Why should I insure my company vehicles?

Businesses have various components they rely on to ensure they can stay operational, and for many, vehicles are just one of them. They're critical to enabling deliveries to be made and clients to be seen, which is why companies can't afford not to take out business vehicle insurance.

After all, there are all sorts of problems that can face a business if they don't have cover in place. Lost custom and a suffering reputation are just two of the issues that could arise from not having operational vehicles.

These are just some of the reasons you might want to take a closer look at business vehicle insurance, especially if you've never given it much thought in the past.

Commercial vehicles need to be protected.

Potential for vehicle theft

Australia has one of the highest rates of vehicle theft in the world, warns the Australian Institute of Criminology. It costs the national economy around $1 billion a year, and even just a small proportion of this can be difficult for a company to cope with.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows the national average motor vehicle victimisation rate stands at 3.5 per cent. Both Western Australia and the Northern Territory are higher than this average, with victimisation rates of 5.5 per cent and 5.9 per cent respectively.

Accidents while on the job

Another reason for taking out commercial car insurance is that a motor accident may occur while one of your vehicles is out on the road. This can cause significant damage to the car, van or whichever other mode of transport was being used, which can be costly to repair.

The NSW Centre for Road Safety advises the biggest causes of accidents are speeding and driver fatigue. This should be something your organisation aims to address, as the insurance you purchase will only deal with some of the consequences resulting from the accident.

Defacing of motor vehicles

There's also a chance your commercial vehicles may be defaced or damaged in some way, which can be especially expensive to rectify if you have invested in bespoke signage. This is where a dedicated business vehicle insurance policy can be beneficial, as it may save you considerable expense and inconvenience should something go wrong

The ABS reveals that 27 per cent of all incidents of malicious property damage relate to a car or other motor vehicle - that's around 152,000 per year.