Kompare

Courier

Courier insurance explained

What courier insurance is, who needs it and the main types of cover it can include, from road risks and goods in transit to liability and personal accident.

Courier insurance is insurance for individuals or businesses that run courier or delivery services. It covers a range of risks that come with delivering for a living, including accidents, theft, damage to the goods you carry and liability for injury or damage caused by a courier driver.

Standard van or car insurance usually does not cover you to carry other people's goods for payment, which is why couriers need a policy written for that use.

What courier insurance usually covers

Courier insurance typically includes the following types of cover.

1. Road risks

This covers your courier vehicles while they are driven on public roads. Depending on the level of cover, it may include accidental damage, theft and fire.

2. Goods in transit

This covers the goods you are carrying for customers. It may include accidental damage to, or theft of, goods while they are in transit. Check the limit per parcel or per load, and any conditions about how goods are stored in the vehicle.

3. Liability cover

This covers the courier business if a driver accidentally injures someone or damages third party property. Public liability can matter when you are walking onto customers' premises, and employers' liability is generally needed if you employ staff.

4. Personal accident cover

This covers the driver, and in some policies passengers, if they are injured or killed in an accident.

Choosing the right cover

The level and type of cover depend on the policy you choose and the needs of your courier service. Single-drop work, multi-drop rounds and work for delivery platforms can each need different cover, so it is worth thinking about how you actually work and comparing what different policies offer.

In the UK, any vehicle used on a public road must have at least third party motor insurance under the Road Traffic Act 1988. If you are paid to deliver goods, your motor policy needs to cover that use. Goods in transit and public liability cover are not required by law, but contracts with clients and delivery platforms often ask for them.

At Kompare, you fill in a short form about your vehicle and your work, and a specialist FCA-authorised broker from our panel contacts you to talk through quotes. See our courier insurance page for more.