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Flatbed & Curtain SiderInsurance

Flatbed & Curtain Sider Insurance

Cover for flatbeds, curtain siders and dropsides carrying palletised and awkward loads.

Cover for flatbeds, curtain siders and dropsides carrying palletised and awkward loads.

Enter your lorry registration

Load restraint checked
Pallet networks
Load Securing Specialists
Loader cranes

Specialist cover for flatbed, curtainsider and dropside operators

Speak to an adviser about your lorries 0330 808 0884

Allianz
Granite Underwriting
Inshur
Aviva
Jensten Insurance Brokers
ERS
Bond Lovis
QBE
Victor
Admiral business
Axa
Highway
Collingwood
Zurich
KGM
Ageas
NIG
Sabre
DCL
Allianz
Granite Underwriting
Inshur
Aviva
Jensten Insurance Brokers
ERS
Bond Lovis
QBE
Victor
Admiral business
Axa
Highway
Collingwood
Zurich
KGM
Ageas
NIG
Sabre
DCL

What is flatbed and curtain sider insurance?

Flatbed and curtain sider insurance is commercial motor cover for lorries carrying palletised, banded and oversized loads. Alongside the vehicle, most operators add goods in transit for the load and liability cover for loading, strapping and delivery work.

Curtains are weather protection, not load restraint, unless the body is specifically rated for it. Insurers and DVSA both look at how loads are secured.

Your flatbed or curtainsider insurance depends on:

Rigid or artic and weight
What you carry
Where lorries are parked
Whether you use straps, chains or nets
Number of vehicles
Loader crane fitted
A man getting into a car outside an office building

Load securing: what insurers look for

Unsecured loads are one of the most common reasons DVSA stops a vehicle, and a shifted load is an expensive claim.

Loads restrained to suit their weight and shape
Straps, chains and nets in good condition
Curtains treated as weather protection, not restraint
Drivers trained in load securing

Good load securing protects your goods in transit claim as well as your licence.

Cover built around your bodies

Cover built around your bodies

Flatbeds, curtainsiders, dropsides and crane-equipped lorries carry different loads and different risks, and insurers rate each accordingly.

Flatbeds, curtainsiders, dropsides and crane-equipped lorries carry different loads and different risks, and insurers rate each accordingly.

Flatbeds

Open decks for steel, timber, plant and awkward loads.

Curtain Siders

Curtainsided trailers and rigids for palletised distribution.

Dropsides

Dropside bodies for building materials and mixed loads.

Crane-Equipped Flatbeds

Flatbeds with a loader crane for self-loading deliveries.

Mixed Fleets

Operators running several body types on one policy.

Which flatbed or curtainsider cover do you need?

Which flatbed or curtainsider cover do you need?

What you carry matters as much as what you drive, so start with the loads.

What you carry matters as much as what you drive, so start with the loads.

Palletised distribution

Curtainsider work for pallet networks and general distribution.

May suit you ifYou run pallet work and need transit limits that match customer contracts.

Building materials

Flatbeds and dropsides carrying timber, blocks, steel and bagged goods.

May suit you ifYou deliver to sites and merchants and load with a loader crane.

Steel and oversized loads

Heavier, awkward loads needing chains, nets and careful restraint.

May suit you ifYou carry steel, plant or machinery and need higher transit limits.

Mixed haulage

Operators running a mix of curtains, flats and dropsides.


May suit you ifYour work changes week to week and you want one flexible policy.

Not sure which cover fits your work?

Tell us what you carry and we’ll match the right policy.

0330 808 0884
Advisers discussing van insurance cover

Why use Insurance Revolution for flatbed cover?

Flatbed and curtainsider work sits across motor, transit and liability cover, and the load is usually where the claim is.

What we can arrange:

Specialist haulage insurers
Goods in transit for your loads
Public and employers’ liability
Named and any-driver options
Single lorry and fleet policies
Claims support from UK advisers

Choose cover based on the work you do

Choose cover based on the work you do

Palletised distribution, building materials, steel and machinery all load differently, and load securing is what insurers look at most.

Palletised distribution, building materials, steel and machinery all load differently, and load securing is what insurers look at most.

Pallet networks

  • Depot to depot
  • Timed deliveries
Explore cover

Builders’ merchants

  • Site deliveries
  • Crane offload
Explore cover

Steel stockholders

  • Heavy loads
  • Chains and nets
Explore cover

Plant movement

  • Machines on deck
  • Low loaders
Explore cover

General haulage

  • Mixed loads
  • Contract work
Explore cover

Owner-drivers

  • One lorry
  • Sub-contract work
Explore cover

What affects the cost of flatbed insurance?

Flatbed and curtainsider insurance has no fixed price. It depends on the weight and body type, what you carry, the transit limits your contracts require, your mileage and radius, your drivers and your claims history.

Gold icon of a hanging weight with a rounded top loop and wide base on a transparent background

Vehicle weight and body

Rigids, artics and loader cranes all change the value at risk.

Gold speedometer icon with a needle pointing left, representing speed, performance, or dashboard metrics.

Mileage and radius

Local delivery work is rated differently to national trunking.

Gold geometric logo of stacked rectangular shapes forming an abstract, interlocking 3D design on a transparent background

What you carry

Steel, plant and high-value goods are rated above general pallets.

Gold outline icon of a delivery truck with a large cargo box and two wheels on a transparent background.

Number of lorries

One lorry versus a fleet changes how you’re rated.

Gold warning triangle icon with an exclamation mark in the center on a transparent background

Transit limits

The cover per load your contracts require drives part of the premium.

Drivers and claims

Driver experience, agency use and past claims all affect the price.

Running several lorries?

Running several lorries?

Flatbeds, curtainsiders and dropsides can sit on one HGV fleet policy with a single renewal date.

Flatbeds, curtainsiders and dropsides can sit on one HGV fleet policy with a single renewal date.

Three white cargo trucks in a row, including a car carrier loaded with vehicles, isolated on a transparent background.

Trusted by flatbed and curtainsider operators across the UK

Trusted by flatbed and curtainsider operators across the UK

From a single dropside to a fleet of curtainsiders, our customers trust Insurance Revolution to get the right cover and expert support when it matters.

From a single dropside to a fleet of curtainsiders, our customers trust Insurance Revolution to get the right cover and expert support when it matters.

Optional extras for flatbed and curtainsider policies

Optional extras for flatbed and curtainsider policies

Your motor policy covers the lorry. These extras cover the load, the straps and curtains, and the liabilities that come with delivery work.

Your motor policy covers the lorry. These extras cover the load, the straps and curtains, and the liabilities that come with delivery work.

Protects the loads you carry against damage, theft and loss while they’re on the vehicle.

Worker guiding crane truck lifting pallet of concrete blocks at industrial yard with stacked materials and warehouse in background

How to insure a flatbed or curtain sider

How to insure a flatbed or curtain sider

Tell us what you run and what you carry, and we’ll compare specialist insurers.

Tell us what you run and what you carry, and we’ll compare specialist insurers.

1

Tell us about your lorries

Weights, bodies, loader cranes and values.

2

Share your loads

What you carry, typical values and your operating radius.

3

We compare specialist insurers

We search haulage insurers for motor, transit and liability cover.

4

Get covered and loading

Choose your policy and receive your documents the same day.

We're with you all the way

UK-based specialist advisers
Access to specialist insurers
No obligation, just expert help

Carrying goods for other businesses?

Carrying goods for other businesses?

Haulage work needs goods in transit cover and usually a standard operator’s licence alongside your motor policy.

Haulage work needs goods in transit cover and usually a standard operator’s licence alongside your motor policy.

White semi-truck with side curtain open, loaded with pallets of boxes at a warehouse loading area.

Flatbed and curtainsider guides

Flatbed and curtainsider guides

Practical advice on load securing, transit cover and claims.

Practical advice on load securing, transit cover and claims.

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Flatbed and curtain sider insurance FAQs

Flatbed and curtain sider insurance FAQs

Straight answers on load securing, transit cover, cranes and cost.

Straight answers on load securing, transit cover, cranes and cost.

It covers the lorry and third parties, and can be extended to goods in transit for the loads you carry, loader cranes fitted to the vehicle, and public and employers’ liability for loading and delivery work.

Still not sure what cover you need?

Our specialists can match cover to your lorries and the loads you carry.