Christmas is coming: What you need to know about being a Courier this winter

With Christmas just around the corner, online sales will soon begin to take off. In an article published by The Telegraph earlier in 2017, it explored how the internet is becoming the destination of choice for shoppers, with consumers moving away from the high street to the internet for their Christmas shopping in 2016. With trends such as Cyber Monday becoming increasingly popular, people seem to be more inclined to shop from the comfort of their home, rather than face the crowds at Birmingham’s Bull Ring or London’s Oxford Street.

With online sales ever increasing as we near the 25th December, the need for couriers also increases to keep up with demand. In 2014 Amazon saw its busiest ever Black Friday, with five and a half million orders. In previous years, Royal Mail have had to employ over 1,000 new drivers and 20,000 temporary staff to cope with demand. According to the Royal Mail website, a staggering £1.23 billion was spent on Black Friday in 2016 alone.

If you work as a courier, Christmas is usually the busiest time of the year. As the weather gets colder and the roads get icier and busier, it is vital that you have the correct courier insurance to ensure that you are protected on your travels. Coversure know the courier insurance market, and can tailor policies to your needs. This ensures that you are only paying for cover that you need, rather than a package deal that encompasses a wide range of covers.

Do I need Courier Insurance?

The number of self-employed couriers has increased over the last few years. It can be difficult to know if you are in need of courier insurance, but, chances are, if all or any of the below describes what you do on a daily basis then you are in need of courier insurance:

• Do you deliver goods in exchange for payment?
• Do you deliver goods that are not your own?
• Do you make multiple drop-offs in a small area?
• Do you work as a courier business, as a freelance driver or as a lifestyle courier?
• Do you use your own vehicle to do your deliveries?
• Do you use a vehicle that weighs under 3.5 tonnes?

For a courier, your livelihood depends on being able to insure yourself cost-effectively. With lifestyle couriers coming onto the scene and choosing to rely on inadequate private car insurance rather than taking out the correct courier cover, they could find themselves uninsured.

Do I need Goods in Transit Insurance?

For a courier, Goods in Transit insurance is one of the most important covers that you can take out. This is a policy that protects goods and property from loss or damage whilst they are being moved from one place to another. If you work as a courier, and your livelihood involves moving goods from one place to another, this will protect the goods you are moving from common risks such as:

• Theft from your vehicle whilst goods are in transit
• Damage caused by accidents while you are delivering goods
• Loss that occurs during transit due to accidental damage or breakages.

 

Coversure’s Top Tips on How to Save Money with Quality Cover

There are many ways that you can save money but still have the proper cover. Coversure would like to offer their top five tips on how to save money on courier insurance in the run up to Christmas.

Use an Insurance Broker

An insurance broker can offer you help and advice, and are often knowledgeable in the relevant area. An independent broker has the ability to search their market to find you great quality cover, for affordable premiums. As part of the Coversure family, we have access to policies from some household names in insurance, including Aviva and RAC. Furthermore, some large insurance companies do not sell directly to the public, so a broker can find you policies that are not on price comparison sites. You can get all this by going to an insurance broker.

Always Check Your Policy Wording Carefully

By checking your policy wording, you are ensuring that you are only paying for cover that you need. Some policies offer umbrella packages that encompass a wide range of covers that you may not necessarily need. By tailoring your policy to your needs, you are minimising the chances of paying for extra cover you do not need.

Consider Courier Fleet Insurance

Do you have more than one vehicle that you use to courier? If the answer is yes, fleet cover could provide a quick and easy way to save on your insurance:

• The cost of insuring via courier fleet insurance often works out cheaper than insuring vehicles separately.
• There are increased levels of flexibility with a courier fleet insurance policy. You can have several drivers insured for the same vehicle, can add and remove people without having to take out fresh cover and you can insure a wide range of vehicles – including cars, bikes and vans – on one single policy. Meaning you save time at the point of renewal.

Invest in Driver Training

Whether you are a courier or a van driver, reducing your claims is a certified way to reduce your premiums. All drivers pick up bad habits and some further training can show that you are invested in your staff and less accidents can mean cheaper insurance.

Act Quickly in the Event of a Claim

Your vehicle is your livelihood when you are a courier, so in the case of the unthinkable, you need to make sure that you can get back on the road as quickly as possible. By making sure that you get your claim sorted quickly, you are ensuring that you are getting back on the road quicker. Furthermore, this can also have a bearing on future policy costs.

Coversure Hull is an independent fleet and business insurance specialist. From our base on the banks of The Humber, we offer comprehensive commercial vehicle cover, with particular focus on fleet and special types, alongside other essential business covers, namely commercial combined and liability.

Since opening in 2005, our combination of superb service and outstanding value for money business policies have established us as the insurer of choice for organisations both large and small.

Coversure Hull: We Mean Business

We have made it our business to protect your business. Whether you need fleet, landlord, liability or commercial combined insurance, we can offer you high quality cover from some of the UK’s leading insurers, all at highly competitive premiums that’s backed by our outstanding cover-to-claim service.

Contact Us Today

For a friendly independent service and great value cover, contact Coversure Hull today. You can call us on Hull (01482) 434343, for free on 0800 977 6037 or you can email us by clicking here.

We look forward to helping you with your requirements.

Andy Price
Managing Director

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