Anybody who works with vehicles, or sells or deals vehicles, will need motor trade insurance. Motor trade insurance policies tend to cover the driver, not the vehicle, giving the driver greater flexibility and freedom when doing test drives, demonstrations, and moving vehicles on the road and within trading premises.

The first thing an insurer is likely to ask is what type of vehicles you are working with – for example, are they private cars, commercial vehicles, or HGVs?  And next, what is the nature of your business, are you involved in selling / dealing vehicles, or in their maintenance, service and repair? It is very important to have a clear picture of your business to give to potential insurers, to make sure you get quotes covering all necessary aspects of your business.

There are various types of policies that a motor trader can opt for. Some cover road risks only; i.e. risks when actually driving the vehicles, and others offer broader coverage.

If you are in the business of vehicle sales, you will need cover that allows you to test drive and demonstrate a number of different vehicles, as well as collect and deliver them, take them to the workshop for repairs if necessary, etc. usually, this is called a ‘road risks’ policy.

There are different levels of cover, from Third Party only – which is the minimum legal requirement and doesn’t cover you in case of fire or theft – to Comprehensive, which has a much broader level of cover for your and other people’s vehicles.  Insurers will require quite detailed information about the vehicles registered to you or in your care as part of your business, so check with them how this information is submitted and maintained – you want an easy to use and accessible system.

You should also check whether a policy covers+ Social, Domestic and Pleasure use too (referred to as SD&P; by those in the know). If it does, that means you can use your vehicles for driving to and from work, for example, as well as in the course of operating your business.  Including SD&P; may raise your premium, so think carefully about how you will use your business vehicles.

If you are operating in a showroom, forecourt or garage you must consider premises insurance, which protects your property in case of damage, or theft of, or damage to, the contents of that property, such as machinery, tools, money and personal items.

Finally, there is liability insurance, which goes beyond simply covering damage to or loss of vehicles and property, but also protects you against liability to customers and staff in case or injury or legal grievance.

The law says that if you employ any staff at all, you must have Employer’s Liability Insurance to protect you from compensation claims, should your staff be injured at work. Public Liability Insurance is not required by law, but is strongly recommended as it protects you in case someone is injured on your premises and decides to sue you. And Product Liability Insurance will protect you if a vehicle or part you provide later turns out to be faulty, and causes damage or injury.

Some specialist insurers may offer packages that combine road risks, premises and liability insurance, which are specifically designed for motor traders. It is definitely worthwhile finding out who the best specialist insurers are, and talking through your individual needs with them.

What is Loss of Use Term in Auto Insurance?

One of the things that the consumers may not really contemplate, but do expect, is that their auto insurance will cover the cost of a replacement car when their automobile is being replaced. Many auto insurance policies actually do not provide for this automatically. If you are at all dependent upon your car, it is vital that you make sure that this type of coverage is included. Rental cars are not cheap!

How do you tell if you have this kind of auto insurance coverage for automobile or RV? First, you need to look at your car insurance policy. The language you are looking for refers to something called "loss of use." What is loss of use coverage? As the name suggests, loss of use coverage refers to the expenses for transportation while your automobile is in being repaired or replaced. In more practical terms, this simply means that you have coverage for a rental car. Indeed, many people including those in the auto insurance business refer to this clause of the car rental coverage clause.

Buying loss of use auto insurance

Buying loss of use auto insurance with the car policy is definitely something you want to do. The idea of buying more car insurance coverages and auto insurance quotes probably is one of the least favorite things for most people. That being said, going for days without your car is far worse. Most of us drive to work and home. Most of us need our cars just to get around to find basic things like food. You really don't realize how dependent you are on a car until you don't have it. If you don't believe me, try a simple little test. Lend your car to a friend one morning and tell them not to bring it back till the end of the day. I guarantee that you'll be going batty by noon!

Loss of use automobile insurance is simply worth its weight in gold. It may not seem like it now, but it will when you suddenly need to get around and your car is in the shop. Paying for a turist car for tour or turizm with your own money for more than a few days is an extremely expensive proposition. Paying 10 to 20 bucks a year extra on your car insurance to get loss of use coverage is definitely a better deal. Do it!

There are dozens of different types of insurance, from insurance that you have to take out by law (such as car insurance), to policies that it's a good idea to have (such as contents insurance) to those that are 'nice to have' rather than necessities.

Figures from the Association of British Insurers show that, during the recession, one in four people cancelled their home insurance. While it's a good idea to make sure you're not paying for insurance you don't need, you should always think about what would happen if disaster were to strike before cancelling any insurance policies.

How does insurance work?

When you take out an insurance policy, you pay a premium to the insurance company. If you never make a claim, you never get any of the money back; instead it's pooled with the premiums of others who have taken out insurance with a particular firm.

That may not sound like a good deal, but the idea behind insurance is that everyone pays into a pot of money, knowing that only some of them will ever need to make a claim. If you have to make a claim (perhaps because your washing machine has flooded your kitchen and damaged your floor), the money comes from the pool of your and other policyholders' premiums.

How are premiums calculated?

Insurers are professional risk takers, which means they know the probability of different types of risk happening so they can calculate the premiums needed to create a fund large enough to cover likely loss payments.

Clearly, only a proportion of policyholders will make a claim in any one period. So, an insurer will take two important factors into account when calculating the premium it will charge. Firstly, how likely it is in general terms that someone will need to claim and secondly, whether the person who wants to take out the policy is a bigger or smaller risk than the 'average' policyholder.

Take three examples. In motor insurance, a young person with ahigh-powered car, or a driver with a long history of accidents will pay a higher premium than a mature and experienced driver with a car with a smaller engine who has not had an accident before.

Similarly, the owner of a fish and chip shop will pay a higher premium for his or her fire insurance than, say, the owner of an office. The risk is greater, so the premium is higher.

Someone who is young, fit and in a risk-free job will find it easier to buy life insurance and will pay lower premiums than someone who has a heart condition or is in a risky occupation.

The level of premium is also affected by the insurance company's desire to target a particular section of the market. So, if an insurer wants to encourage younger drivers to buy insurance from it, it may decide to undercut the premiums charged by some of its rivals.

Two kinds of insurance

There are two different kinds of insurance -  life insurance and  general insurance.

General insurance pays out:

• If a car has an accident or is stolen

• If a house catches fire or is burgled

• If a holiday has to be cancelled

Most life policies, on the other hand, pay out  when an event happens, such as when someone dies.

Anyone can buy life insurance but, the amount you pay in premiums will depend on your age, your health, and the type of work you do. The younger and healthier you are, the cheaper the premiums for life insurance. But if you work in a risky job, you'll normally have to pay more for life insurance.

Most types of insurance are annual policies. That means that the amount you pay can change every year and, if you've made a claim in the previous year or your circumstances have changed, it could affect your premiums.

However, some types of insurance, such as life insurance and insurance that pays part of your income if you cannot work because you're seriously ill, are long-term contracts. That means you don't get renewed quotes every year as the premium is set when you first sign up.

If you have a joint mortgage with your husband, wife or partner, you can take out life insurance that will pay out if they die before the mortgage is paid off. However, you can't take out insurance on someone unless you'd be financially worse off if they died.

What is the excess?

With many general insurance policies, you have to pay the first part of any claim - called the excess - if something goes wrong. The level of the excess can vary widely. For a travel insurance policy, it may be £25 - £50 while for a car insurance policy it could be £100 or more.

Sometimes insurers will impose a large excess if you've already claimed