts available. For this reason, a three or five-year history of claims, including what happened and how much was paid out, is very important in negotiating your fleet insurance rate.
- Your Drivers' Experience and History: When drivers have clean driving records, no accidents and at least three years of experience driving similar vehicles to your fleet, you receive the most competitive rates on your fleet insurance. Albertan drivers with little experience, on the other hand, and those with tickets or claims, will result in higher rates or coverage being declined by a business fleet insurance company.
What Can Affect the Insurance Premiums for My Commercial Fleet?
When it comes to finding coverage for your commercial fleet, you'll want affordable pricing. By working with our brokers, we'll find you a policy that has low rates while also providing the best possible coverage for your fleet. Additionally, we can also look at ways to help lower your insurance premiums. When it comes to insuring a commercial fleet, the vast majority of insurance companies offer a discount—which greatly depends on the number of vehicles that require coverage. Another way to help with lowering your insurance premiums is by maintaining a record free of claims.
Can Anyone Drive with Business Fleet Insurance?
Yes. As long as your employees are properly insured, one of the best advantages of having fleet insurance is that any of your employees can operate any of your vehicles. This makes it much easier for your business operations to run smoothly, compared to listing specific employees with specific cars if you were to insure each vehicle individually.
What Are Some Tips for Maintaining a Safe Fleet of Vehicles?
As a business owner, the best way to ensure your employees' safety and reduce the likelihood of having to make a claim is by ensuring safety comes first. The safety of your drivers directly impacts the security of your vehicle assets, other drivers and pedestrians, and ultimately, your company's bottom line along with your premiums for fleet insurance. Alberta business owners can ensure their employees are driving as safely as possible by following a few tips such as:
- Maintain Regular Maintenance for All Vehicles: By taking care of scheduled vehicle maintenance like oil changes, tire rotations, changing tires as the seasons change and routine inspections, you lessen the likelihood of breakdowns, mechanical failures and accidents.
- Provide Education on Defensive Driving: Ensure that any of your employees who will be operating company vehicles have adequate safety training. For instance, consider offering additional safe driver training courses as professional development.
- Reduce Distracted Driving with Occasional Safety Audits: As an employer, it's up to you to set the safety standards at your workplace. It's essential that you pay attention to how your drivers are behaving behind the wheel. By conducting periodic safety audits, you reduce the risk of texting while driving, distracted driving and other threatening practices.
- Reward Safe Drivers: Consider recognizing good drivers, as they help save your company money by reducing insurance claims. One possibility is offering an incentive for employees that are accident-free for one year.
- Coverage against uninsured motorists ensures that your fleet vehicle will be fixed / replaced even if the other at-fault driver didn't have insurance and that your driver will still have access to medical benefits from the Statutory Accident Benefits section of the fleet policy.
What is SEF 44 and What Does It Cover in Alberta? Is it Mandatory?
The SEF 44 Endorsement is a family protection endorsement offered in Alberta. It provides you, as well as dependent family members, with extra insurance to cover any damage that's sustained in a vehicle accident of more than $200,000, up to your policy's limit. What this does it it provides you with coverage up to the maximum allowed of your own policy limits, whatever those might be.
Now, although Alberta's Family Protection endorsement (the SEF 44) is valuable and important, it's completely optional. However, it's highly recommended as additional coverage for any existing vehicle accident policy.
