Northgate has issued advice to van operators on how they can ensure their commercial vehicles are correctly insured.

Recent research by Churchill revealed that more than one-third (35%) of British drivers wrongly believe they can drive any car they desire and receive the same level of protection so long as they hold a fully comprehensive insurance policy.

However, this is not always the case and may mean the motorist concerned could be faced with a hefty fine or prosecution.

To help avoid commmercial vehicle operators avoid such pitfalls, Northgate has issued the following advice.

Understanding the types of certificate available and class of use

To ensure you don’t trip up when faced with various certificates of motor insurance and also the class of use associated with them, bear in mind these aspects:

• Insurers issue two types of certificates of motor insurance, one called a ‘Specified Certificate’ which identifies the vehicle by the registration number and the other a ‘Blanket Certificate’, which is generally issued for fleets.

• ‘Class of use’ can be an issue. For example, if the cover is for social, domestic and pleasure but excludes hire and rewards.
• Some customers are also confused when they come across the term ‘insurable interest’. To make this a little clearer, an individual who has the potential to incur a financial loss following an incident or accident has an insurable interest in the property or interest which is insured against that event.

Understanding the wording on certificates

Certificates of motor insurance will come with a lot of text, where the wording can be hard to understand and full of jargon that will go right over your head. Keep an eye out for these key terms:

• “Any motor vehicle belonging to the policyholder or hired, leased or lent to the Policyholder excluding motor vehicles owned by employees of the Policyholder or hired, leased or lent to them.” This wording means the customer can use any vehicle their certificate entitles them to drive, but excludes cover for vehicles supplied by employees.

• “Any motor vehicle not belonging to the policyholder nor hired, leased or lent to the Policyholder which is causing an obstruction or otherwise preventing the operation of the policyholder’s business and which is being moved to facilitate the passage of a vehicle.” This means the policy holder can operate any vehicle causing an obstruction, impacting on their ability to conduct their business.
• “Any motor vehicle the property of the insured and/or for which they are legally responsible.” This wording means the customer can use any vehicle which belongs to them or for which they are contractually responsible for.
• “Any motor vehicle of the private car, estate car, utility car or minibus type the property of or on hire or loan or leased to the policyholder.” This means the customer can use any vehicle which belongs to them or for which they are contractually responsible for.