Zero Dep Vs Return to Invoice in Commercial Vehicle Insurance: Which Add-On Should You Choose?

Managing a company fleet requires overcoming unforeseen obstacles and narrow profit margins. You may have to spend more than you anticipated for the typical commercial car insurance policy in the event of an accident or a vehicle theft. 

The difference between what you paid and what you receive back might negatively impact your cash flow, and depreciation significantly reduces claim amounts. You may choose the best insurance for your commercial cars without second-guessing your decision by reading this article's breakdown of two common add-ons:  Zero Depreciation and Return to Invoice.

What is Zero Depreciation Cover in Commercial Vehicle Insurance?

Zero Depreciation, also known as Bumper-to-Bumper cover or Nil Depreciation, is a claim-settlement modification. It doesn't increase the number of incidents that your policy covers. The amount you truly get when a covered event takes place is what changes.

When your vehicle is damaged in an accident and you file a repair claim under commercial vehicle insurance, the standard settlement deducts depreciation from the cost of every replaced part. With zero depreciation, that deduction is completely eliminated. The insurer covers the entire invoice cost of replaced parts, whether they are made of metal, rubber, plastic, or fiber, less your mandatory deductible. You don't have to pay for the depreciation gap yourself.

What is Return to Invoice (RTI) Cover in Commercial Vehicle Insurance?

Return to Invoice has its functions in a completely different way. It has no bearing on the settlement of partial claims. Rather, it substitutes the vehicle's original on-road invoice value for the IDV-based cap on total-loss and theft reimbursements.

Your truck insurance ordinarily caps total-loss payouts at the IDV — the current depreciated market value of your vehicle. RTI substitutes the original on-road pricing—ex-showroom price plus road tax and registration fees, for this cap. 

Zero Depreciation vs Return to Invoice: Detailed Comparison

The table below maps every key dimension of both add-ons to help you match coverage to your fleet's actual risk profile:

1. What Gets Paid: Parts vs. The Whole Vehicle

This is the most basic difference. At the component level, zero depreciation makes sure that each part replaced during a repair is invoiced and paid for at full replacement cost. RTI operates at the vehicle level; it only intervenes when the entire car is reported stolen or declared a total loss. It guarantees that you will be reimbursed for the full purchase price of the entire vehicle.

2. The Activation Threshold: Frequent vs. Rare

Every repair claim resulting from an insured incident, such as a small collision, a pothole hit, or storm damage, is eligible for zero depreciation. This may entail five, ten, or more claim activations per vehicle annually in an active fleet. The depreciation gap for each replaced part is silently saved with each activation.

In contrast, RTI might never be activated for the duration of a vehicle's ownership. It depends on either verified theft or a total loss declaration, in which the cost of repairs exceeds 75% of the IDV. For a lot of fleet operators, this never happens. In a way, the RTI premium is insurance against a financially disastrous but unlikely event. The value of your car and the area in which you operate will determine whether or not that premium is warranted.

3. Depreciation Timing: Why Age Matters Differently for Each

The age of the vehicle has an impact on the premium and eligibility for Zero Depreciation; older cars are more expensive to insure under this add-on and might not be eligible for coverage after five or seven years. According to the conventional settlement method, older parts have greater depreciation reductions, thus the advantage of the add-on actually grows with vehicle age within the eligible timeframe. 

RTI operates in the opposite manner. Since the IDV-to-invoice difference is largest in the first year and is less every year after that, its value is highest when the car is the newest. The gap might have narrowed enough by years four or five that the shrinking advantage is no longer justified by RTI's premium. This is why fleet managers reviewing commercial vehicle insurance renewal online for older vehicles should reassess RTI eligibility and value each cycle — it is not a set-and-forget add-on.

4. Loan Financing: The Case Where RTI Becomes Non-Negotiable

RTI is a risk management need for automobiles bought with commercial vehicle loans, not just a useful extra. Market value, the basis for standard IDV settlements on theft or complete loss claims, depreciates more quickly than most loan repayment plans. When the insurer's payout falls short of the remaining loan debt, this results in a coverage gap.

5. Premium Cost vs. Claims ROI

Zero Depreciation typically adds 15–20% to the base commercial car insurance premium. The return on investment for this add-on is nearly always very favorable for a fleet car with three or more repair claims annually, each of which involves replaced parts. One or two mid-sized repair claims basically cover the cost of the add-on.

Which Add-On Should You Choose for Your Commercial Vehicle Insurance?

Evaluate three factors specific to your fleet: vehicle age profile, operating geography, and claims history.

Choose Zero Depreciation when your fleet consists of vehicles between two and six years old operating in dense urban corridors with frequent minor accident exposure; when your claims history shows three or more small repair claims per vehicle per year; when predictable out-of-pocket repair costs are a budget priority; or when renewing commercial vehicle insurance for older fleet assets that have aged out of RTI eligibility.

Choose Return to Invoice when your fleet includes newly purchased vehicles — particularly those financed through commercial vehicle loans — operating in corridors with documented theft risk; when the gap between your vehicle's invoice price and current IDV creates an unacceptable financial exposure; or when a total-loss event would threaten business continuity without full capital recovery.

For fleet operators exploring commercial vehicle insurance options across multiple vehicles, running this analysis vehicle-by-vehicle at each commercial vehicle insurance renewal online cycle will consistently yield a better-optimised, lower-cost coverage portfolio than applying a blanket add-on decision across the entire fleet.