Food Delivery Insurance Questions

Why do I need extra insurance just for delivering food?

Your usual insurance policy was almost certainly designed for someone who just used the vehicle for normal social and domestic and pleasure purposes, plus you may have also added commuting cover.

Commuting cover only usually allows for journeys to, and from, a single place of work. Neither the basic nor commuting covers allow for business use.

Delivering food, however, adds another layer of risk and this has to be covered by a different type of policy.

Why won't my existing insurer extend my policy to cover delivering food?

They are almost certainly not in business to do that. All forms of delivery insurance are specialised policies which require equally specialised skills to work out premiums, and normal car, van, bike, scooter and moped insurers are not normally geared up for that.

Can I pay for food delivery insurance monthly?

Some insurers will allow you to pay monthly for your food delivery insurance cover. Do bear in mind, though that:

• You will normally be charged an extra administration fee, and/or interest
• They will require a deposit up front; typically (but not always) 20% of the total premium (including admin fees, etc)
• You will be expected to make all payments as agreed, and failing to do so could affect your ability to get any insurance in the future.

Are there pay as you go policies for delivering food?

These are available but there are very few sources. This means that the cost could be very high compared with a normal annual policy.

Can I get a top-up policy just for when I am delivering food?

It may be possible to get a policy which sits on top of an existing one, and which adds additional cover for things like deliveries.

However there is a very important point to consider. Your existing insurer will have laid down the conditions of their cover in the documentation that they will have made available to you. It may well be that these will forbid any business use at all, let alone food deliveries. If you breach these conditions your entire policy could be at risk of annulment.

If you are thinking of buying a top-up policy it is VITAL that you first contact your existing insurer to ask their views on this. Some are OK with it, but some are not. If they tell you not to, (or you don't inform them at all!), and you go ahead anyway, you risk being uninsured even when you are not out on deliveries.

I am a taxi driver and already have 'Hire and reward' cover. Will this cover me for food deliveries?

Whilst food delivery insurance is a form of hire and reward cover, these policies are designed specifically for many different purposes. It is highly unlikely that a taxi policy would cover any form of delivery of goods, any more than one designed for an Amazon driver would cover, say, furniture removal.

Even picking up a takeaway for a customer could breach the conditions of many taxi insurance policies and leave a driver uninsured.

So, it would be vital to check with a qualified specialist before making any assumptions.

I already have business Class 3 insurance. Is this enough?

No. Business Class 3 car insurance is designed for people like commercial travellers who:

• Drive for business purposes, as either an employee or not;
• Visit different locations, with or without an appointment.

Carrying samples or display equipment is usually allowed (but not alway, so best check), provided that these are not for sale; but carrying any goods that are for sale or which have already been ordered or bought by someone else is a different matter.

There have even been instances where a company representative has delivered an urgent order whilst visiting a customer; even this could well be a breach of insurance conditions which could leave that person uninsured, unless there was an agreement with the insurer to include this.

---

Does all this sound complicated? No problem, the experts will sort it out for you. Get quotes now.