If your business buys, sells, repairs, or moves vehicles as part of its work, your personal or standard business car insurance will not cover you. Here's the difference between the two levels of motor trade cover, and how to know which one you need.
Motor trade insurance is built for dealers, mechanics, valets, recovery operators, and body shops, anyone who handles vehicles that aren't their own as part of the job. It splits into two main structures, and picking the wrong one either leaves you underinsured or paying for cover you don't need.
The core distinction: Road Risk covers you to drive trade and customer vehicles on UK roads. Combined cover adds everything else, premises, tools, stock, and liability, on top of Road Risk. Which one you need depends almost entirely on whether you operate from dedicated premises or not.
Road Risk is the minimum legal level of cover for anyone driving customer or trade vehicles. It suits traders just starting out, those working from home, or small operations without a fixed premises, for example, someone selling vehicles from their own drive.
Combined cover suits established traders operating from a dedicated premises, garages, dealerships, MOT stations, body shops. It includes everything Road Risk covers, plus:
| Road Risk Only | Combined | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers driving vehicles | Yes | Yes |
| Covers your premises | No | Yes |
| Covers tools & stock | No | Yes |
| Includes liability cover | No | Yes |
| Best suited to | Home-based, starting out | Fixed premises, staff, stock |
If your business lets prospective customers test drive a vehicle without a staff member present, standard Road Risk cover typically won't include that. You'll need unaccompanied demonstration cover as a specific add-on, worth confirming explicitly rather than assuming it's bundled in.
Motor trade insurance pricing is driven mainly by your turnover, no-claims history, the types and value of vehicles you handle, your location, and the security measures at your premises. A dealership carrying high-value stock overnight will typically pay more than a mobile mechanic with no premises at all, reflecting the genuinely different risk profile.
Free, no obligation. We compare Road Risk and Combined quotes from specialist motor trade insurers.
See My Cover Options →Cover requirements and legal minimums vary by trade type and business structure. Always confirm specific requirements for your business with a broker before relying on this guide alone.