Fleet insurance broker McCarron Coates and law firm JMW Solicitors have partnered to deliver Accelerate, a new road transport protection policy for fleet operators.
Created by McCarron Coates and underwriter Financial and Legal, the Accelerate policy provides coach and bus operators with comprehensive legal cover “aimed at protecting the fleet business, its finances, its directors, and the O-Licence”.
Stemming from an ethos of providing preventative measures, the policy provides proactive legal advice ahead of scenarios such as Traffic Commissioners’ hearings or employment tribunals, with legal advice partner-led at JMW.
Investigations or cases mounted by authorities such as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), DVSA, Trading Standards, the Police and the Environment Agency are covered. Operators are also protected should an employment dispute result in a tribunal, and legal advice is provided for criminal matters relating to the use of the operator’s commercial vehicles.
The policy also covers legal fees involved in representing a client during any investigation or employment tribunal and covers settlement figures up to £50,000 if a case is lost.
McCarron Coates says Accelerate aims to “arm operators with a means to access on-point legal advice from day one, the moment a driver is stopped at the roadside for an infringement, or as soon as alarm bells ring with regard to a potential employment issue,” giving operators immediate control and the correct level of legal advice — providing damage limitation and mitigating any penalties that might be levied further down the investigation or legal process.
A free consultation with a JMW specialist partner is included for any other legal issues, alongside discounted rates for further consultations. Employees can also benefit from the arrangement.
McCarron Coates hopes the offer will help drive better compliance in the sector while providing operators a holistic risk management and a means to make improvements across their fleets, whether through enhanced awareness, better training or adherence to maintenance procedures.
“We are delighted to have worked with Financial and Legal to create this exclusive and unique policy, now offered in conjunction with JMW,” says Ian McCarron, Director at McCarron Coates. “It provides McCarron Coates’ fleet clients with wraparound protection in all legal scenarios, at a time when we have over 90 UK regulators and many pressures for coach, bus and HGV operators to absorb and tackle during the course of their daily operations.
“Accelerate also launches ahead of the new Employment Rights Bill, which will introduce 28 individual employment reforms, including day-one employment rights for employees. With so many changes, it will be very easy for operators to be caught out and face the legal consequences. Having the right legal advice, instantly, will be paramount.”
JMW partner, Scott Bell, adds: “McCarron Coates has worked with us to create what we regard as a compelling package of protection for anyone who values their O-Licence and recognises various other threats and risks to their business. Being on the front foot, by virtue of having access to this cover, can make all the difference to business continuity.”
The Accelerate policy is priced per vehicle, with a fixed monthly fee, and joins other legal protection available through McCarron Coates’ RTC Crisis Line, provided free to all of the broker’s clients.
The firm clarifies that RTC Crisis Line provides a driver with instant, transport-specific legal advice when interviewed under police caution, while Accelerate is protection for the operator, in their capacity as the O-Licence holder, company director and employer.
Accelerate also offers a wide range of other specialist legal advice, from divorce to property-related disputes, child access, inheritance and other issues.
