Do mobile mechanics need public liability cover?

It is not a legal requirement, but many mobile traders choose it, as it can protect you if you damage a customer's property or someone is injured because of your work.

Are my valeting tools and equipment covered?

Not automatically under basic road risk. You can usually add tools and equipment cover, which many mobile traders do as they carry kit between jobs.

Can I get cover if I only valet at weekends?

Yes. Part-time and weekend valeters can get motor trade cover based on how much they trade. Be honest about your hours when you get quotes.

Motor trade

Motor trade insurance for car valeters and mobile mechanics

Car valeters and mobile mechanics work on vehicles they don't own. Here is how motor trade cover, road risk and liability fit mobile work.

Car valeters and mobile mechanics usually need motor trade insurance because they handle customers' vehicles. Road risk covers driving and moving those vehicles, and you can add cover for tools and liability.

Why mobile work needs trade cover

If you travel to customers to clean, service or repair their cars, you are working on vehicles you don't own, which a private policy won't cover. Motor trade insurance is designed for this, even if you work part-time or from home.

There may be times you need to drive a customer's car, for example to road-test it after a repair, move it off a driveway to work on it, or take it to a jet wash. Road risk cover is what lets you do that.

What a mobile trader's cover can include

Road risk to move and road-test customers' vehicles
Public liability for damage or injury to others
Tools and equipment cover for the kit you carry
Custody cover while a vehicle is in your care

Because valeters and mobile mechanics often don't have premises, many run on a road risk policy plus add-ons rather than full combined cover. If you later take on a unit or staff, a combined motor trade or commercial combined policy may be worth looking at.

Your own van

Your own van, used to carry your tools and equipment to jobs, needs suitable cover too, usually business use. See our van insurance page for more on classes of use.

Getting motor trade insurance quotes

With Kompare you fill in a short form about your trade and how you work. A specialist FCA-authorised broker from our panel then contacts you about quotes built around the way you work. Read how we work, or start on our motor trade insurance page.