Waste Removal Insurance Advice

[blahjason]

Hi everyone,

bit of a weird and awkward one. I’m 18 and running my own waste removal company primarily for domestic customers. I use my own personal car and a trailer rather than a van.

Would I need to have ‘Hire and Reward’ insurance to collect waste even if I state in the terms and conditions that the waste automatically becomes my property so I’d therefore be carrying my own waste? Ive already got the carriers license but want to double check my position on this as wells I’ve realised that it is virtually impossible for me to gain any sort of Hire and Reward insurance at my age and I really don’t want to give up now. I don’t do removals or man + van style services, just purely waste collection and whilst it’s pretty pretty slim that I’d get pulled over for it, it’s not a risk I want to take.

Cheers

 

[MOIC]

@Frank the Insurance guy

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Its is not actually that slim that you will get pulled over .
You will get pulled over once you have made your mind up that it will never happen

You really need H&R cover with public liability covering your business.

You are between a rock and hard place but I say well done for having a go at it and an 18 year old me would have thrown caution to the wind if it meant that I would achieve my objectives
I'm supposed to have a law abiding and respectful online presence giving advice that is legal and helpful but qui audet

 

[Mark T Jones]

I don't know about hire and reward - @Frank the Insurance guy can advise on that

You will definitely need some comprehensive business use cover though.

The problem with trying to outsmart insurance companies is that they have been around the block, seen it all and pay people lots of money to close the loopholes

 

[hikiwari]

I don't know the answer but can I just say bloody well done @blahjason for starting your own business at 18!

 

[MBE2017]

You would definitely require public liability insurance, and possibly employers liability. There are a host of others that you might consider going forward, such as environmental contamination, business interruption etc, I’m sure Frank the insurance guy will confirm.

Normally a waste management trade insurance would cover you, based on your requirements, I’m surprised you are struggling to find any. Best of luck.

 

[WaveJumper]

Yes well done for getting up and running, insurance is a must as others have mentioned there are very strict rules on waste removal and transportation (you are undertaking this as a business) so before you are caught out have a read from the link below.

I would be pretty surprised if your local recycling centres don't pick up on your content visits, for instance our local site has number plate recognition and if in the past I have taken a couple of trips in one day I have been pulled up by the recycling staff and checked over including proving I was a local resident. You can now only visit the site by going on line and booking a visit so its very easy for them to monitor visits.

There's a reason why companies charge people a considerable amount to dispose of waste

Best of luck with your new venture

Waste duty of care code of practice

This code provides practical guidance on how to meet your waste duty of care requirements in England and Wales.

www.gov.uk

 

[fisicx]

I use my own personal car and a trailer rather than a van.

Apart from the insurance as others have suggested you will also need a license to remove, transport and dispose of waste:

Dispose of business or commercial waste

Business waste management in England - your duty of care, waste collection, licences and waste transfer notes

www.gov.uk

And the recycling centre you use will also charge you to dispose of the waste (be cause you are a business) as @WaveJumper suggested.

 

[blahjason]

Yes well done for getting up and running, insurance is a must as others have mentioned there are very strict rules on waste removal and transportation (you are undertaking this as a business) so before you are caught out have a read from the link below.

I would be pretty surprised if your local recycling centres don't pick up on your content visits, for instance our local site has number plate recognition and if in the past I have taken a couple of trips in one day I have been pulled up by the recycling staff and checked over including proving I was a local resident. You can now only visit the site by going on line and booking a visit so its very easy for them to monitor visits.

There's a reason why companies charge people a considerable amount to dispose of waste

Best of luck with your new venture

For the first week was when I used local household recycling centres, but realised it’s against the conditions of the license and actually against the law. I’ve now got a contract with Biffa to use their facilities across the country to tip waste at (with very reasonable prices) and obviously have had a waste carrier license from the start.

 

[Frank the Insurance guy]

Well done @blahjason for getting your own business up and running. Even better well done and thinking like a business man and looking at Insurance - most in your place would probably ignore it!

Do you need cover for "Hire & Reward"? - Hire & Reward is required where you are being paid for the use of your vehicle for the transportation of people or customer goods. To me this is where your customer is also giving you instruction on where they need the goods to be taken to.

As your T&C's state that the goods are not your customers property, and (I Assume) your customer does not tell you where the waste has to go, I do not believe this would be classed as Hire & Reward.

Just make sure that your motor insurance policy clearly shows the Business Description as Waste Removal and that it includes use for the Business of the Policyholder and carriage of own goods.

 

[blahjason]

Well done @blahjason for getting your own business up and running. Even better well done and thinking like a business man and looking at Insurance - most in your place would probably ignore it!

Do you need cover for "Hire & Reward"? - Hire & Reward is required where you are being paid for the use of your vehicle for the transportation of people or customer goods. To me this is where your customer is also giving you instruction on where they need the goods to be taken to.

As your T&C's state that the goods are not your customers property, and (I Assume) your customer does not tell you where the waste has to go, I do not believe this would be classed as Hire & Reward.

Just make sure that your motor insurance policy clearly shows the Business Description as Waste Removal and that it includes use for the Business of the Policyholder and carriage of own goods.

Perfect, thank you for your help. Just had an insurance broker quote me £28,000 a year for hire and reward insurance, third party! That’s more than a lot of peoples annual wage. Only problem is, I’m unable to get carry of own goods insurance on a car. Would standard car business insurance suffice as I’m not using a van for it.

 

[IanSuth]

Perfect, thank you for your help. Just had an insurance broker quote me £28,000 a year for hire and reward insurance, third party! That’s more than a lot of peoples annual wage. Only problem is, I’m unable to get carry of own goods insurance on a car. Would standard car business insurance suffice as I’m not using a van for it.

i suspect you are falling foul of the age issue - i can get class1 business added to my insurance (even the bike insurance) for zero because i am an old git.

I suspect a lot of the insurers who will insure the u21's have stricter tighter clauses which dont let that get added on - i think you are going to have to go and sit with a decent local broker who does business insurance and talk to them, it won't be as cheap as an online quote but will be correct and not £28k (which sounds like a "give him a stupid number so he goes away" quote