Looking for Temporary Minibus Insurance?
Looking to borrow a minibus for a private trip? Whether you’re planning a holiday, organising a sports trip, charity event or simply trying to get everyone from A to B, if you are borrowing a minibus, you’re going to need short term minibus insurance.
Depending on the insurer, temporary minibus insurance is available for any time period, stretching from 1 day to 3 months and anything in between. However, you will need to shop around as some insurers can cap cover to no more than 14 days, possibly due to the cost of short-term minibus insurance for longer time periods being unviable.
Why take out Temporary Minibus Insurance?
If you are thinking of borrowing a privately or commercially owned minibus from friends, family or local organisation, then taking out temporary minibus insurance maybe a good idea. You may be able to be added as a named driver on their existing minibus policy however, if there was an accident and a claim made, it could impact on their no claims and negatively effect the cost of their insurance going forward. Short term minibus insurance means that you have your own cover and can arrange your own liability cover to suit the nature of the trip you are planning.
Short Term Minibus Insurance Restrictions
To take out temporary minibus insurance you will have to have the necessary driving license to drive a minibus in the UK. Depending on the insurer, your age, driving history and where you are planning on going, can all effect the price and your ability to get short term cover.
Many short-term insurance policies have stricter age requirements than those for standard vehicles. Restricting cover to drivers between 25 – 65 or similar is not uncommon.
If you want to take the minibus abroad, you may find it harder to get cover as some insurers only provided temporary minibus cover within the UK.
Temporary Minibus Insurance – Useful FAQs
When calculated on a price-per-day basis, short term cover is usually always more expensive than the same period covered by a standard 12 month policy.
Minibuses are larger than standard vehicles, could cause more damage if in an accident and cost more to repair, plus minibuses by definition are ‘designed to carry passengers’ so carry additional risk. This all increases the cost of minibus insurance when compared to standard vehicle insurance.
Short term minibus insurance for travel outside of the UK is very much a specialist provision and something you would need to discuss with individual insurers. A specialist minibus insurer may be able to tailor a policy to suit your trip requirements.
Sometimes the definition of a minibus isn’t as clear-cut as you might think. For example, if the vehicle you are looking to insure weighs more than 3.5 tonnes and has more than 17 seats you will need coach insurance. Similarly depending on how many seats and windows the vehicle has, it could also be classed as a van or multi purpose vehicle. If it has between 9 and 16 seats and was designed to transport people, not goods, then chances are high it’s a minibus.