Mobile mechanic fleet insurance for service, tyre and windscreen vans
Cover for the vans your technicians drive to customers' driveways and car parks, with a clear answer on what happens when they need to drive the customer's car. One short form puts you in touch with specialist brokers who arrange cover for mobile vehicle services across the UK.
- Diagnostic kit, jacks and tyre machines
- Customers' cars on road tests
- Tyre and windscreen fitting vans
Mobile mechanic fleet insurance in brief
Mobile mechanic fleet insurance is one policy for the service vans a mobile repair, tyre or windscreen business sends out to customers, with any cover for driving customers' vehicles agreed alongside it. It is part of the wider picture of fleet insurance for trades, but with a twist most trades do not face: the job often involves the customer's car as well as your own van.
An ordinary van fleet policy covers your vans. Driving a customer's car on a road test, or moving it off the street to work on it, usually needs motor trade road risks cover, which is a separate section or a separate policy depending on the insurer.
The vehicles
What does a mobile repair business run?
Most mobile vehicle services start with one or two vans and grow route by route. Because the fleet is mainly vans with heavy fit-outs, many owners compare their options with van fleet insurance for trade vans before adding the motor trade side.
The customer's car
Who insures the customer's car while your technician is working on it?
This is the question that separates a mobile mechanic from most other trades. Garages and dealers that keep customers' cars on their own premises have a different set of needs, set out under motor trade fleet insurance.
Working on the car where it stands
The car stays on the customer's drive or in a car park while the technician works on it.
- The customer's own policy usually still applies to the car
- Damage caused by the repair is a separate matter
- Public liability often deals with harm caused during the work
Driving the customer's car
A short drive to check brakes, a noise or a repair before handing the keys back.
- Usually needs motor trade road risks cover
- The van fleet policy rarely extends to it
- Value limits on any one car are common
Moving or collecting the car
Moving a car off the road to work safely, or taking it to a supplier or test centre.
- Also usually a road risks matter
- Collection and delivery may be a separate section
- A non-runner on a trailer raises other questions
Inside the van
The van as a workshop: fitted kit and stock
A mobile mechanic's van carries much of what a garage keeps on its workshop floor. Insurers want to know what is fixed to the van and what is simply carried in it.
- Fitted equipment: Tyre changers, balancers, compressors and generators bolted in place, which add to the van's value and usually need declaring.
- Diagnostic and hand tools: Scan tools, laptops, torque wrenches and socket sets, normally insured under a tools policy rather than the motor cover.
- Tyre and glass stock: New tyres and windscreens carried for the day's bookings, which are theft targets and easy to damage.
- Parts for customers: Pads, discs, batteries and filters bought in for specific jobs, often paid for by the customer.
- Waste carried back: Old tyres, oil and parts taken away from customers, which some insurers ask about.
Many tools policies limit cover for kit left in a van overnight or need it locked away out of sight. Where vans are kept at technicians' homes, that detail is worth raising early.
What insurers ask
What will a broker ask a mobile vehicle services business?
Brokers who handle mobile mechanics tend to start with the work, then the vans, then the people driving them. Damage done to a customer's car or property while working is usually a matter for public liability insurance or a workmanship section rather than the fleet.
- Type of workServicing and repairs, tyres, windscreens, diagnostics or a mix of these.
- Customer vehicles drivenWhether technicians road test or move customers' cars, and how often.
- Fitted equipment valuesTyre machines, generators and compressors built into the vans.
- Where vans are keptA unit, technicians' driveways or the street outside their homes.
- Driver recordsAges, licence history and any points for each technician who drives.
- Fleet and trade clientsWork for lease companies, dealers or business fleets as well as private customers.
- Previous claimsVan accidents, break-ins and any claims involving customers' cars.
How it works
One quote form, specialist fleet brokers
Insure Fleet is an information site, not an insurer or a broker. We link you to MyMoneyComparison.com, a comparison service that gives businesses a gateway to brokers who arrange fleet insurance every day.
Start your quote
Get my fleet quote takes you to our partner, MyMoneyComparison.com.
Describe the mobile service fleet
The form asks about the vehicles, the work they do and who drives, so you can be matched with a specialist fleet broker.
Compare and decide
A broker contacts you with options, subject to insurers' acceptance criteria. There is no obligation to buy.
Before you buy
Points a mobile mechanic business raises with a broker
These questions often come up when a one-van operation takes on technicians and moves to a fleet policy.
- Can our technicians road test a customer's car?Only if road risks cover is in place for the drivers concerned.
- Is the tyre machine part of the van's value?Fitted equipment may need declaring to be paid out after a write-off.
- What if a customer's car is damaged during a repair?That is usually a liability or workmanship question, not a motor claim.
- Are vans covered while parked at the roadside working?Most policies cover a parked van, but conditions on keys and security vary.
- Can a self-employed technician drive our van?It depends on the driver terms the insurer agrees.
- Is a hire van available if one is off the road?A missing van can mean a full day of cancelled bookings.
FAQs
Mobile mechanic fleet insurance questions
What is mobile mechanic fleet insurance?
It is a motor policy covering the vans a mobile repair, tyre or windscreen business uses to reach customers, listed on one schedule with their use, drivers and level of cover. Driving customers' cars is usually handled by adding motor trade road risks cover.
Does a van fleet policy cover driving a customer's car?
Usually not. An ordinary fleet policy lists your own vehicles. Driving a customer's car, even a short way for a road test, normally needs road risks cover, which some insurers add to the fleet and others arrange as a separate motor trade policy.
Are mobile tyre fitters covered in the same way?
Broadly, yes. Mobile tyre fitters run heavier fit-outs, with tyre changers, balancers and generators, and carry a stock of tyres. They tend to drive customers' cars less, but moving a car to fit tyres safely can still raise the road risks question.
Can a one-man mobile mechanic move to fleet cover?
Usually once a second van is added, depending on the insurer. Small fleet insurance explains how switching from separate van policies tends to work, and a new mobile business without a claims record can still be quoted.
What if our technician is called out to a breakdown on the road?
Roadside repairs are usually fine on a mobile mechanic policy. Towing or carrying the broken-down vehicle away is a different job, and businesses doing that regularly may need recovery truck fleet insurance for the vehicles involved.
How is a mobile mechanic different from a locksmith or other callout trade?
Both trades send vans out to customers, often at short notice. The difference is the customer's vehicle: a mobile mechanic may need to drive it, which brings in road risks cover, while a callout trade such as a locksmith is mainly concerned with the van and its stock, covered under locksmith fleet insurance.
Does Insure Fleet sell insurance?
No. Insure Fleet is an information site and an affiliate of MyMoneyComparison.com, a comparison service that gives businesses a gateway to specialist brokers. When you start a quote you continue to MyMoneyComparison.com, and we may be paid a small commission if you are matched with and speak to a broker.
Ready to insure your mobile service vans?
One form for the vans and the road risks question, specialist brokers, no obligation.