INhat kind of in surancel
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kLL KINDS of operators may lave vehicles on contract hire or shorter rental period these lays; this side of the industry las been growing in recent rears.
With the recession, both a ;mall hire or reward haulier and manufacturer running an owniccount fleet, for instance, may >e equally averse to investing in new vehicle for a transport arder or manufacturing peak hat is doubtfully lasting beyond in estimated date.
The insurance part of running my fleet involves substantial ;urns — big money with big leets, and these will study the 'nsurance market with a ;pecialist's eye.
Last year (CM, March 29, 1980) went along to see a haulage nsurance expert — Len Jose, a iirector of Ernest A. Notcutt & o Ltd, Lloyd's insurance bracers, with branches at London, 3eckenham, Cardiff, Cambridge, hesterfield, Hull, Ipswich, NotIngham and Winchester.
He warned new operators ]gainst taking the attitude: "My :ompany has insured my house or years. I also had my light van nsured with this firm for years pefore I bought my lorry and roved up to general haulage." _en suggested that a haulier ;hould ask his colleagues to .ecommend a broker, who will hen find an insurer familiar with he pitfalls of haulage insurance.
But what sort of advice is the ;mall operator, faced with the ;udden necessity to operate a :ontract or hire rental vehicle, ikely to receive when he goes 'long to his local broker? We did ust that, and called on a broker whose name we discovered in the Post Office Yellow Pages.
I went along to see Brian Russ, of Churchill Dean Insurance Brokers, in High Street, Sutton, Surrey — a firm in the middle spectrum of insurance and not one specialising in haulage. But Brian, in previous employment, has had dealings with the "cowboy" element in transport years ago when Continental and Middle East operation first exploded.
He realises, however, that those people, who probably hardly survive today when overseas drivers consider themselves the cream, are as different as chalk from cheese from today's established firms in this field.
Of course, it's one thing to talk to a broker about a specific problem and another to talk about the whole field, and as Brian pointed out his remarks are largely generalisations, adding:, "Vehicle insurance as opposed to other types is something of a messy Dutch auction and rates may group twice a year.
"Motor insurance tends to be a losing business and you get enormous changes; a company may be keen for business one minute and then stop or increase rates to a great extent. These things also depend on your local branch.
"There tend to be three categories: the 'Bucket shops' dealing with sports cars and odd problems, who don't have a full company portfolio; middle brokers — offering all forms of business indemnity, fire insurance and the whole works; and the very big firms."
To come back to the small firm deciding to take, say, even one vehicle on contract hire, this is his advice in a nutshell: "If you are thinking of changing your insurance firm, leave that till renewal time.
"If you are say, in mid-term, you are talking about a rate obtained at the last renewal, so while other company's rates may be cheaper, you are unlikely to gain any advantage at that stage by changing; neither may your existing insurer charge for the extra for around three weeks. You may have aggravation in searching for a new policy, and will a new company take ages meeting a claims?
"If you have a good banker, take his advice. On the other hand, apply sufficient pressure on him, but make sure it is not enough to drive him out of his mind!
"A broker is in a position of trust — he should shop around for his clients, and you don't want him to react to the position where he has a captive client."
Most companies going in for self-drive hire, he said, who already operate an owned fleet, will find that they can merely add any extra vehicle to their existing policy by means of a note that will state that the extra vehicle is leased. In the case of a large fleet t whole thing can be handled or simplistic basis, he said, with t company declaring its fle strength every quarter and bei charged at a rate per vehicle; In the most common case fleet cars, that would be at single rate per vehicle, s; around £300 for Ford Cortina plus extra for the chairman larger Jaguar X36.
While there may once ha■ been a tendency for hire vehicles to attract an insurary penalty, that is not the case t day — or if it does exist then I can find a better policy for ti client, he said.
The ordinary wording of a Si Alliance policy will cover contract hire vehicle, he said.
While, in the first plac hauliers might cover restricte to contract liability under rules, operators carrying the own goods will almost certain have all risks cover at around per cent more cost.
The customer has a duty, I pointed out, to tell his insur • the type of goods carried; "ti get risks", like wine, need higher premium. But in no cas are the conditions of an insur substantially altered by contra hire.
For Continental trips, wheth the vehicle is on contract hire not, depending upon the des nations and durations of jar. neys, the rate would be 50 toil per cent higher — more for Ita and the Middle East — reducir by 40 per cent after four claim free years.
With an established custom( say hauling high-value antiquo to the Continent, a declaratie may be taken at the end of ft year on which will be state where a vehicle has been and f how long. Next year's rate is e timated from this declaration.
Large haulage fleets are special case, he said. But takit a different example in roi transport, perhaps a manufa turer, he would be likely tota) an overall insurance policy all aspects of his business which a commercial vehicle w play a part. It would not pay sur an operator to go to a speciali haulage broker.
"If we knew another brok had a specialist scheme v could not equal, we would po sibly arrange it at no profit ourselves, but the on the basis goodwill," he explained.