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Motor trade insurance
Valeting and detailing insurance combines public liability, cover for customers' vehicles in your care and, if you drive them, motor trade road risks. Most valeting claims involve the customer's own car, which basic public liability usually excludes.
Part of: Motor trade insurance
In short
Valeters and detailers, mobile or fixed, usually need public liability, a customer vehicles section for damage to cars while in their care, and road risks if they drive customer cars on a road, because section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires insurance for that use. Paint correction, ceramic coating and wrapping should be declared, as some insurers treat them separately. Equipment cover protects pressure washers and generators. Employers' liability is compulsory once you employ staff, and wash water must not go into surface water drains.
The core risks are the same whether you work from a van or a unit: damage to customers' cars, injury to the public and, often, driving cars you do not own. Where you work changes how insurers look at it.
| Question | Mobile valeter or detailer | Fixed unit or studio |
|---|---|---|
| Where are customer cars at risk? | At the customer's home or workplace, mostly while you work | On your premises, including overnight |
| Do you drive customer cars? | Sometimes, for example moving cars on a dealer site or to a wash bay | Often, for collection and delivery |
| Main property risk | Equipment in the van: pressure washers, generators, water tanks, polishers | Building, contents, stock of products, fire |
| Water and run-off | Depends on the customer's site and your recovery kit | Your own drainage arrangements |
Valeters on dealer contracts are often asked to show specific limits for liability and customer vehicles before they start. Check what the contract asks for before you buy cover, not after. For the wider picture see motor trade insurance.
The most common valeting claims involve the customer's own car: swirl marks or burnt-through lacquer from machine polishing, a chemical that stains trim, a broken mirror glass, or water in an electrical connector. That car is property in your care, and public liability policies commonly exclude property in your care, custody or control. Cover for it usually comes from a separate customer vehicles section, sometimes called goods in trust. Customer vehicles in your care explains how that cover is usually structured.
Detailing work such as paint correction and ceramic coating raises the stakes because the cars tend to be newer or higher value and the work is harder to undo. Some insurers ask specifically about paint correction, coatings, paint protection film and wrapping, and some treat them as a separate activity. Declare everything you do; leaving out an activity can leave a claim exposed.
Illustrative scenario: a detailer machine-polishing a customer's car cuts through the clear coat on a bonnet edge. The customer wants a respray. If the policy has a customer vehicles section that covers damage while the car is being worked on, the claim may be considered under it, subject to the excess and terms. If the policy is public liability only, it may well be declined as damage to property in the detailer's care.
For consumer customers, the Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 treats your contract as including a term that you will perform the service with reasonable care and skill, so poor results can also become a consumer law dispute.
Collection and delivery, moving cars round a dealer's site and repositioning cars for a wash all involve driving vehicles you do not own. Section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 makes it an offence to use a motor vehicle on a road or other public place without insurance for that use. The customer's own policy may or may not cover you; do not assume it does.
The legal minimum also leaves a gap. Under section 145(4) compulsory cover does not have to include damage to the vehicle being driven or to property in your custody. A third-party-only road risks policy can therefore keep you legal while paying nothing towards the customer's car. If you drive customer cars, ask whether damage to them is covered. See road risks only motor trade insurance and the short definition of road risks.
HSE guidance on cleaning and valeting substances highlights skin irritation (dermatitis), eye splashes and vapours that can build up inside vehicles, and notes that some cleaner vapours are flammable. For pressure washers the main hazard it identifies is electric shock; it recommends a suitably rated residual current device (RCD) and weekly visual checks of cabling and connections. Insurers commonly ask about RCDs, generator use and how chemicals are stored.
Water is the other issue. GOV.UK's pollution prevention guidance lists vehicle washing as an activity that produces contaminated water and says surface water drains "discharge directly to the environment". Contaminated water should go to the foul drain, with the water company's permission, or be collected and removed by a registered waste carrier. Pollution cover under liability policies is often limited to sudden and accidental events, so gradual run-off may not be covered.
Electric and hybrid cars are part of most valeters' work now. HSE says that for valeting and sales "an awareness of the additional risks is likely to be all that is required", but it also flags that these vehicles can move silently. See HSE on electric and hybrid vehicles.
Valeters on dealer and fleet contracts often hold keys. Insurers commonly attach conditions to key security, and a claim for a stolen customer car can turn on how keys were kept. See key security in the motor trade.
Equipment in vans is usually insured under a tools or business equipment section, with conditions for theft from unattended vehicles. If you take on staff, GOV.UK says you must have employers' liability insurance with at least £5 million of cover, and fines can reach £2,500 a day. For wash bays with several staff, see hand car wash insurance.
More background: our motor trade broker guide, public liability insurance and a motor trade vehicle damage scenario.
Apex arranges motor trade insurance for valeters and detailers, mobile or fixed, including road risks for driving customer cars. A broker reads your enquiry and comes back with options, and there is no fee for a quote. We need: what you do (including detailing, coatings or wrapping), your address and any premises, who drives (ages, licences, points), turnover, the value of equipment and the typical value of customer vehicles, and your claims history. Cover is subject to the insurer's acceptance and the policy terms.
Only if you drive customers' cars on a road or public place, which needs insurance under the Road Traffic Act 1988. If you never drive them, public liability, customer vehicles cover and equipment cover may be the core. Many valeters on dealer contracts do drive cars, so road risks is common.
Usually not. Most public liability wordings exclude property in your care, custody or control, which includes the car you are working on. Cover for it normally comes from a customer vehicles or goods in trust section, with its own limit, excess and conditions.
It can be, but some insurers ask about coatings, paint correction and wrapping separately and may rate or restrict them differently. Declare all the work you do. Cover for damage caused while applying a coating is subject to the insurer's acceptance and the policy terms.
Generally no. GOV.UK guidance says surface water drains discharge directly to the environment and contaminated water from business activities should go to the foul drain, with the water company's permission, or be collected and removed by a registered waste carrier.
Yes, once you employ staff, with limited exceptions such as employing only a close family member. GOV.UK says the minimum cover is £5 million from an authorised insurer, and you can be fined £2,500 for each day you are not properly insured.
Tell us what your business does, who drives, your premises and vehicle values. A broker reads every enquiry and comes back with options. No fee for a quote. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Start a motor trade enquiry Request a callbackApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
