With most businesses struggling in today's downturn in the economy, it pays to cut costs. Each saving will count for a lot when business is slow and prospects for a recovery are not yet sure. For those looking for ways to cut down on costs, one place to look is their insurance policy.

Many firms just automatically pay up whatever the insurer will bill them (unless it is outrageous) without nary a second thought. But in these tough times, it pays to review everything before you contract to purchase any product or service.

There are many ways to save on your motor fleet insurance premiums. It just takes a little creativity on your part and also an honest-to-goodness conversation with a trusted and reliable insurance company. The many things they can suggest on ways to pay lower premiums should also be taken seriously, all without compromising on your insurance needs or requirements.

It may surprise you to learn all these ways and it certainly pays to keep them in mind when negotiating with a new insurance provider. Or if you had decided to renew your motor fleet insurance policy with the same insurer, these ways are good bargaining chips to keep your premiums from ever increasing at all.

First of all, remember that a motor fleet insurance policy is sort of an omnibus (all-purpose) policy that is designed to cover all your company vehicles under only one single insurance contract. This means it covers limousines (if your firm is rich enough to have one for its top executives!) as well as ordinary cars for rank-and-file employees, delivery trucks, vans or any other motor vehicle owned and operated by the firm in its ordinary and usual course of business activities. This one-policy-fits-all is specifically designed that way to cut down on premiums by offering a group discount to the company.

It certainly makes business sense from the insurer's viewpoint to insure as many vehicles as possible from one single customer only as compared to insuring single vehicles from many different insurance companies. As they say, it is cheaper by the dozen! This principle applies in any business and more so with insurance contracts.

Listed below are some ways to reduce your fleet premiums:

* Equip your vehicles with burglar alarms and other anti-theft devices. This will greatly reduce the chances of your insured vehicles becoming a victim of car napping, burglary or vandalism. Insurance firms look on this favourably and will reduce rates based on reduced risks.

* Hire only the best drivers whenever possible. This means hiring not too young drivers who are inexperienced at best and not too old drivers either (slower reflexes, poorer eyesight, etc.) but make sure you will not be sued for age discrimination. Good drivers are safety conscious and that means fewer accidents for insurers to pay out. Invest in driver training if you have to.

* Provide a safe place to park your vehicles at night. Nothing worries an insurer more than an exposed place where there are no fences or even a primitive garage that will protect vehicles from potential criminals. Petty thieves can strike any time but mostly at night whenever an opportunity comes up.

For more information about Motor Fleet Insurance visit the Flint Insurance website.