Best place to get insurance for catering trailer

Log in to reply
C

crazyshady

Free Member
Jul 13, 2008
194
6
UK
  • #1
    At the moment i am looking at catering trailers to buy and if i see the right one i will buy it. Just to make things clear it isn't a snack van i am driving, it is a trailer. I have googled and found many sites online dealing with this kind of thing. I know i will need liability insurance and some sites quote around £200 per year for that. What i am really wanting to find out is how much it is to insure one of these trailers. I did read one insurance site that pretty much said that insurance is a choice you make and because you can be dealing with gas etc there is a chance it could catch fire or be a target of vandals. So i don't know if that is them saying you DON'T need it or a weird way of saying YES you do need it. My trailer will be stored safely but i might aswell do everything right and if insuring it is what i need to do then i will.

    Now i'm not looking for anything fancy. Just small and basic and gets the job done is all i want. A lot of sites let you enquire for a quote, much different than getting insurance for a car so that means someone actually looks at the details and then sends you a quote. This doesn't suit me because i can't give all the details they require, i'm not an actual business owner at the moment, all i'm trying to do is get a rough idea on the cost of insurance so that when i am looking at trailers i can have a rough idea in my mind what i'm likely to end up paying overall.

    I am getting some help with funding, possibly around £500. I don't think the Job Centres in my area help with funding ( they didn't as of 4 months ago ). So that £500 can obviously go towards something. All i want is a small, basic trailer that does everything i need. Is that gonna work for me when i go for insurance? Do they look at the size and weight and factor that in on the cost? I'm also surprised at the lack of information online about catering trailers in general. Very few websites and people talk about them, pretty much ZERO information on the insurance side of it. This started as an idea a few years ago, now it could very well become a reality fairly quickly. I'm a little nervous actually and now it's getting down to the nitty gritty and we're talking money i want to make sure everything is gonna work out. Hopefully some of you might be able to give an idea on cost for insurance.

    I remember when i asked at the Job Centre they laughed at my idea and that was the person who deals with self employment. She told me these vans cost around £35,000 and i said well i'm not looking for anything big and fancy, i've been looking at trailers and i'm pretty confident i can get a second hand one for around £1000 - £1500. It might need a little work but i know i can do it and she just laughed and signed me up and said don't let me down and don't come back to me in 4 months without being self employed. Well......times nearly up. And her arrogance made me want to do this more and i'm really quite sick of signing on so i definately wanna make this work. My savings i'm using too so i'm not begging for nothing off nobody, this is my choice to make. I wont lie to you though, it did cross my mind that maybe a £1000 loan might have been a good idea just to help out and be on the safe side. Doing this on my own shouldn't leave me pennyless but at least a loan could have helped a little. But those are decisions that can be made once everything else is done and i know the details of everything. I have the numbers in black and white in front of me and i know the bottom line. I know what it is gonna cost.

    Any help at all from you fine people would be great. Hopefully the reason i can't find any info online isn't because it is really expensive! ie. thousands a year to insure it lol.
     
    C

    crazyshady

    Free Member
    Jul 13, 2008
    194
    6
    UK
  • #6
    That's nice of you. If i phone some of these companies up, what do i say to them? This is my first time dealing with this kind of thing and i don't even have a trailer yet and because of that i have not registered as self employed. What kind of details would you want off of me?

    On the website vanman posted they mention these 3 types.


    1. Accidental damage, fire and theft - Hitch lock & Wheel Clamp only for values up to £15,000
    2. Accidental damage and fire
    3. Accidental damage only
    I need to be honest and ask, which is the cheapest? Sorry if i sound blunt by asking that. My trailer will be locked away and i know the risks involved.
     
    Upvote 0
    T

    TheGuru2010

  • #7
    crazyshady said:
    That's nice of you. If i phone some of these companies up, what do i say to them? This is my first time dealing with this kind of thing and i don't even have a trailer yet and because of that i have not registered as self employed. What kind of details would you want off of me?

    On the website vanman posted they mention these 3 types.


    1. Accidental damage, fire and theft - Hitch lock & Wheel Clamp only for values up to £15,000
    2. Accidental damage and fire
    3. Accidental damage only
    I need to be honest and ask, which is the cheapest? Sorry if i sound blunt by asking that. My trailer will be locked away and i know the risks involved.
    Click to expand...

    Its always worth having a look at all 3 covers, in theory the accidental damage only should be cheapest, but this is not always the case.

    Thanks
     
    • Like
    Reactions: crazyshady
    Upvote 0
    G

    gineta

    Free Member
    Jan 23, 2008
    44
    0
  • #11
    Hello Buddy I got a trailer of 14 ft for only £600 in ebay bidding. In true cost me around the seam money in repair that means you need around other 700 in case you make your sell. For that you need to be a nice handy man with the tools.
    Estimate value of the trailer now is £7000 That means in case I like to sell I go to get around £6000 profit. Not bad for 1 month of reparations.

    Anyway a catering trailer is not bad idea. The big problem is get a place for the catering trailer.

    1. You need a place to hold the trailer in night time. If you not have front garden a public parking is a very bad idea. You can get park in safe place in any farm near your house

    2. You need a place for start with your trailer. Call your council and county council in licensing department and ask for available places. And other options are sell in car boots, near petrol stations, or in private parking's or property's. That 3 place not need any council license.


    3. For start trading you need at less 1 health and safety license , 2 gas certificate.

    About the Job Center, this people never gift nothing. The government is more interest in pay money to the banks and send millions of pounds to stupid wars.

    Job seekers and elderly people not have really much help




    crazyshady said:
    At the moment i am looking at catering trailers to buy and if i see the right one i will buy it. Just to make things clear it isn't a snack van i am driving, it is a trailer. I have googled and found many sites online dealing with this kind of thing. I know i will need liability insurance and some sites quote around £200 per year for that. What i am really wanting to find out is how much it is to insure one of these trailers. I did read one insurance site that pretty much said that insurance is a choice you make and because you can be dealing with gas etc there is a chance it could catch fire or be a target of vandals. So i don't know if that is them saying you DON'T need it or a weird way of saying YES you do need it. My trailer will be stored safely but i might aswell do everything right and if insuring it is what i need to do then i will.

    Now i'm not looking for anything fancy. Just small and basic and gets the job done is all i want. A lot of sites let you enquire for a quote, much different than getting insurance for a car so that means someone actually looks at the details and then sends you a quote. This doesn't suit me because i can't give all the details they require, i'm not an actual business owner at the moment, all i'm trying to do is get a rough idea on the cost of insurance so that when i am looking at trailers i can have a rough idea in my mind what i'm likely to end up paying overall.

    I am getting some help with funding, possibly around £500. I don't think the Job Centres in my area help with funding ( they didn't as of 4 months ago ). So that £500 can obviously go towards something. All i want is a small, basic trailer that does everything i need. Is that gonna work for me when i go for insurance? Do they look at the size and weight and factor that in on the cost? I'm also surprised at the lack of information online about catering trailers in general. Very few websites and people talk about them, pretty much ZERO information on the insurance side of it. This started as an idea a few years ago, now it could very well become a reality fairly quickly. I'm a little nervous actually and now it's getting down to the nitty gritty and we're talking money i want to make sure everything is gonna work out. Hopefully some of you might be able to give an idea on cost for insurance.

    I remember when i asked at the Job Centre they laughed at my idea and that was the person who deals with self employment. She told me these vans cost around £35,000 and i said well i'm not looking for anything big and fancy, i've been looking at trailers and i'm pretty confident i can get a second hand one for around £1000 - £1500. It might need a little work but i know i can do it and she just laughed and signed me up and said don't let me down and don't come back to me in 4 months without being self employed. Well......times nearly up. And her arrogance made me want to do this more and i'm really quite sick of signing on so i definately wanna make this work. My savings i'm using too so i'm not begging for nothing off nobody, this is my choice to make. I wont lie to you though, it did cross my mind that maybe a £1000 loan might have been a good idea just to help out and be on the safe side. Doing this on my own shouldn't leave me pennyless but at least a loan could have helped a little. But those are decisions that can be made once everything else is done and i know the details of everything. I have the numbers in black and white in front of me and i know the bottom line. I know what it is gonna cost.

    Any help at all from you fine people would be great. Hopefully the reason i can't find any info online isn't because it is really expensive! ie. thousands a year to insure it lol.
    Click to expand...
     
    Upvote 0
    C

    chocolate fountain man

    Free Member
    Feb 17, 2011
    57
    6
  • #12
    Go to ncass mate join ncass and you get various discounts off other things including trailer insurance, go for the fire ,accident and thaft option ,the ncass insurance I have ensures that if my trailer becomes unuseable due to accident or fire they replace it with a hire one until repaired, you also get discount off the Food hygiene course and other things , you pay to join but the savings in total can cover the joining fee.

    You will need a trailer a minimum of 10' long and about 6'6" / 7' wide or it gets very cramped in there.

    DO NOT be tempted to buy a converted caravan ! EHO don't like them and they are not proffessional looking.

    Ask to see the previous years Env Health service checksheet or see the "Scores on the doors" star rating ,less than 3 walk away.

    Have a word with your local council EHO regarding Gas certificates ,some Councils want them others don't. The EHO that will inspect your trailer will be the one in the district your trailer is stored in or operates from, it may not be the one your home is in if you store it a few miles away, very important, as you have to register as a "Food business" 28 days before you intend to start trading, some will give you the OK to trade before the inspection others will not.

    You will require.
    Food business registration.
    A food hygiene certificate.
    Public liability, product liability (all inclusive via Ncass)
    Gas cert if deemed so by the Council.
    Good food better business (pretty sure thats it's name, available from EHO and is a "Diary" showing due diligence relating to checks and temp checks etc)
    A "pitch" wheteher private or Council, an electric supply is a definite bonus.
    If you are thinking of pitching in a lay-by, FIND OUT WHO OPERATES THE ROAD, most people think they are all run by the County highways, some are run by the Highways agency,all motorways and the majority of TRUNK roads, A1 , A34 , A30, A38 etc, they WILL NOT allow you to trade on them, some of the minor A roads are still restricted by the County Highways department, if you find a lay -by that is too good to be true that no one else is trading there thats probably the reason why !
    If you find a suitable spot find out who it is controlled by and get it in writing if they say you can trade there. I have heard of people being asked to move on by the Council from a PRIVATE industrial estate.
    A good reliable supplier,
    Good quality food.
    A digital thermometer. I have 3 only about £7 at Makro.
    Don't forget Business insurance on the vehicle you tow with, if it is a static trailer, carrying goods to and from the trailer is "Business".
    A good reliable LPG supplier who will deliver, the occasional burger and brew helps there ;-)
    A good working knowledge of catering, if you have none, get some, even if it means setting up in your front garden and doing freebie burgers for the local kids.
    Get your menu and prices right, Burgers, bacon, sausage, egg, tea and coffee. the basics go better than anything, unless you are catering an event in which case you may want to diversify.
    Price is everything, a cup of tea at 60p is about 45p profit, you'll sell 3 at 60p for every one at £1 (and 85p proift), £1.35 profit compared to 85p, make sense? And they'll come back again and again.
    Be friendly, get to know your customers, become mates, get to know their names.
    Put up your certificates ,insurance and Star ratings it makes you look more professional as you should be.
    Plenty of hand washing,lots of blue gloves.
    Cook food fresh, don't grab a pre cooked burger and flash heat it for 30 seconds,
    Learn when your busy periods are and have food cooking slowly at one side of the griddle to move over and cook properly when needed, a burger will finish cooking in the time it takes you to sort out the bap , napkin and paper plate. Do it right. Let people see you doing it right. They would rather wait 2 minutes for a freshly cooked juicy burger than be ill for 24 hours from a dried out burger thats been rapidly reheated, and still cool in the middle.

    There are probably a few other bits I've forgotten if you want any more info PM me.

    Good luck, don't step on any ones toes, get ready to pull in the readies, but only if your van is up to scratch ,your food is good enough and at the right price.

    Brian.
     
    Upvote 0
    C

    Catering Trailer

  • #14
    I have to agree that Mobilers are great. I have been with them for years and touch wood, so far I haven't had any problems.

    I'm surprised that people have recommended NCASS. I know they have issues with renewals as I know quite a few people who have had money taken out of their accounts for renewals with NCASS when they had previously cancelled their policy with them. Avoid NCASS like the plague!
     
    Upvote 0
    C

    CathB1978

    Free Member
    May 1, 2012
    2
    0
  • #15
    Hi Crazy Shady .. can you now give us an idea of the premium ?.. Im about to take the same step as you , and Im finding it really hard to get a quote with out alot of details of van, and the companys wanting all my details which I dont really want to do either , we get enough col calls dont we ?! lol. Cath
     
    Upvote 0
    Log in to reply

    Latest Articles

    Top Bottom
    Community
    Articles
    Menu