by constructaquote - 1 June 2016
If you are fed up of being a slave to the keyboard and driving is your passion then read this quick guide about becoming a Courier.
With the opportunity to be your own boss and dictate your own hours to fit around your home life, more and more people are choosing to opt out of the rat race and take to the open road as a professional courier.
If this sounds like you, read on:
When becoming a self-employed courier it may be a good idea to write a business plan outlining how much your expected costs are versus how much profit you will need to earn on a weekly/monthly basis in order to make your business work for you.
2. Advertise your Services
Marketing your services could be considered essential to help you generate business and revenue to help your business get off to a flying start.
You may want to utilise your contacts starting with friends, family and former colleagues to help spread the word. You could also invest in a stock of eye-catching business cards to pass to whomever you do business with and whomever you get the chance to network with.
3. Do you go it alone?
Another way to get into the courier business would be to become a driver for one of the big players in the courier industry; this could potentially be a good option if you want to test the waters, as you are in effect self-employed but work exclusively for one company.
Some professional courier companies even operate an owner driver scheme where you “own” a route and at the same time can source additional business. As an owner driver you will receive payment for collection and delivery of parcels, but at the same time share the risk between you and the company you work for.
4. Purchase the correct Insurance
It goes without saying that if you want to become a self-employed courier that you will undoubtedly require a vehicle in which to make your deliveries.
According to the UK government, you must have the correct motor insurance to drive your vehicle on UK roads. To undertake a job of work as a courier driver, by law you need to cover yourself for ‘carriage of goods for hire and reward’ to legally cover yourself to drive the vehicle on the public highways.
As a courier your job would involve handling valuable packages on a daily basis, and without the appropriate insurance cover you could be left financially liable should these be lost or damaged whilst these items are in transit.
Alongside courier insurance, you may also want to speak to us about public liability insurance and goods in transit insurance.
With this information in mind, if you have decided that the courier business is for you then we wish you good luck and happy driving.
This guide is part of our series related to van and vehicle insurance, for more guides, or to get a quote, head over to our van insurance section.
by Charlotte Houghton - 7 October 2020
by constructaquote - 6 October 2020
by Charlotte Houghton - 29 September 2020
by Charlotte Houghton - 24 September 2020
