Five ways to help keep your trade vehicles secure

When you work in the motor trade, your vehicles are the lifeblood of your business. Whether it’s your own van and tools, vehicles that your staff drive or your customers’ vehicles, making sure the vehicles you work with are properly protected leaves you free to focus on the good stuff: running your business. So let’s take a look at five ways you can help keep your trade vehicles secure, from safety tips to making sure you’ve got motor trade insurance.

1. Secure your premises

Where you park your vehicle(s) should be as safe as possible, whether you work from a garage or from home. Installing CCTV cameras and security alarms is a must. Security lights are also pretty good at putting thieves off from trying anything, especially in winter when it gets darker quicker. You can buy motion-triggered security lights at good prices, which only come on when they sense movement. Putting up some of these around your premises and keeping them in good working order will always help keep your work vehicles that little bit safer.

2. Kit your vehicles out

These days, you can invest in a range of technology to fit in the vehicles themselves, which can help deter potential thieves. Motion-triggered dash cams can capture footage if anyone tries to break in to your vehicle or damages it in any way, which can both help the police track down the culprit and support your insurance claim too.

You can also buy a range of trackers to help keep tabs on your vehicles so, if they do get stolen, you’ve got a better chance of finding them again. Trackers help keep your motor trade insurance costs down too. At DNA, we can offer advice on tracking technology and what types of vehicles are more often stolen too – just give us a call and ask about our risk management service.

3. Consider your people

Unfortunately, accidents happen. So when you’re considering how to best protect your trade vehicles, think about what could happen on the road too. Whether you’re the sole driver of a vehicle or you employ a team of drivers, it’s important you minimise the risk of accidents and maximise your chances of a successful claim.

Alongside driver training courses, you can invest in telematic devices for your vehicles – essentially a black box that records essential journey data, such as crash detection. Depending on the type you go for, you can even get devices that track your driver’s eye movements. All this data can give you vital info about how your drivers act on the roads, helping target their training and giving you more control in the event you need to make a claim. We’re happy to help talk you through how telematics can help, so just ask.

4. Put secure processes in place

We know motor traders come in all shapes and sizes – but whether you’re a one man band or a big dealership, sticking to secure processes is one way to help keep your business protected. That means always following best practices and making sure your staff do too. This includes how and where you store expensive equipment like your tools, how you deal with cash on the premises, how you lock up your garage at the end of the day, and what to do if there’s an accident on-site or on the road. For example, do you know how to gather evidence after an accident so you can get the claim sorted? Having a list of rules and processes in place for your day-to-day running may seem like a little thing, but it could save you a lot of money.

5. Make sure you get motor trade insurance

Even with the best will in the world, your business will never be 100% secure. Accidents can happen and thieves and vandals may slip under your radar. That’s why it’s absolutely vital you protect your business with the right motor trade insurance policy. This offers the specialist cover you need for your chosen line of work, and means that if anything does go wrong, you’re in the best position you can be to claim on your cover and get back to normal as soon as possible.

So whatever motor trade you work in, give us a call. We’ll find you the best motor trade insurance we can, at the best price we can – and we can help you with your risk management too. Just call 03445 732 400 to find out more.