Family Fleet Insurance: What Is It and How to Get It
Find family fleet insurance quotes today. Powered by QuoteZone.
- Rated 4.8 out of 5 stars on Reviews.co.uk
- Over 300,000 quotes completed per month
- Fill out only one form
Compare Quotes
The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.
As seen on
If you're insuring more than one vehicle for your household—from cars to vans to motorbikes and more—buying a family fleet insurance policy can save you time, energy and money. If you're ready to find out the cost for your vehicles, fill out a quote form where you'll provide some basic information then receive quotes from various family fleet insurance providers—you can request a call back to discuss any questions you still have, then pick the best policy for you.
This in-depth guide will explain the benefits of family fleet insurance, potential cost savings, who needs fleet insurance, how to pick a provider—as well as who shouldn't buy family fleet insurance.
- What is family fleet insurance?
- How much is family fleet insurance?
- Where can I get family fleet insurance quotes?
What is Family Fleet Insurance?
Family fleet is insurance for households with more than one vehicle to insure. It's basically multi-car insurance, but you can also insure different types of vehicles on it, like motorcycles and vans in addition to cars. It's a single policy that covers a family's various vehicles. Some family fleet products are designed for high net worth families that have more cars than drivers, and can even include track day cover. While fleet insurance is usually for business use, the market has expanded to encapsulate private vehicles as well.
You need at least 2 vehicles for a family fleet policy—although some providers only sell fleet plans for a minimum of 3 or 4 vehicles. It varies by insurance provider. Policies covering just 2 to 5 cars are typically called "mini-fleet" policies. There's essentially no upper limit on the number of vehicles you can insure with a fleet policy.
Just like regular car insurance, family fleet insurance can be Third Party Only (TPO), Third Party Fire & Theft (TPFT) or Comprehensive—and you can get different types of cover for different vehicles on the same policy. Read more below.
Family fleet policies can cover a wide range of vehicles including cars, vans, motorbikes, scooters, horse boxes and more.
Yes. Family fleet plans can be customised to your needs, so for instance an older, inexpensive car could have TPO cover while a more expensive vehicle could have comprehensive cover. Read more below.
With a family fleet policy you either get cover for specific "named drivers" (where you declare which family members can drive and they're listed by name on the Certificate of Insurance) or fleet insurance can be purchased to cover "any drivers" (e.g., people in your family living at the same address). There are also circumstances in which a family member can be covered if they're not living at home, for instance if they're off at uni.
As long as the policy lists "named drivers" (as opposed to covering "any drivers") on the Certificate of Insurance, drivers should be able to maintain their own NCB on a family fleet insurance policy.
Family fleet insurance can benefit households with more than one vehicle to insure. If your family members have quite a collection of vehicles from scooters to cars, you should get family fleet insurance priced because you might be able to save money on your insurance premiums. Even if you just have 2 or 3 vehicles it can result in savings.
Many types of businesses utilise fleet insurance, such as taxi or private hire companies, courier companies (e.g., scooters, motorbikes, cars, vans), shipping or haulage companies (e.g., a fleet of HGVs), restaurants (e.g., delivery scooters), companies that supply their employees with company cars, etc.
Family fleet insurance doesn't always work out to be the cheaper or better option, so it's always worth comparing to individual policies. If you have unusual cars or profiles (e.g., sports car or convicted driver) then you may find cheaper insurance by looking at the individual car insurance market, as it is broader and includes a larger number of specialist companies that might offer cheaper quotes or better coverage for your particular needs.
As long as you have declared "business use" to the insurer and paid any additional required premium, you can use vehicles in your family fleet for work.
Types of Fleet Insurance
Like regular car insurance, there are three types of family fleet insurance: Third Party Only (TPO), Third Party Fire & Theft (TPFT) and Comprehensive. TPO is the most basic and only covers third party injury or damage (that is, it protects other people and their property, not you or your vehicles). The "best" type of insurance is comprehensive, which covers third parties as well as all sorts of damage to or loss of your vehicles (e.g., due to fire, theft, accident). Here's what each of these three types broadly covers:
| Types of Family Fleet Insurance | TPO (most basic) | TPFT | Comprehensive (most robust) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repairs or replacement if a vehicle is damaged in an accident | 
|
| 
|
| Repairs or replacement if a vehicle is stolen or damaged in a fire |
|
|
|
| Injury to other people involved in an accident |
|
|
|
| Damage to other people’s property |
|
|
|
Surprisingly, comprehensive (the "best" cover) can be very competitively priced when compared to TPO or TPFT—despite offering a much higher standard of cover. Many insurers won't even sell TPO cover. That said, owners of very low value cars might sometimes look for TPO cover since they don't think their car is worth potentially paying extra for comprehensive cover.
Family fleet insurers can customise your cover, providing different types of cover for different vehicles. This can be handy if you have cars of varying ages and values, for instance.
Benefits of Motor Fleet Insurance
Arranging a fleet vehicle insurance policy has a host of benefits over buying individual policies, namely cost savings and easier-to-manage renewals and payments.
- Less admin: A family fleet policy covers all your vehicles under ONE policy—that means one renewal date, one monthly or annual payment, one policy to manage. The more vehicles you have, the more significant the time savings.
- Peace of mind: Managing multiple policies can lead to mistakes on renewals or payments. With a fleet policy being easier to manage, you may find you're worried about one less thing!
- Cheaper vehicle insurance: Most insurance providers will give you a discount on additional vehicles, fleet insurance usually saves you money rather than insuring vehicles individually.
What's not covered
Each family fleet policy has a long list of terms and exclusions that you can read about in the Policy Wording. While these will vary from company to company here are are some typical exclusions that you'll find in the UK family fleet market:
Common Exclusions
- Drivers without a valid licence to drive the vehicle
- Drivers not in your family/living at your address
- Drivers not listed on the Certificate of Insurance
- The excess (which might be higher if any of your drivers are younger)
To illustrate how the excess can be higher for certain drivers, we looked through some sample policy wordings. For example, Markerstudy's Family-Marque family fleet policy lists an additional excess for accident damage claims of:
| Sample Extra Excess for Young Drivers on Family Fleet Insurance | |
|---|---|
| Under 21 | £250 |
| Aged 21 to 24 | £200 |
| Aged 25 or over but wihtout a full UK driving licence | £100 |
| Aged 25 or over with a full UK driving licence, but one issued less than 1 year ago | £100 |
What to Look Out For When Buying Fleet Insurance
If your drivers also use fleet vehicles for private use, say after work or at the weekend, make sure that your policy covers social, domestic and pleasure use as well. In addition, here are some features to look for in a high-quality policy:
Useful Features
- 24-hour helpline: Access to an all-hours helpline if you need assistance after an accident or another claim situation.
- Emergency Breakdown Service: 24-hour roadside assistance if one of your vehicles breaks down.
- Accident Recovery: Removal to a safe place/ repair shop if a vehicle is involved in an accident and cannot be driven safely away from the scene.
- Continental Cover: Full insurance protection when driving abroad in Europe.
- Uninsured Loss Recovery: Reimbursement of money you paid out following a car accident that was not your or your employee's fault, and which is not covered by your own fleet insurance.
- Windscreen Cover: Repair or replacement of chips and cracks in vehicle windscreens.
- Like-for-like vehicle replacement: To keep you on the road if one of your vehicles is in for repairs after being damaged in an accident, for example.
- New-for-old cover: A new replacement of the same manufacture and model if your vehicle is stolen and not recovered or written-off as a result of damage.
Average Cost of Family Fleet Insurance
The average cost of a family fleet policy depends primarily on three factors:
- The number of vehicles
- The cost to insure the vehicles individually
- The % discount you receive for insuring as a fleet
Depending on these factors, the savings you can achieve with fleet insurance can very quickly reach into the hundreds or thousands of pounds. For example, a family could save £450 a year insuring a fleet of just 3 cars that normally cost £500 to insure each, assuming a 30% fleet discount. (For reference, the average cost of car insurance is around £460 a year.) See more examples below.
| Fleet Discount Savings | 3 vehicles @ £500 per vehicle | 5 vehicles @ £1,000 per vehicle | 10 vehicles @ £1,500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% Discount | £150 | £500 | £1,500 |
| 20% Discount | £300 | £1,000 | £3,000 |
| 30% Discount | £450 | £1,500 | £4,500 |
| 40% Discount | £600 | £2,000 | £6,000 |
How to save money on a family fleet insurance policy
- Named drivers: Fleet policies where you "name" the drivers are tyically cheaper than "any driver" policies, and are usually practical enough for a family fleet situation.
- Safe driving: Having your drivers build up their no claims bonus can save 50% or more on insurance. Encourage your family members to drive safely and without time pressure to help avoid accidents.
- Type of Cover: If any vehicles are old/not valuable you might decide that a lower level of cover is sufficient, but generally speaking it's best to get comprehensive cover. You can mix up the type of cover to optimise cover for your family fleet.
- Secure storage: Parking your vehicles in a locked garage is ideal, or a private driveway. Leaving them on the street might cost more as there's a higher risk of theft.
- Buy low insurance group rating vehicles: Some vehicles cost 2X, 3X or more to insure versus others.
- Compare prices to get multiple quotes every year: Head to a comparison site to make this easier—you can fill out a quote form here
- Increase the voluntary excess: A higher excess typically means a lower premium, but the discount you get might be insignificant compared to the extra excess you'll need to pay in a claim scenario.
- Pay your premium upfront instead of monthly: Unless your providers charges 0% APR on monthly payments, saving annually can save you up to 19% or more.
- Don't automatically renew: Insurance companies don't often reward loyalty so before you renew check prices for a brand new policy from your current insurer and from other options in this market. You may be able to use these quotes as leverage to negotiate a lower renewal price with your current provider.
- Buy ahead: Our research shows that vehicle insurance bought 3 weeks in advance of the policy start date is the cheapest. Buying last-minute is a sure way to pay a higher premium for the whole year.
Where can I get family fleet insurance quotes?
Compare family fleet insurance quotes here—after filling out a short form you'll receive quotes from up to three fleet insurance providers. You'll have the chance to talk on the phone to if you have questions that you want to discuss. Then choose the cover that offers the best price and features for your needs.