Courier | The Courier Shop

Does a courier need insurance?

September 29, 2009 By sarah

Any type of vehicle can be used to deliver cargo, freight or precious items. Most commonly you will see small vans. What happens if someone causes you to have an accident? or you hit another vehicle? How will your business operate if your main tool for work is out of action?

When starting a courier business insurance can seem like a big expenditure. People know exactly what they are getting when they buy a van, but insurance can be a bit fuzzier. For example, do you really need insurance at all to be a courier?

The answer to that question is a resounding yes, it’s essential for a courier business to have insurance. What type of insurance is down to the business owner. Insurance for couriers comes in several types-

Goods in Transit Insurance covers the potential damage of goods on the vehicle whilst in transit. Goods in Transit doesn’t cover all goods, check what your policy covers.

Light Haulage Insurance offers similar cover to courier insurance and goods in transit but for a limited amount of drops per day, often 3.

Hire and Reward Insurance covers you for the carrying of other parties goods.

At the very least you need hire and reward insurance. It may not give you as much ‘cover’ as the other options but to be without insurance is a situation that may cost you business. Customer are reluctant to let their goods be transported and delivered without insurance no matter how safe you think you are!

It’s quite common for glass, fine arts, ceramic, antiques to be uninsured under the ‘goods in transit’ or courier insurance policies. These need to be specied as add ons to your policy. Make sure you find out what is excluded and whether it is financially beneficial to have these added on before you buy your insurance policy.

If you decide to trade without insurance, stop for a moment and think… How will you pay if your clients goods are damaged in an accident? How will you continue with your business?

Sarah
The Complete Courier guide is an essential guide for self employed couriers looking to start their own courier business.

Filed Under: Courier Blog, Courier Shop Admin, Courier World, Driving Tagged With: Courier, courier insurance, delivery insurance, goods in transit for couriers, Insurance

Please sir, can I have some more?

June 22, 2009 By sarah

When times get tougher, you need to look at all aspects of your business especially the parts where you could earn more money.

One area that is often talked about is ‘repeat business’, where an existing customer comes back to book your courier services again, and again and again. In an ideal world all of our customers would be like this (if we wanted them to be).

So how do you get repeat business from your customers?

The obvious one is often the one thats most overlooked – asking for more business.

When was the last time you did that? How did you get on? Did you just stop after asking one customer?

Sarah

For more tips on growing your courier business check out Linda’s ebook – on getting more customers for your courier business

Filed Under: Get More Customers Tagged With: Business, Courier, Couriers and Messengers, Delivery, Transportation and Logistics

Couriers – creating the right impression

March 16, 2009 By sarah

Last summer we launched our E book ‘The Complete Courier Guide’. To our amazement the guide has sold well, but the one thing wannabe couriers are not understanding is the power of a first impression.

A first impression to a customer can make or break a local business so it’s imperative to get it right.

Via the Phone… take the gum from your mouth, the cigarette and put the pork pie down. Your voice should sound like you, and not like a truffle pig snuffling around a tree trunk. You need to be professional, and sounding professional is a good start.

Verbal ticks like “yeah right”, “you know what I mean” and “Erm…. ” practice in the mirror till they are gone, it’s a bit of work but it makes you sound much better, if you know what I mean