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Motor Trade Road Risk Insurance

Whether you take the wheel of your customers’ vehicles or drive your own as part of your day-to-day business, our motor trade road risk insurance is for you.

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What is Road Risk Insurance?

Road Risk Insurance is the minimum legal cover level needed by motor traders who drive vehicles they don’t own, as well as those who use their own vehicles for business purposes. This could include mechanics, car dealers, vehicle restorers, and valeters.

This type of cover is specifically designed to ensure you meet the minimum insurance requirements when you’ve got a customer vehicle in your care, custody, or control. But it also covers any vehicles owned by you for business purposes, and your spouse if they’re a named driver. With Road Runner, you can opt for motor trade road risk only insurance, or also include additional covers such as cover for your premises and liability.

What does Road Risk Insurance cover?

Road Runner’s Road Risk Insurance can include:

A wide range of covers and protection
Including vehicle damage, windscreen and window damage, in-vehicle equipment, replacement locks, loss of use for customers’ vehicles, and third-party legal liability.

Cover for vehicles in your care
This can include customers’ vehicles being kept at your commercial premises under our ‘Vehicles at Business Premises’ extension. If you trade or repair vehicles from home, this cover is automatically included!

Cover for personal, commercial, and customer vehicles
Covers all personal vehicles for social, domestic, and pleasure as well as customer vehicles for motor trade use.

Choose the cover that fits your business
Choose from Third Party Only, Third Party Fire and Theft, or Comprehensive cover – flexible protection for mobile traders.

Flexible indemnity limits
Choose cover that fits your business needs, with indemnity limits from £5K to £50K. Third Party, Fire and Theft policies offer up to £10K – ideal for essential protection without overpaying.

Vehicles in transit
Collecting and returning customer vehicles? Extend your cover so every car or van is protected while in transit.

Protect your tools and equipment on the move
Offer a mobile service? Cover your goods, machinery, and tools – including overnight theft protection.

Cover for test drives
Regularly carry out test drives? Accompanied demonstration cover helps you offer customers the chance to test drive safely.

No Claims Bonus protection
Extend your cover to keep your No Claims Bonus in the event of a claim where insurers can’t recover their losses. (Terms apply – see your policy booklet or summary of cover.)

Legal support when you need it most
Optional motoring legal cover helps recover costs from non-fault accidents. Protect your business from unexpected legal expenses.

For more information on the specific cover provided and exclusions that apply, please take a look at our relevant Policy Wordings and Summaries:

For UK customers: Road Risks Summary of Cover and Road Risks Policy Wording.
For Northern Irish customers: Road Risks Summary of Cover and Road Risks Policy Wording.

Why Road Runner for Road Risk Insurance?

We’re with you every step of the way (and twist of the precision pick)

Partners to all parts of the motor trade:

We’ve been side-by-side with every part of the motor trade for almost three decades, so we understand what keeps you and the cars you work on on the road – while avoiding road risk. Our reputation is built on trust, great relationships, and serving up the insurance solutions that are right for you and your business.

We know the consequences of damage to a car in your care:

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all policy with us, and we appreciate why protecting the cars you’re working on is as important as the fixes you’re making. That’s why we provide robust cover the whole time that a vehicle’s under your care – protecting you, your business, and the vehicles from road risks.

We always keep things personal

Having supported the motor trade industry for more than 25 years, we’ve built up invaluable relationships with mechanics, showrooms, valeters, and a host of insurers. We know the appropriate cover options and interpreting insurance policies comes naturally to us. Read our Feefo reviews for an idea of what our customers think about us.

Is Road Risks Insurance a legal requirement?

Yes. Road Risks Insurance is a legal requirement and mandatory for all those working in the motor trade who need to drive customer vehicles, or their own vehicles on the road.

Without Road Risks Insurance, you risk not only fines and penalty points, but also potential disqualification from driving if prosecuted – consequences that could seriously damage any motor trade business.

A car being loaded onto a tow truck with a ramp by the roadside.

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Who needs Road Risk Insurance?

You need Road Risk Insurance if you work in the motor trade and drive vehicles as part of your job. You’re likely to need the cover unless there’s no need for you to drive vehicles as part of your day-to-day operation. However, this is very unlikely.

Even if you’re driving a customer’s vehicle to simply test drive any new repairs you’ve completed, the correct Motor Trade Road Risks Insurance needs to be in place.

What happens if I don’t have Road Risks insurance in place?

Driving without the correct insurance can have serious consequences, starting with a £300 fine and six penalty points if you’re caught driving a vehicle you’re not insured to drive. If the case goes to court, you could get an unlimited fine or even be disqualified from driving.

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Our Criteria

You must be able to agree with the below criteria for us to provide a quote:

You and all drivers are aged 23 and upwards.
You are actively operating a motor trade business for profit or income.
You and all drivers have not been disqualified from driving nor been convicted of driving with no insurance.
You and all drivers have no criminal convictions not spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act nor any criminal convictions pending.
You, any partners, directors, employees, or drivers have never had a policy cancelled, declined, been refused renewal, nor had any special terms or premium imposed.

full list of criteria

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FAQs

How much does Road Risk Insurance cost?

The cost of Road Risk Insurance varies for every motor trade business. This is because quotes are based on several factors, such as the type of vehicles you handle, your level of cover, your claims history, and the size and nature of your operation.

We know it can be tempting to search for cheap road risk insurance, but to get an accurate price that reflects the exact risks your business faces, you’ll need a tailored quote based on your specific circumstances.

What’s not covered with Motor Trade Road Risk Insurance?

Examples of exclusions when you take out motor trade road risk insurance include:

Cover for employee vehicles
Cover for loss or damage caused by the incorrect fuel
Cover for loss or damage caused by theft or attempted theft if the vehicle has been left unlocked
Cover for any vehicle being driven by a person not permitted by your Certificate of Motor Insurance.

Can I get Road Risk Insurance for under 25s?

Yes – Road Runner’s policies are available to those aged 23 and upwards. So if you’re looking for Road Risk Insurance for under 25s, you’re in the right place.

Are you covered to drive any vehicle with Road Risks Insurance?

Road Risks Insurance can cover personal vehicles as well as those used for motor trade purposes, such as:

Customer cars while they’re in your care
Vehicles you own for business use, like breakdown or repair vans

It does not cover personal vehicles or anything excluded by your motor trade policy. Make sure to check your policy documents for full details.

Does Road Risk Insurance cover goods in transit?

Yes, you can choose to add cover for goods in transit with Road Runner. It’ll usually be added to your policy as an extension.

It’s best to talk to the Road Runner team who’ll determine whether you’d be better off with this as an additional policy feature, or if the nature of your work means you require something more specific.

Who can drive on a Road Risks policy?

Only drivers named on the Certificate of Motor Insurance are covered unless you’ve included ‘accompanied demonstration’ use. This lets you accompany a driver who isn’t named on the policy for a test drive when they’re looking to buy the vehicle.

Who needs to own the vehicle?

The road risk policy covers:

Vehicles owned by the Policyholder or the Policyholder’s spouse (if they are a named driver)
Vehicles that are in your care, custody, and control for motor trade purposes
Where the Policyholder is a Limited Company or Limited Liability Partnership the vehicles must be owned by the Ltd Co or LLP.

What can vehicles be used for?

A vehicle must be used in line with the Road Risk Insurance cover that’s provided, so this can be:

Motor trade use only
Social, domestic, and pleasure
Commuting or additional business use

The use provided will often be different for each driver so make sure you check your Cover Note or Certificate of Insurance, which will detail this.

Please note that customers’ vehicles can only be driven for motor trade purposes – you cannot drive them for any other reason.

What type of vehicles are covered?

Generally speaking, if you work with cars, motorcycles, and light commercial vehicles, this road risk insurance policy should be fine for you. However, you’ll need to tell us the type of vehicles you work with so we can make sure you have the right cover. This is because certain vehicle types are excluded unless we have specifically extended the cover in writing. You can find these listed on your policy schedule, so please check it carefully.

When we arrange your road risk policy, we’ll ask you exactly what type of vehicles you work with and let you know if any of them are restricted in any way. While certain terms may apply to different vehicles, we do generally accept the following:

Classic cars
Grey imports
Modified cars
LHD cars
Kit cars
Q plates
Certain commercial vehicles over 3.5 tons
Agricultural vehicles
Caravanettes/campers

And if you want to cover a different type of vehicle under our road risk trade insurance, just ask us.

Your Motor Trade Insurance team

We’re proud to present a specialist team who’ll not just provide you with insurance policy options, but also get to know you and your business. So, let’s introduce:

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Spanners

Branch Manager

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Louise Velez

Divisonal Director

Lee Dicks

Sales Manager

Fidoo Etwaroo

Renewals Manager

Find out more

Other cover we offer

LIABILITY INSURANCE

If you’ve got people working for you, or if you have customers regularly visiting your site, you’ll need to think about Liability insurance. We’re here to help keep you covered.

PREMISES INSURANCE

If you work from a premises, it’s likely you’ll have spent a lot on your tools, equipment or vehicle stock – and the last thing you want is any loss or damage. That’s where we can help.

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Road Runner is a trading name of Howden UK Brokers Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority No. 307663. Registered in England and Wales under company registration number 02831010. Registered Office: One Creechurch Place, London, EC3A 5AF. Calls may be monitored and recorded for quality assurance purposes.