Most haulage renewals go wrong long before the renewal date. The fleet list on the schedule no longer matches the operator's licence. The goods in transit limit was set three years ago for different work. Nobody asked for the claims history until the insurer did. And the renewal pack lands with a week to go, so the easiest choice is to sign whatever arrives.
This checklist is for UK hire-and-reward operators, from owner-drivers to fleets of a few dozen vehicles, who want to run the next renewal properly. It works backwards from your renewal date. Each stage lists what to gather, what to check and who holds it, so the paperwork is ready before insurers look at the risk.
It doesn't repeat our other haulage guides. The full insurance stack is covered in Haulage Insurance UK, and proof-of-cover documents in haulage insurance certificates UK. This page is the renewal itself.
Wordings vary between insurers, so treat the checks below as questions to ask. Regulatory points refer to Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own operator licensing system.
Renewal coming up? You don't have to dig out your schedule. Sign a short letter of authority (LOA) and we'll request your current schedule, policy documents and claims experience from your existing broker or insurer, then take your renewal to the insurers on our panel. Send us the letter on our haulage page.
The countdown at a glance
Count back from the date your current cover ends. If your motor, goods in transit (GIT) and liability policies renew on different dates, run the countdown from the earliest one, and read the section on split renewal dates below.
When | Job | Done when |
|---|---|---|
120 days out | Decide how the renewal will run and who handles it | One owner, one timetable, all renewal dates in one diary |
90 days out | Rebuild the fleet list from the operator's licence outwards | Licence, schedule and yard all show the same vehicles and trailers |
75 days out | Get the claims history | A claims list you can explain line by line |
60 days out | Driver data and telematics | A driver schedule that matches who drives today |
45 days out | GIT, CMR and policy wording checks | A marked-up list of wording changes you want |
30 days out | Presentation goes to the insurers | A complete, accurate presentation is with the market |
21 to 14 days out | Compare terms, not just premiums | A side-by-side comparison and a decision |
7 days out | Bind and get the paperwork | Cover confirmed in writing, certificates filed and sent out |
Renewal day to 30 days after | Tidy up and set next year's timetable | Next renewal start date in the diary |
The timings are a guide. A two-truck owner-driver can compress them; a fleet with international work, chilled loads or a difficult claims year should start earlier.
120 days out: decide how the renewal will run
The first job is admin, and it's the one most often skipped.
Collect every current schedule in one place: hire-and-reward motor or fleet, goods in transit, public and employers' liability, and any extras added over the years, such as legal expenses, engineering inspection or cover for the yard.
Write down every renewal date. It's common for the motor fleet to renew on one date and GIT and liability on another, sometimes with different brokers. Note any long-term agreement, auto-renewal or notice period.
Decide who's running it. One person should own the timetable. They don't need to know insurance, just make sure each step happens on time.
Decide whether you're testing the market. If you are, now's the time. A letter of authority lets a new broker request your current schedule, documents and claims experience, so you can compare like with like (more on LOAs below).
Split renewal dates. If your covers renew months apart, you can run this countdown twice a year, or align the dates at the next renewal (ask how any short-period premium is worked out first). Either way, use one fleet list, driver list and claims summary for both, so the presentations don't contradict each other.
Where Meshed fits. We place the commercial side of the haulage stack, which is goods in transit, public liability and employers' liability, with the insurers on our panel. Hire-and-reward motor is usually placed with a motor specialist. We read your motor schedule alongside the rest so the vehicles, drivers and use all line up across the pack.
90 days out: rebuild the fleet list from the operator's licence outwards
Your insurer prices the fleet it thinks you run, the traffic commissioner regulates the fleet on your operator's licence (O-licence), and the yard holds the fleet you actually run. Before renewal, all three should match.
Start with your O-licence record
Log into your Vehicle Operator Licensing account and check the specified vehicles:
Vehicles you've added. GOV.UK's operator licensing guide says that if you have a margin (spare authority), you must specify an added vehicle within one month of it coming into your possession. If you have no margin, you must do it immediately.
Vehicles you've removed. The guide warns that not removing vehicles promptly can affect the transport manager's repute.
Trailers. Your licence needs authority for trailers you tow, owned or not, and trailers often drift off schedules or stay on after sale.
Check for changes you should have told the traffic commissioner about
The licensing guide says licence holders must tell the traffic commissioner about relevant changes within 28 days. The list includes:
a change of legal entity, such as moving from sole trader or partnership to a limited company
a change of company name, directors, shareholding or controlling interest
a change of transport manager
a change of operating centre address or correspondence address
relevant convictions or accepted fixed penalties
insolvency events
A change of legal entity is the big one. Goods vehicle operator's licences are not transferable, and the guide says a new entity must get a new licence before it operates. The insured name on every policy must match the business that's actually trading.
A new operating centre means vehicles and loaded trailers sit somewhere else overnight, so the schedule address should match. New directors or owners may change proposal form answers on convictions, insolvency or insurance history.
If you've varied your licence this year, for example to add vehicles, trailers or an operating centre, your insurance may still describe the old operation. Our O-licence variation insurance quote page is for exactly that.
Check your licence type against your work
A restricted licence is generally for carrying your own goods. If you carry other people's goods for reward, you need a standard licence. GOV.UK lists questions that point towards a standard licence. One of them is whether the operator holds, and relies on, an insurance policy covering carriage of goods for reward. Your licence type, the use class on your motor policy and the basis of your GIT cover (hire and reward, or own goods only) should all tell the same story.
Reconcile everything
Build one list with a row per vehicle and trailer, and check each one:
Check | Where to look | What a mismatch means |
|---|---|---|
On the O-licence? | VOL account | A regulatory problem first, and a presentation problem second |
On the motor schedule with the right use class? | Motor schedule or fleet list | A vehicle on the road without the cover you think it has |
Showing on the Motor Insurance Database? | askMID, the Motor Insurance Database check | Checks may flag the vehicle as uninsured |
Covered for GIT? | GIT schedule (per vehicle, per load or fleet basis) | Loads on that vehicle may sit outside the GIT cover or its limit |
Still in the yard? | Your own eyes | Paying for a sold vehicle, or running an undeclared one |
Specialist kit declared? | Schedule descriptions | Cranes, fridge units, tippers or truck-mounted forklifts may need declaring |
If you run specialist vehicles, the kit matters. See our guides to HIAB haulage insurance, refrigerated haulage insurance and tipper truck insurance.
75 days out: get the claims history
Get the full history early, because it can take a while to arrive and sometimes holds surprises.
What to ask for
Ask your current broker or insurer for a claims experience report for each policy. You need:
three to five years of history (or since you started trading)
every claim, including those closed with nothing paid
date, cause, amount paid and amount still reserved for each one
separate lists for each policy (motor, GIT, PL, EL), not one blended total
If you've changed insurer, ask each one for the years it covered you.
Check it before anyone else does
Go through the report line by line:
Is every claim yours? Reports sometimes pick up a vehicle you'd already sold.
Are reserves current? A reserve set early may be far higher than the final cost. If a claim has gone quiet, ask for it to be reviewed.
Are closed claims marked closed, and causes recorded correctly? A yard reversing bump and a motorway collision are very different risks.
Explain the bad year
If you had a heavy claims year, write a short note for each significant claim: what happened, what you changed afterwards (training, routes, security, cameras, subcontractors, load types), and whether it can happen again the same way. An insurer that can see a cause and a fix is better placed to offer terms than one looking at a number with no story.
Your legal duty
For business insurance, the Insurance Act 2015 requires you to make a "fair presentation of the risk" before the contract is entered into (s3). A renewal is a new contract, so the duty applies again each year. You must disclose every material circumstance you know or ought to know. If you don't, you must at least give the insurer enough to know it should ask further questions. The presentation must also be reasonably clear and accessible to a prudent insurer.
The remedies are in s8 and Schedule 1. If the breach was deliberate or reckless, the insurer may avoid the policy and keep the premium. Otherwise the remedy depends on what it would have done had it known: avoid and return the premium, apply the different terms, or reduce a claim proportionately if it would have charged more.
Claims history is a material circumstance on almost any haulage risk. So are incidents that haven't become claims yet, such as a damaged consignment the customer is still pricing up.
60 days out: driver data and telematics
Build the driver list
List everyone who drives for you (employed, agency, self-employed, and directors who drive) with licence categories, date of birth, years licensed, endorsements or convictions, incidents with you and start date.
Check the list against your motor policy's driver criteria (minimum age, experience, convictions, named or any-driver basis), because a driver who doesn't meet them may not be covered.
Check licences, and keep the evidence
GOV.UK's operator licensing guide says transport managers are responsible for making sure drivers hold the right licence for the vehicle and that regular licence checks are carried out, "usually every 3 months". Drivers can create a check code through GOV.UK's view or share your driving licence service, which lets you see their record. The code is valid for 21 days.
The guide also says vocational drivers must have a valid Driver CPC card. Drivers keep Driver CPC by completing 35 hours of periodic training every 5 years. Check the expiry date on each driver's card, because an expired card can also mean a driver who shouldn't be driving professionally.
If asked how often you check licences, "every quarter, with records kept" beats "when they join".
Employed or self-employed?
How each driver is engaged matters for employers' liability. If you employ people, you'll generally need EL cover of at least £5 million from an authorised insurer. Some drivers you call self-employed may in fact be treated as employees for EL purposes, depending on how they work for you.
Tell your broker how each driver is engaged; getting it wrong can leave an injured driver's claim without cover. See our employers' liability insurance guide. If you're short of drivers and using more agency or new staff, our post on the HGV driver shortage and insurance costs covers what that does to your risk.
Tachograph records
Under the operator licensing guide, transport managers are responsible, where appropriate, for downloading and storing data from:
the vehicle's digital tachograph unit, at least every 90 days
drivers' cards, at least every 28 days
Drivers' hours records must be kept for at least 12 months. Insurers rarely want raw tachograph data, but showing you download on time and act on infringements is evidence of a managed operation.
Telematics, cameras and compliance scores
If you run telematics or cameras, tell insurers what you do with the data: who reviews it, what happens when it flags harsh braking or speeding, and whether footage has defended a claim. A system nobody looks at proves little; one with a documented process shows how the business is run. What it's worth at renewal is each insurer's decision.
Two DVSA measures are worth mentioning if they're good:
Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS). OCRS is DVSA's measure of the risk that an operator won't follow the rules on roadworthiness and traffic (drivers' hours, weighing checks and so on). A green score is a quick way to show a well-run fleet.
DVSA earned recognition. Operators in the earned recognition scheme use a DVSA-validated IT system that monitors maintenance and drivers' hours KPIs in 4-week periods.
A short note of your maintenance arrangements also helps: the licensing guide requires maintenance records to be kept for at least 15 months and a maintenance planner showing inspection dates at least six months ahead.
45 days out: goods in transit, CMR and policy wording checks
This is where renewals most often hide a gap: the premium looks fine, but the wording no longer fits the work.
Set the GIT limit from the loads, not last year's schedule
For each type of work, write down:
the typical value of a load
the highest-value load you carried in the past year
the highest-value load you might carry next year (new customers, new lanes, return loads, freight exchange work)
whether the limit applies per vehicle, per load or per consignment, and whether there's an aggregate for several loads at one location, such as loaded trailers parked overnight in the yard
If your largest loads exceed the limit, raise the limit or turn the work down. If you take loads from a freight exchange, the platform's minimum is a joining requirement, not a risk match. See our GIT checklist for freight exchanges.
Know which terms you're actually trading on
GIT policies usually respond to the liability you have under the terms you carry on. Check what those terms are:
Your own or a trade association's conditions of carriage (such as the RHA Conditions of Carriage) usually limit your liability, often by weight. Check customers have actually agreed to them and that your GIT wording refers to them.
Customer contracts that override them may make you liable for full value or consequential losses, which your GIT wording may not cover. Send big contracts to your broker before renewal, not after a claim.
No terms at all can leave your liability wider than you think.
CMR: if any load crosses a border
The CMR Convention is part of UK law through the Carriage of Goods by Road Act 1965. It applies to every contract for the carriage of goods by road for reward where the place of taking over the goods and the place of delivery are in two different countries, and at least one is a contracting country (Article 1). Terms that try to derogate from it are void (Article 41). If you're subcontracted onto part of an international journey, ask whether you're carrying under the international contract and consignment note (Article 34).
Key CMR points to check against your cover:
Liability. The carrier is liable for loss or damage between taking over the goods and delivery, and for delay, and can't rely on the defective condition of its own vehicle (Article 17).
The limit. Compensation for loss is capped at 8.33 units of account (Special Drawing Rights) per kilogram of gross weight short (Article 23), so your GIT wording needs to deal with CMR liability specifically.
Higher values. A declared value (Article 24) or special interest in delivery (Article 26) in the consignment note can raise your liability above the standard limit. Make sure your team flags these.
Wilful misconduct by the carrier, its employees or subcontractors removes the limits (Article 29).
Time limit. Usually one year, or three years for wilful misconduct (Article 32).
At renewal, confirm your policy covers CMR liability, the territorial limits cover every country you go to, and the limit fits your heaviest international loads. Flag international work at the start.
Wording checks for each policy
Use this as a markup list against your current wordings. Ask your broker to confirm each point in writing for the renewing policy.
Area | What to check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Unattended vehicle and security conditions (GIT) | When a loaded vehicle can be left, where, and with what locks, alarms or immobilisers. Any night-parking rules, such as secure parks only | A common reason GIT theft claims fail. It must fit how drivers actually park |
Excluded or high-risk goods (GIT) | Lists of excluded goods (such as alcohol, tobacco, electronics, phones, pharmaceuticals, precious metals) and any lower limits for them | New customers can quietly change your load mix |
Temperature-controlled loads (GIT) | Whether deterioration from refrigeration breakdown is covered, and any conditions on unit servicing and temperature records | Standard GIT often treats this separately. See our refrigerated haulage guide |
Subcontracted carriage (GIT) | Whether loads you pass to other hauliers are covered, and what checks you must make on them, such as their own GIT | If you're the contracting carrier, the customer may claim from you whoever drove |
Loading and unloading (GIT, motor and PL) | Which policy covers damage during loading and unloading, both to the goods and to third-party property | The boundary between motor, GIT and public liability is where claims fall through |
Storage and warehousing (GIT and property) | Whether goods held overnight or for days at your yard or a third-party warehouse are covered, and up to what limit | "In transit" may stop once goods are stored. Storage often needs declaring or separate cover |
Territorial limits (GIT and motor) | Every country you operate in, including transit countries | An Ireland, EU or wider European run outside the limits isn't covered |
Excesses (all) | Each excess, any higher excesses for young drivers, theft or specific goods, and whether they apply per claim or per vehicle | A lower premium can hide a higher excess on your likeliest claims |
Public liability scope | Yard operations, working at customers' premises, and any tools, plant or equipment used off the vehicle | Injury or damage away from the road. See our public liability guide |
Employers' liability | A limit of at least £5 million, and who counts as an employee under the policy | A legal requirement if you employ people, and the certificate must be displayed where employees can access it |
30 days out: send a full presentation to the insurers
By now you should have everything an insurer needs. Put it together as one pack:
A one- or two-page cover note: what you carry, where, for whom, and what's changed since last year (customers, lanes, vehicles, operating centre, entity, transport manager).
The reconciled fleet list, including trailers and specialist kit.
The driver list, with your licence and Driver CPC checks.
Claims experience for each policy, with your notes.
Load profile and values, including chilled, high-value work and storage.
Terms of trade: conditions of carriage, CMR work and major customer contracts.
Risk management evidence: telematics, OCRS, earned recognition, maintenance and yard security.
Current schedules and wordings.
Thirty days gives insurers time to ask questions and you time to compare. A pack that arrives in the final week leaves little time for either.
With a letter of authority, we request the schedules and claims experience for you and take the presentation to the insurers on our panel.
21 to 14 days out: compare terms, not just premiums
Put the terms side by side. A lower premium only helps if the cover is the same. Check:
Limits: GIT per vehicle or load and any aggregate, PL limit, EL limit
Excesses: standard and special ones, such as theft, young drivers or specific goods
Exclusions and conditions: especially security conditions, excluded goods, territorial limits and subcontracting
Endorsements: anything added to the standard wording, such as a new warranty on parking or alarms
Subjectivities: things you must do before or after cover starts, such as a survey, extra information or fitting security, and their deadlines
Total cost: insurer premium, Insurance Premium Tax, and the broker fee, shown separately
At Meshed our broker fee is a flat 10%, and we show it separately from the insurer's premium so you can see what you're paying for.
Before choosing, ask: is this based on exactly what I presented, what's changed from my current wording, can my drivers realistically follow every condition, and how will mid-term vehicle changes be handled?
7 days out: bind and get the paperwork
Don't let the renewal date arrive without written confirmation that cover is in place.
Confirm acceptance in writing, and get written confirmation of cover back.
Meet any subjectivities by their deadlines. A subjectivity you miss can affect cover.
Check certificates show the right insured name, dates and limits; the licensing guide expects transport managers to keep up-to-date certificates of insurance for vehicles. Our haulage insurance certificates guide explains what each document is for.
Check the Motor Insurance Database. Once the renewal is on risk, check that every vehicle shows on askMID.
Upload new evidence to freight exchanges and customer portals (see freight exchange certificate visibility).
Brief the team on any new conditions: parking rules, notification process, goods the policy won't cover.
Renewal day to 30 days after: tidy up and set next year's timetable
Check the final documents against what you agreed: limits, excesses, endorsements and named vehicles.
Store the presentation pack. Next year's renewal starts from it.
Set a mid-term change process for vehicles, drivers, lanes and load types. A vehicle added under your O-licence margin must be specified on VOL within one month; change the insurance at the same time.
Diarise next year. Put the 120-day start date in the diary now.
Review quarterly, so next year's pack is mostly done already.
If costs are the main concern, our article on fleet operating costs and haulage insurance explains where insurance sits in the cost base and what you can control between renewals.
If your renewal is less than 30 days away
You can still use this checklist, but you need to prioritise. In order:
Don't let cover lapse. If time is tight, ask your current broker or insurer early whether a short extension is possible.
Fix the fleet list: everything you run on, everything sold off.
Check the GIT limit against your biggest loads and any international work.
Disclose everything material, especially claims and incidents. The fair presentation duty doesn't stop because you're short of time.
Diarise the 120-day start for next year.
What a letter of authority does
A letter of authority (LOA) is a short signed letter that lets a broker request your schedule, policy documents and claims experience from your existing broker or insurer. It doesn't cancel or move your cover and doesn't commit you to anything: you still decide whether to bind. It means the paperwork chase in the 120- and 75-day stages is done for you.
FAQs
When should a haulier start renewing their insurance?
Around 120 days before renewal for most fleets, with a full presentation to insurers about 30 days out. Small operators can compress this; international, chilled, high-value or subcontracted work, or a difficult claims record, means starting earlier.
Do I have to tell my insurer about claims that were not my fault?
Yes, don't leave them out. Under the Insurance Act 2015 you must disclose material circumstances, and claims history, including non-fault claims and incidents that may still become claims, is very likely to be material. A short explanation helps the insurer read each one correctly.
Does my GIT policy cover international loads under CMR?
Only if it says so. CMR applies by law to contracts for international road carriage for reward, with liability capped at 8.33 units of account per kilogram of gross weight short unless a higher value or special interest is declared, or wilful misconduct removes the limit. Check that your wording covers CMR liability and that the territorial limits include every country you operate in.
Does changing from sole trader to limited company affect my insurance?
Yes. Operator's licences are not transferable, so a new entity needs its own licence before it operates, and your policies need to be in the name of the business actually trading. Change the insurance at the same time as the licence, not at the next renewal.
Can you renew my motor fleet as well as GIT and liability?
We place goods in transit, public liability and employers' liability with the insurers on our panel; hire-and-reward motor is usually placed with a motor specialist. We review your motor schedule alongside the rest and tell you if we see a gap.
Send us your renewal
Sign a short letter of authority on our haulage insurance page. We'll request your current schedule, policy documents and claims experience from your existing broker or insurer. Then we'll check the pack against this checklist and take your renewal to the insurers on our panel, so you can compare options well before your renewal date. If you run one to 15 vehicles, you can also start with our small fleet quote review.
Meshed is a trading name of Mesh'd Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 1033248). We charge a flat 10% broker fee. We work with limited companies, partnerships and sole traders. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
Vincent Liu
Co-founder & CTO
