Policy review improves cover and saves money for plumbing business

by Tony on 02/04/2011 in Case Study, Motor Fleet Insurance

For Tony Lees and Sons, a Reading-based plumbing and heating business, having just one of its nine work vans off the road at any one time is not just inconvenient, it’s potentially damaging to the business.

So when an accident accounted for one vehicle during the firm’s busiest time of year during the winter, Tony looked to his then insurers to get his team back on the road quickly. Instead securing a replacement vehicle proved a nightmare.

“They put it out to another company who couldn’t locate an exact replacement and tried to palm us off with a smaller vehicle which just wasn’t practical or acceptable,” he recalled.

“It took three days to find us a replacement vehicle and that’s a long time to be without a key part of your work fleet especially with all the re-scheduling that was involved.”

The firm’s vehicle insurance had evolved over time as vans were progressively added to the fleet and was based on single van cover each with a named driver. This in itself was limiting and, together with the valuable time he personally had had to spend on the accident issue, prompted Tony to seek a review of his insurance cover.

He turned to Paul Macbeth of Macbeth Insurance Chartered Insurance Brokers.

The Macbeth solution

• More flexible ‘any driver’ fleet insurance with one convenient renewal date replaced the previous single vans cover.
• Some vehicles switched from comprehensive to third party cover to secure premium savings.
• A nominated Macbeth account manager put in place to handle all the firm’s insurance queries and claims.
• Annual premium reduced by more than £200.

Client verdict

“Macbeth now take care of any contact with the insurance company which is a service I didn’t know was available and had never experienced,” said Tony Lees. “I thought I had to do it.

“That spells real peace of mind for me. If we have a problem we can ring Macbeth and they’ll represent our interests to the insurers without me having to take the time and trouble to get involved.

“I’m free to get on with my business.”

case-studies, Motor Fleet Insurance