Fleet Insurance for Security Companies

The vehicles and what they do

Vehicle	What it does on a contract	What insurers ask about it
Marked patrol car	Regular site checks for several clients through the night	Livery, roof lights and who drove it on each shift
Alarm response vehicle	Attends activations at short notice	How response times are set and driven
Dog unit van	Carries a handler and a working dog	The cage as a modification and the handler’s workload
Supervisor’s car	Moves between manned sites and the office	Private use and whether it goes home

The operations it fits

• mobile patrol companies running regular site checks for multiple clients
• alarm response and keyholding services
• manned guarding firms with supervisors who drive between sites
• event security businesses moving teams and equipment
• dog handling units with specially fitted vans

How small a patrol fleet can be

Fleet size thresholds are set by each insurer, and there is no single market cut-off. As a broad pattern, many fleet products begin at 2 or 3 vehicles, and mini fleet products often cap out somewhere around 12 to 20 vehicles.

A new patrol business with one car is likely to need an individual commercial policy first. The how many vehicles for fleet insurance guide explains why.

Who the exemption actually covers

The legal exemption from speed limits is set out in section 87 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. It covers fire and rescue, ambulance, police and certain National Crime Agency use, not private security.

Beacons and livery change nothing

Fitting amber beacons or putting livery on a car does not give the driver any exemption. There are rules on which lights may be fitted and used at all.

Make sure officers understand this. Insurers will look closely at any collision during a call-out.

Response times set within the law

When an alarm activates there is pressure to get there quickly, and that pressure is where firms pick up both claims and prosecutions. Set written response times that are achievable within the law.

Make it clear that no officer will be criticised for arriving later because they drove safely. The driving for work policy guide covers putting that in writing.

Notices of intended prosecution

For many offences, including speeding, a notice of intended prosecution must usually be served within 14 days under section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988. It normally goes to the registered keeper.

For a security company that means the notice lands at the office, often about a car three different officers drove that week. Which leads to the next question.

Coding and storing keys

A stolen patrol car containing a bunch of labelled client keys and a list of alarm codes is a serious problem for the clients. Code keys instead of labelling them with addresses, and keep them in a locked safe or key box within the vehicle.

Never leave alarm codes written down in a vehicle. Ask the broker how your motor cover and your other business insurances fit together.

SIA licensing is a separate matter

Contract key holding is a licensable activity, so staff doing it may need a Security Industry Authority key holding licence. Response work can need a front line guarding licence too, which GOV.UK explains in its guidance on whether you need an SIA licence.

That is a licensing question rather than an insurance one. It still tends to come up when a broker asks what work you actually do.

The exclusion

Patrol work makes leaving the engine running a real temptation on a cold night. A warm car and a two-minute door check feel like a fair trade until the car is gone.

Check your policy wording on unattended vehicles and keys. It is one of the few exclusions that bites on an ordinary night shift.

The site-check rule

Set a clear rule that vehicles are locked with keys removed whenever the officer is out of sight. Make it part of the site-check routine rather than a reminder in a handbook.

Supervisors should spot-check it. An officer who leaves the engine running at one site will do it at all of them.

Levels across the schedule

Third party only, third party fire and theft and comprehensive cover are all available per vehicle. An older supervisor’s car might sit on a lower level than a leased patrol car on its first year.

Extras that keep patrols running

• Replacement vehicle after a covered claim, so a contract round is not left unserviced
• Breakdown cover that responds at night, including to remote industrial sites
• Windscreen cover, useful for vehicles on the road through winter nights
• Legal expenses to recover uninsured losses after a collision that was not your officer’s fault
• Cover for fitted equipment such as light bars, cameras, radios and dog cages

Choices about the vehicles

1. Choose modest, well-protected patrol cars instead of larger or high-value models.
2. Enforce the keys-out, vehicle-locked rule at every site check.
3. Photograph damage at every handover so costs can be traced and patterns spotted.

Choices about the officers

4. Use your tracking data to coach officers with poor driving scores.
5. Keep complete licence check records for every officer on the rota.

A security fleet will never look like a low-mileage office fleet. Our guide on how to reduce fleet insurance costs explains how each of these may be viewed.