Road risk insurance exists for a situation ordinary motor cover cannot handle: a business that drives vehicles belonging to other people, constantly, as the whole point of the job.
Who needs it
Garages and mechanics road testing after a repair, valeters and detailers collecting and returning cars, mobile technicians, traders buying and selling, vehicle transporters and delivery drivers moving stock, and body shops taking vehicles to a sprayer. Each drives vehicles they do not own, for business, which ordinary motor cover does not permit and which a customer's own policy does not extend to. Without it, the driving is uninsured beyond the statutory minimum.
What it covers, and at what level
Road risk is written third party only, third party fire and theft, or comprehensive, and the choice matters more than in private motor because the vehicle being driven belongs to a customer. Third party only leaves damage to that customer's car uninsured, which is a conversation nobody wants to have. Comprehensive road risk covers it up to a stated value per vehicle, and vehicles above that value are outside the cover even though the driving is permitted.
Who is allowed to drive
Policies restrict by named driver, by age, by licence type and by experience, and those restrictions are where claims are lost. A young apprentice moving a car around a yard, a family member helping at a weekend, or a subcontractor collecting a vehicle can all fall outside a schedule written for the proprietor. Any driver cover exists and is priced for the uncertainty, and it usually still carries a minimum age and licence condition.
What it is not
Road risk covers the driving. It does not cover vehicles while parked at the premises, which is vehicles in trade cover; it does not cover the premises, the tools, the ramps or the stock; it does not cover faulty workmanship; and it does not cover employers' or public liability. A business that bought road risk alone is insured for the least likely part of its day, which is why the combined motor trade policy exists.
Questions people ask about road risk insurance
Who needs road risk insurance?
Any business driving vehicles it does not own: garages road testing, valeters collecting cars, traders, transporters and mobile technicians.
Does third party only road risk cover the customer's car?
No. Damage to the vehicle you are driving needs comprehensive road risk, and even then only up to a stated value per vehicle.
Does road risk cover cars parked at the premises?
No. Vehicles stationary at the business are covered by a vehicles in trade section, which is a separate part of a motor trade policy.