What is the difference between haulage insurance and HGV insurance?

HGV insurance is the motor policy on the vehicle. Haulage insurance is a broader package combining motor with goods in transit, liabilities and often legal expenses for the wider haulage business. Owner-drivers running one HGV often take haulage cover; multi-vehicle hauliers go to haulage fleet policies.

Do I need haulage insurance if I only carry my own goods?

If you are moving your own stock between sites, you need motor cover plus an own-goods extension on the GIT side. That is not classic haulage insurance, which covers carriage of someone else’s goods for hire and reward. Talk to a broker about which policy framework matches your operation.

What is hire and reward cover?

Hire and reward (H&R) is the legal cover category for any vehicle paid to carry someone else’s goods or passengers. Standard motor policies exclude it. Haulage operators always need hire and reward unless they are strictly own-goods.

Does haulage insurance cover the cargo?

Yes, when goods in transit cover is included in the package, which it usually is. Without GIT, the haulage policy covers the vehicle and driver but not the load, leaving a major exposure on every job.

Can the policy include continental work?

Yes. CMR insurance and motor extension to the European green-card area are standard add-ons for cross-border hauliers. Disclose your typical operating area at quote so the policy is rated for it.

Do I need separate cover for trailers?

Trailers are usually covered as part of the haulage motor policy, but there are limits on theft and own-damage. Specialist trailer cover, including third-party trailer attached/detached, can be added for high-value or specialised trailers.

Haulage cover

Haulage Insurance

Motor, goods in transit and liability cover bundled for road haulage operators, owner-drivers, contractors and small fleets.

Around 2 minutes to startBroker callbackFCA regulated, secure submission

Or call 0800 123 4567

How it works

Quote in two minutes, broker on the file from day one.

Three steps. Specialist haulage insurance brokers placing motor, GIT and liability cover under one roof.

Tell us about the operation

Vehicles, drivers, types of goods, operating area, claims history. Two minutes online or a call, your choice.

We approach the panel

Your named broker takes your details to specialist haulage insurers handling motor + GIT + liability as a package.

Cover in place

Documents emailed, payment arranged. O-licence compliance, CMR, continental work, all handled in one place.

What it covers

Motor, cargo, liability, one schedule.

Road haulage insurance replaces three or four separate policies with a single package. The combination is what makes hauliers insurance more than just lorry cover, and it is what most contracts and 3PLs expect to see on the schedule.

Motor cover for the lorry or van

Third-party only, third-party fire and theft, or fully comprehensive, covering 7.5 tonne, rigid, articulated and haulage van fleets.

e.g. A general cartage operator running two artics and a 7.5 tonne rigid.

Goods in transit

Cargo cover under RHA conditions of carriage (UK), CMR (Europe), or all-risks for high-value loads.

e.g. A pallet network member carrying mixed loads under RHA terms.

Hauliers liability insurance

Public liability for incidents off the road, employers’ liability for any drivers or yard staff, and carriers’ liability under CMR or RHA, the layered hauliers liability cover that lifts a haulage policy above plain motor.

e.g. A driver injures a customer’s forklift operator while loading at the depot.

Who buys it

Cover for haulage contractors and operators.

The trades and operators we most commonly place haulage cover for. Each gets a tailored conversation rather than a one-size policy.

General cartage hauliers

Hauliers carrying for shippers and 3PLs on contracted or spot work.

Owner-drivers

Self-employed drivers under contract to logistics networks.

Tippers and aggregate

Tipper, skip and aggregate hauliers with bespoke risk profiles.

Skip and waste hauliers

Specialist waste operators with site-collection routes.

Plant transporters

Heavy plant and machinery movers with specialist trailers.

Refrigerated hauliers

Frozen, fresh and pharma temperature-controlled operators.

Hazardous goods (ADR)

Chemical and bulk operators, subject to ADR specialist underwriting.

Haulage van operators

Sub-3.5 tonne haulage operators on hire and reward.

Whether you run a single van on parcel network contracts or a multi-vehicle haulage operation with continental routes, the policy structure adapts. We approach the haulage market, convictions, mixed fleets and cross-border work all considered.

Keep premium down

Four levers that move the price.

Haulage premium reflects exposure, but a handful of choices on your side meaningfully change what you pay.

Fit telematics across the fleet
Connected fleets price below disconnected ones. Most haulage insurers offer credit for verified telematics and dashcam usage.
Document overnight security
Locked compounds, ANPR yards, alarm-monitored locations earn premium credit on the GIT element.
Take a voluntary excess
Carrying the first slice of any claim yourself reduces the insurer’s exposure and the premium. Effective on stable claim records.
Bundle the package
Motor + GIT + liability on one schedule prices below buying each cover standalone.

What's available, what isn't

Optional extras and common exclusions.

A standard haulage package covers motor, GIT and liability. The list below shows what most insurers will add on, and what falls outside the cover by default.

Optional extras

Continental and CMR cover
European motor extension and CMR cargo liability for cross-border work.
Legal expenses
Including Traffic Commissioner hearing defence and operator licence support.
Trailer attached/detached
Third-party trailer cover plus own-trailer theft and damage on high-value units.
Refrigeration breakdown
Cargo loss from cold-chain failure on temperature-controlled loads.
Hazardous goods endorsement
ADR-rated cover for chemical, gas and bulk hazardous loads.

Common exclusions

Drivers not declared
Anyone driving the vehicle must be on the schedule. Undisclosed drivers void cover.
Cargo outside disclosed types
High-value, hazardous or specialist categories need specific endorsement.
Wear and tear
Mechanical breakdown and gradual deterioration are not insured events.
Personal use
Haulage vehicles rated for trade only.
Deliberate or criminal acts
Loss caused intentionally or through criminal conduct is excluded across the market.

When you are ready

Two minutes to start. A broker takes it from there.

Tell us about the operation, vehicles, drivers, goods, operating area. Specialist commercial haulage insurance brokers placing motor + GIT + liability under one schedule.

Or call 0800 123 4567

Frequently asked

Questions before you click submit.

The questions we hear most often, with straight answers. Anything else, call the office.

Cannot see your question? Speak to a broker on 0800 123 4567.

HGV insurance is the motor policy on the vehicle. Haulage insurance is a broader package combining motor with goods in transit, liabilities and often legal expenses for the wider haulage business. Owner-drivers running one HGV often take haulage cover; multi-vehicle hauliers go to haulage fleet policies.

Cannot see your question? Speak to a broker on 0800 123 4567.

Why brokers, why us

FCA regulated

Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

45 years broking

Long-standing relationships across the UK insurer market.

Named broker

A direct line to the same person at quote, renewal and claim.

Independent

No tie-ins. We use the market that fits the operation, not a panel of one.

● Cover that often sits alongside this

Ready when you are

One package. Every layer. One broker.

Two minutes to tell us about the operation. Terms back from a specialist haulage panel. Your named broker on the file from day one.

Two minutes to startSpecialist haulage panelNamed broker, day one

Or call 0800 123 4567