Self-drive hire insurance is vital if you rent out a vehicle to members of the public, Policies are primarily made up of motor insurance, which covers the driver and your vehicle or fleet of while in use under a rental contract. Not only is it a legal requirement, but it provides peace of mind that your investment is protected if the worst happens.
Unlike pay-as-you-go self-drive hire insurance, our comprehensive annual insurance not only includes the motor insurance element but also provides off-hire cover. That means you and other named drivers are insured if you want to use the vehicle without a rental contract.
We also offer motorhome insurance for personal use if you are not currently renting out your vehicle(s)
Alan Boswell Group is a self-drive hire insurance specialist. We’ve been arranging insurance cover for businesses for more than 30 years and have access to a panel of the country’s leading insurers.
Our dedicated team looks after self-drive hire clients from across the UK; everything from large fleets of commercial hire vans, to small family-run motorhome hires, from storage companies who also offer their customers a hire van, to splitter vans taking bands on tour. We help you with any claims, supporting you through the process. We’ve also put together a range of useful guides, articles and tips for motorhome and campervan owners in our knowledge hub.
Excellent customer communication. Very helpful and clear over the T&Cs. Good response to queries and questions.
We arrange self-drive hire insurance for a selection of vehicles, including motorhomes, campervans, splitter vans, horseboxes, classic cars, and vans (depending on experience). We also offer self-drive hire breakdown cover, liability cover, and legal expenses insurance to cover all your needs.
With us you’ll get fully comprehensive annual insurance for your vehicle(s) while on hire or static at the home or business address.
We won’t expect you to complete forms for every hire you arrange; you can hire your vehicle(s) whenever you want to whomever you want within a given criteria. To review the driver criteria please read our driver referencing page.
We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to what you need to do to ensure your clients are adequately referenced.
There are also additional covers available that we would recommend:
In the event you need to make a claim, you will be assigned a dedicated claims handler who will understand the importance of getting the vehicle back on the road with minimal disruption.
If you need motorhome insurance for personal use and you are not intending to hire out your motorhome then you will need specific motorhome insurance.
At Alan Boswell Group we offer breakdown cover from Call Assist, which provides UK only and UK & European cover, without restrictions to vehicle dimensions and regardless of who is driving the vehicle.
To discuss adding on Call Assist breakdown cover to your policy, contact the Self-Drive Hire team on 01603 649744 or by email.
For more information on how to prevent breakdowns, read our guide.
You can insure a wide variety of vehicle types with our self-drive hire policy. Furthermore, with our policy, you do not need to purchase a separate personal use policy, as our self-drive hire policies already provide coverage for it.
These are just some of the most common vehicle types:
If you’re hiring out your motorhome or campervan, our self-drive hire insurance provides complete peace of mind.
Insurance suitable for those who hire their horsebox to the public under a rental contract and/or transport horses.
Insurance suitable for those who hire splitter vans to the public under a rental contract and/or offer a chauffeur service, driving musicians in your splitter van.
Self-drive hire insurance is a specific insurance for vehicle hire companies and individuals. Businesses or individuals that want to rent out their vehicle(s) must have an insurance policy to cover them when a vehicle is out on-hire and give cover when it’s not on-hire as well. Something a standard vehicle policy cannot offer. A vehicle rental company must have self-drive hire insurance.
We will normally be able to indicate a premium immediately by call or use our online quote form.
We can cover self-drive hire risks in most regions of the UK, subject to insurer’s acceptance.
Yes. In most cases we can arrange for you to pay for your self-drive hire policy in six or ten monthly instalments at competitive rates. Credit terms are subject to acceptance of your application and full written details are available on request.
The main factors include the type of vehicle involved, the value of the rental vehicles, the area of the country in which your operation is based, and the claims history of the business. Named drivers points and claims will also affect premiums and excesses.
As long as they pay the deposit via a cleared and traceable method. This can include PayPal, bank transfer, credit, or debit card. Even a cheque is acceptable as long as it is cleared before the vehicle is hired.
Yes. You must verify the hirer’s identity using a form of photo identity such as a passport and two recent utility bills (dated within 60 days) sent to the same address as on the driving licence. You also need to take a copy of their photocard driving licence and a rental agreement must be completed per hire per driver. We recommend all evidence obtained is kept for a two year period in addition to the rental agreement and proof of the hire deposit payment.
‘Off-hire cover’ means insurance for your hire vehicles when not on hire – for example, when being driven by a named driver or when parked at your premises. We automatically include this cover at no cost to you.
Usually there will simply be an increased excess for the hirer, however sometimes you may need to charge an additional premium. The precise terms will be confirmed on a case-by-case basis.
A co-insurance clause makes you responsible for a proportion of any loss. For example, a 25% co-insurance clause would mean that you are responsible for a quarter of any loss with the insurer covering the remaining 75%. On self-drive hire insurance policies, a co-insurance clause is often applied to ‘theft by hirer’.
You may be required to pay a ‘minimum and deposit premium’ even if you don’t complete the first year of cover or change to a vehicle that commands a lower premium. Insurers normally remove this on your first renewal.
Policies are non-refundable if cancelled as of 01/12/2022.
Theft may occur when a hirer fails to return a vehicle at the end of a hire period or treats the hired vehicle as his or her own property – for example by selling it to another party.
Your excess will vary depending on the type of vehicle, age of driver, and the track record of your business. The minimum excess on our self-drive hire insurance policies is generally £500, which applies to most damage claims. A co-insurance clause of 25% applies to theft claims.
High value and performance vehicles will generally have a higher excess but these will be shown in your quote. The policy will generally include an additional excess for young drivers, typically £200 for a driver aged between 23 and 24 years.
We can arrange self-drive hire insurance for most types of vehicle including motorhomes, motor caravans, campervans, horseboxes and splitter vans. We can refer car and van risks based on previous self-drive hire XP and clear claims experience history.
Yes. We realise that you need an insurance partner with a flexible and realistic approach to help you maximise value from your self-drive hire fleet. We contact the insurer directly and get a swift response so you won’t miss the opportunity to hire.
Yes. Generally, drivers aged between 21 and 79 will be accepted at normal terms provided they have held a full license for at least two years and have a good driving record. Drivers aged over 79 may be accepted but at a higher rate. For splitter vans or high-risk vehicles there may be further age restrictions applied.
For more FAQs, visit our dedicated self-drive hire insurance FAQ page.
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