Do I need motor trade insurance to flip a couple of cars a year?

If you buy and sell vehicles with the aim of making a profit, even occasionally, you are trading and a private policy will not cover it. A part-time motor trade policy may be the right fit.

Can I use my own car insurance for work vehicles?

No. A private car policy covers your own named vehicle for the uses listed on it, not vehicles you handle for trade.

Does a hobby restorer need motor trade insurance?

If you are not buying or selling for profit and only work on your own vehicles, you probably don't. If you take on other people's cars for payment, you do.

Motor trade

Who needs motor trade insurance?

Who needs motor trade insurance? Anyone who buys, sells, repairs, valets or moves vehicles they don't own. Here are the trades it usually covers.

Anyone whose work involves vehicles they don't own, whether buying, selling, repairing, valeting or moving them, generally needs motor trade insurance rather than a standard car policy. It is designed around the trader rather than one named vehicle.

Why the motor trade is treated separately

Motor trade insurance is built for people who handle customers' vehicles, or stock vehicles, as part of their living. A standard private car policy won't cover you to drive or work on vehicles you don't own, so the trade is insured differently.

Rather than insuring one car, a motor trade policy usually insures you, and anyone else named, to drive the vehicles in your care for trade purposes. That might be road-testing a customer's car after a repair, moving stock between sites, or delivering a sold car to its new owner.

Trades that typically need cover

You'll usually need it if you're a:

Car dealer, trader or part-time buyer and seller
Mechanic, garage or MOT station
Mobile mechanic or car valeter
Body shop, tyre fitter or vehicle electrician
Recovery operator or vehicle transporter

Even occasional traders flipping a few cars a year often need it. Whether you work full-time, part-time or from home, there are policies built for each.

Types of cover

Road risk: covers you to drive vehicles in your custody on the road, at third party, third party fire and theft, or comprehensive level.
Combined: adds cover for premises, stock, tools and liability alongside road risk.
Liability cover: public liability, and employers' liability if you have staff.

The level you need depends on whether you have premises, staff and stock, or simply drive customers' vehicles.

Getting motor trade insurance quotes

With Kompare you fill in a short form about you and your trade. A specialist FCA-authorised broker from our panel then contacts you about motor trade quotes, and any policy you take out is with that broker. Read how we work, or start on our motor trade insurance page.