Commercial Vehicle Insurance from a Preston Broker
We arrange insurance for vehicles that earn a living: taxis, private hire cars, courier vans, trade vans, minibuses, HGVs and mixed fleets. That's all we do. You speak to a person in our Fulwood office who understands how your vehicle is actually used, and we take that to insurers on your behalf.
Authorised & Regulated by the FCA Financial Conduct Authority · FRN 596650 Platform Financial Services Limited Verify on FCA Register
- FCA regulated, FRN 596650
- Trading since 2013
- Office in Fulwood, Preston
- Commercial vehicles only
What we insure
Commercial vehicle insurance isn't one product. A taxi, a parcel van and a tipper carry different risks, and insurers price each of them on a different basis. Pick your vehicle to see how we approach it.
Taxis and private hire
Hackney carriages, private hire saloons and MPVs, executive and chauffeur cars, and taxi fleets. We arrange taxi and private hire insurance with certificates your licensing council will accept.
Courier and multi-drop vans
Hire and reward cover for owner-drivers, same-day couriers and app-based delivery work. See our courier and hire and reward cover.
Business vans
Carriage of own goods for trades and firms that move their own tools and stock, with tools in transit and named or any-driver options. More on business van insurance.
Fleets
One policy and one renewal date, from a handful of vehicles upward. Cars, vans and trucks can sit on the same schedule. Read about commercial motor fleet insurance.
HGVs and haulage
Rigid and articulated goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, for own-goods operators and hauliers, with operator's licence details handled at quote stage. See HGV and haulage insurance.
Minibuses and coaches
Minibuses carrying paying passengers, school and community transport, and coach operators. Details on minibus and coach insurance.
Agricultural vehicles
Tractors, telehandlers, quads and trailers that work the land and use the road. See agricultural vehicle insurance.
Goods in transit
Cover for the load, not just the vehicle — often a condition of the contracts you deliver under. Read about goods in transit cover.
Why use a commercial vehicle insurance broker instead of a comparison site?
Comparison sites are quick if you have one van under 3.5 tonnes and a clean record. Many stop there. Some don't quote fleet policies at all, and few deal with licensed taxis, HGVs or a mixed schedule of vehicles.
A broker is useful exactly where the standard form doesn't fit: a driver with points, a wheelchair-accessible conversion, a fleet where two vans do haulage and three carry own goods, or a policy that has to start tomorrow because the council licence is due. We ask the awkward questions first, take your risk to insurers that actually write that class of business, and explain the differences between quotes instead of just ranking them by price.
When something changes mid-policy — a new driver, a replacement vehicle, a claim — you ring the same Preston office.
Getting the class of use right
The quickest way to have a claim turned down is to be insured for the wrong use. Insurers care less about what the vehicle is than about what you do with it. These are the main classes we arrange:
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01
Social, domestic and pleasure
Personal use only.
Not enough if you drive between more than one place of work. -
02
Carriage of own goods
You carry your own tools, materials or stock. Typical for builders, electricians, caterers and florists.
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03
Hire and reward (goods)
You're paid to carry other people's goods. Couriers and multi-drop drivers need this. Here's what hire and reward actually means.
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04
Haulage
Carrying goods over longer distances, usually in vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and often under an operator's licence. See HGV and haulage insurance.
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05
Public hire
Hackney carriages that can be hailed in the street or taken from a rank.
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06
Private hire
Pre-booked passengers only, through a licensed operator. Public hire and private hire are insured differently, and cover for one won't stand in for the other.
Not sure which applies to you?
Tell us what a normal working week looks like and we'll tell you. It takes five minutes and it's the most useful conversation you'll have about your insurance.
Commercial vehicle insurance in Preston and across Lancashire
We're at Derby House Chambers on Lytham Road in Fulwood, so local licensing rules are part of our everyday work rather than something we look up.
If you drive a taxi in Preston you'll know the routine. Preston City Council issues vehicle licences for a maximum of six months, and every application needs a valid insurance certificate. If you apply online without a digital copy, the council lets your broker email the certificate to its licensing team directly, and we can do that for you. The council also caps hackney carriages at 187 vehicles, while private hire numbers aren't capped. More on taxi insurance in Preston and the Preston licence insurance requirements.
Beyond Preston, we arrange commercial motor insurance for operators across Lancashire and the rest of the UK. Where you're based changes the price, not whether we can help.
Lytham Rd, Preston PR2 8JE
- 6 monthsMaximum vehicle licence period
- 187Cap on hackney carriages
- No capOn private hire numbers
- DirectWe can email your certificate to the council
How it works
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1. Tell us about the vehicle and the work
By phone, WhatsApp or the quote form: the registration, how it's used and who drives it.
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2. We go to the market
We approach insurers that write your class of business and read the policy wording, not just the premium.
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3. You choose
We go through what each quote covers, the excess and anything excluded, in plain English.
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4. We stay with you
Mid-term changes, renewals, and help notifying your insurer if you need to make a claim.
What we'll ask you for a commercial vehicle insurance quote
- The registration, or make, model and gross vehicle weight
- How the vehicle is used, and roughly how many miles a year
- Who will drive it: ages, licence type and how long held, any points or convictions in the last five years
- Claims in the last five years and your no claims bonus
- Where it's kept overnight
- For taxis: your licensing council and badge type
- For HGVs: your operator's licence number
- Your current renewal date
What affects the price?
There's no honest single figure for commercial vehicle insurance, because two vans of the same model can cost very different amounts to insure. The main factors are:
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Vehicle type, value and gross weight
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Class of use
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The drivers: age, experience and driving history
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Claims history and no claims bonus
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Where the vehicle is kept and where it works
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Annual mileage
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Level of coverThird party only, third party fire and theft, or comprehensive
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Voluntary excess
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ExtrasSuch as breakdown, motor legal expenses, a courtesy vehicle, goods in transit or public liability
Delivering parcels? Here's what courier insurance costs and what pushes the price up or down.
Who you'll be dealing with
Platform Motoring is a trading name of Platform Financial Services Ltd, an independent insurance broker trading from Preston since 2013 (company number 08377638). We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 596650, which you can check on the FCA Register.
- Trading since
- 2013
- Company no.
- 08377638
- FCA FRN
- 596650
- Office
- Fulwood, Preston
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Commercial vehicle insurance FAQs
Speak to our Preston office and we'll give you a straight answer.
Call 01772 702000It's motor insurance for a vehicle used for work beyond commuting to one fixed workplace — carrying goods or tools, carrying paying passengers, or driving between jobs. It covers the same core risks as personal motor insurance, but it's rated and worded for business use.
At least third-party cover is a legal requirement for any vehicle on UK roads. If you use a vehicle for work and your policy doesn't include that use, your insurer can refuse to pay for damage to your vehicle and may recover third-party costs from you personally.
Usually, yes. Driving between jobs or carrying your own tools and materials normally needs carriage of own goods cover. A social, domestic and pleasure policy won't cover it.
A broker works for you, not the insurer. We find out how your vehicles are used, approach insurers that cover that type of risk, compare cover as well as price, and help with changes and claims during the policy.
Yes. We arrange cover for rigid and articulated HGVs, tippers and specialist goods vehicles. Have your operator's licence number ready when you ask for a quote.
Yes. A mixed fleet policy covers different vehicle types on one schedule with one renewal date. Many insurers will consider a fleet from two or three vehicles. More on commercial motor fleet insurance.
You'll normally need hire and reward cover, because you're paid to carry other people's goods. Platforms set their own insurance rules and change them, so check the current requirement in your driver app and we'll arrange a policy that meets it.
Often, yes. Some insurers specialise in drivers with a history. Tell us everything up front: an undisclosed conviction can void a policy. If we can't place the risk, we'll say so straight away.
Speak to our Preston office and we'll give you a straight answer.
Call 01772 702000Get a commercial vehicle insurance quote
Call 01772 702000, message us on WhatsApp, or send your details through the quote form. We're open [OFFICE HOURS]. For anything else, contact us.