The shortest distinction is location and use: internal risks mainly deals with vehicles at the insured premises; external risks deals with covered vehicles being driven away from it. In practice, the boundary depends on the wording.
Most workshops that keep and road-test customer vehicles need both sections. One does not automatically fill the gaps in the other.
What internal risks is for
Internal risks can cover customer and stock vehicles against selected perils such as fire, theft and accidental damage at a declared address. The maximum accumulation and any-one-vehicle limit are central.
What external risks is for
External risks can cover authorised road tests, collections, deliveries and sometimes demonstrations. Drivers, radius, trip purpose and vehicle class must meet the schedule. Third-party liability may also sit here.
Where claims fall between sections
A vehicle parked overnight on an undeclared verge, an unaccompanied buyer, private use by an employee or a vehicle collected far outside the agreed radius can fall outside both sections.
Map the journey from customer handover, workshop storage and repair to road test and final delivery. Each stage needs an insured answer.
A mechanic reverses a customer vehicle into a pillar inside the workshop: internal risks may respond. The next day the same mechanic collides on a post-repair road test: external risks may respond. The same vehicle, two policy sections.
Questions an insurer will ask
- Which addresses and overflow lots hold vehicles?
- What is the peak vehicle accumulation?
- Which trips happen away from the premises?
- Who drives and how far?
- Are customer demonstrations accompanied?
General information only. RMI requirements, fees and processes can change; confirm current requirements directly with RMI. Insurance cover depends on the insurer’s schedule, wording, limits, excesses and conditions.