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What is road risk insurance?
Road risk insurance is essential for motor traders. Motor trade road risk insurance allows traders to drive vehicles in connection with their business on the road. It can cover several different types of vehicles, including:
- Customer’s vehicles
- Vehicles the business owns
- ‘In the trade’ vehicles – such as ones you have bought at auction or from members of the public

For motor trade risk insurance, call 0161 516 3352

What does road risk insurance cover?
While motor trade road risk insurance is primarily designed to allow motor traders to drive vehicles on public roads, it can cover other things, too:
- Customers’ vehicles left in your care
- Accidental damage to vehicles
- Business vehicles such as company vans, though exceptions may apply
- Cover for loss of use of customers’ vehicles
- Cover for in-vehicle equipment up to £250
- Cover for the cost of replacement locks
- Cover for third-party legal liability
What doesn’t road risk insurance cover?
The scope of a road risk policy is much more restrictive than a comprehensive motor trade insurance policy. This means it usually won’t cover the following:
- Other people’s vehicles – this purely for vehicles being worked on – so, customers’ vehicles – or ones sold in the trade
- Employees’ vehicles
- Public liability
- Tools
- Employers’ liability
- Loss or damage caused by incorrect fuel
- Vehicles being driven by a person not permitted by your Certificate of
- Motor Insurance
- Vehicles excluded from the policy, such as Japanese imports, classic or performance cars
If you’d like some help getting the motor trade road risk insurance that’s right for you, or if you’d like a road risk insurance quote, then please get in touch. Call Jensten Insurance Brokers team on 0161 516 3352, and our specialist motor trade insurance team will be happy to help.

What levels of road risk insurance cover are there?
As with car insurance, there are three levels of road risk insurance cover:
- Third-party only – covers injury or damage to third-party property or people but offers no protection for the driven vehicle
- Third-party fire and theft – as above, but it also covers you for fire damage or theft to third-party-only cover
- Comprehensive – offers full protection, including the cost of repairs, even if an accident was your fault
With comprehensive cover, most motor trade policies will only pay the trade value of a written-off vehicle, not the retail value. So, if you buy a car for the trade price of £10,000 and have it on sale for £15,000 if it is written off, you will only receive £10,000.
Which additional covers are worth adding to a road risk insurance policy?
As a motor trader, you’ll face a range of risks and can benefit from extra protections, including:
- Public liability insurance – if a member of the public is injured or their property damaged, you can be held liable. Public liability insurance will protect you financially should you be sued for damages
- Employers’ liability insurance (EL insurance) – is a legal requirement if you have any staff, be they full-time, part-time, or contracted. EL insurance protects you from compensation claims from your employees should a claim be made against you for loss or injury at work. Your policy must have a minimum of £5m cover, with £10m being the industry standard
- Motor legal expenses – if you’re ever sued by a customer or a member of the public, the legal fees could be eye-watering, and motor legal expenses will cover these for you within agreed limits
- Tools and machinery cover – without your tools and machinery, you can’t operate, and things like jack stands, compressors and powered impact wrenches aren’t cheap to replace. These are items that are attractive to thieves due to their portability and high value
- Business premises cover – if you’re trading from premises, you’ll want to have them protected. If your premises were damaged or destroyed, business premises insurance would cover the cost of repairs or a rebuild
- Demonstration cover – for unaccompanied demonstrations such as test drives

Who needs motor trade road risk insurance?
If you’re in the motor trade and need to drive your own and/or customer’s vehicles on the road, then you need a road risks insurance policy. Road risk insurance from Jensten Insurance Brokers is suitable for businesses such as:
- Car dealers – both full-time and part-time
- Mobile mechanics
- Service and repair garages
- Tyre fitters
- Breakdown and recovery operators
- Valeters and detailers
- Motor traders under the age of 25
- Classic car restorers
- Body shops
- SMART repairers
- MOT service stations
Why get road risk insurance through Jensten Insurance Brokers?
As well as flexible, quality cover, our motor trade insurance offers you the following benefits:
- Service from quote to claim
- Road risk-only options
- You get to deal with a dedicated motor trade team that understands your insurance needs
- Cover for social, domestic, and pleasure use
- The option of comprehensive, third-party fire and theft or third party only cover

“All round good price for the package I was needing.”
Mr. W. July 2023

How much does road risk insurance cost?
As we’ll create your cover around you, that’s not an easy question to answer. What we can say is that your road risk insurance quote will be based on factors such as:
- The number of people you need cover for
- The ages of the people you need cover for – people under 25 will cost you more to insure
- The amount of cover required
- Whether you choose third-party, third-party fire and theft, or comprehensive cover
- The level of excess you choose to pay on the policy
- The type of vehicles you want to be covered
- Your trade
- The postcode(s) in which you’re working
- How long you’ve been trading
- Your claims history
- Whether you want to pay monthly or annually – annually will usually be cheaper
For tailored help, please contact Jensten Insurance Brokers today or call us on 0161 516 3352.
How to cut the cost of road risk insurance
There are several ways you can cut the cost of your road risk insurance quotes, including:
- Avoid insuring drivers under the age of 25 if possible
- Build up your no-claims bonus
- Pay annually – paying monthly may be convenient, but paying annually will be cheaper
- Raise your excess – the amount you pay in the event of a claim
- Shop around – or better still, ask an independent insurance broker such as Jensten Insurance Brokers to do the shopping around for you. With our privileged access to leading insurers’ policies and specialist knowledge, we’ll be able to save you time getting the cover you need

Road risk insurance FAQs
It’s important for motor traders to get the right insurance. To help you do that, here are our road risk insurance frequently asked questions. We hope they are helpful, but if you’d like some independent advice, please call us on 0161 516 3352, and the team will be happy to help.
If you’re planning to drive your own or customers’ vehicles on the road, then yes.
No, you will need to check the terms of your policy. It will need to be in connection with the business if it is owned by the business or is in custody or control of your motor trade business. It may be more cost-effective to limit the covers to keep your premium down.
Please note: your policy may come with indemnity limits that exclude certain types of vehicles, such as classic, prestige cars or Japanese imports. If you’re unsure about what’s excluded or would like some help, please call us on 0161 516 3352, and we’ll be happy to give you some help.
While these policies may look the same, road risks only covers driving vehicles on the road. Traders combined insurance, on the other hand, can offer a much wider range of essential protections, such as premises, material damage cover and liabilities, amongst others.
That will depend on things like the number of people you want to cover, drivers’ ages, and your claims history. For a personalised road risk insurance quote, please call us on 0161 516 3352, and the team will be happy to help.
Getting a quote is easy. You can call us on 0161 516 3352, and the team will be happy to help you find the protection you need. We work with a panel of different insurance companies and can help you find the appropriate cover to suit your needs.
Yes, no matter how many hours you work, you’ll need road risks cover if you want to drive customers’ vehicles on public roads.
Speak to Jensten Insurance Brokers about road risk insurance today
If you’d like some assistance getting the motor trade road risk insurance that’s right for you, contact Jensten Insurance Brokers by calling 0161 516 3352.
* Data collected from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the England, Wales and Northern Ireland Police forces.