A Guide to Van Insurance

What Affects the Cost of Van Insurance?

Ultimately there are many factors which can affect the cost of insuring your van (or vans). Detailed below are a list of key factors which insurers will consider when pricing up your policy:

1. How many vans are to be covered in the policy
2. The weight of the van (s)
3. The make and model of the van (s)
4. Your geographical location
5. The age and experience of the van drivers
6. Whether or not the van drivers are named (or an ‘any driver’ van insurance policy is required)
7. The security of the van(s) - e.g. whether alarms, immobilisers or trackers are installed
8. Claim history
9. What the van will be used for
10. The excess

It is really important that you obtain appropriate insurance cover for your van(s); rather than simply going for the cheapest quote you can find.

Broadly speaking van insurance policies can be split into two distinct categories:

1. Vans used for private purposes
2. Vans used for business purposes

Van Insurance for Private Use

For the most part, vans are used for business rather than private purposes, however if, your van is purely for private use, you can insure it as such; simply mention this at the time of obtaining your van insurance quote.

However, if at any point you need to use your van for business purposes, you must inform your insurer of your intentions to ensure you have adequate insurance protection in the event that you need to make a claim.

Van Insurance for Business Use

If you are using your van for business use you will be expected to provide the following details:

1. The goods which you intend to transport (NB particularly if you are using your van to transport potentially hazardous or toxic materials)
2. Details of the drivers who need to be insured

The price you will pay for your van insurance will be largely dependent on the above.

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Van Insurance Policies - Additional Features

If you are using your van for business use, some policies offer additional coverage, which may be worth considering:

Goods in Transit

If you are using your van to transport expensive goods, materials, tools etc; this may well be an option worth considering. Imagine the potential impact on your business if a large quantity of stock was destroyed as a result of an accident, or stolen as the vehicle was en-route to a job? Would you be able to afford to replace it? If you include goods in transit cover on your policy, your van insurance would pay out in a situation like this.

Replacement Van(s)

If your van is damaged as a result of an accident, you may need a replacement van in order to continue to do business - again as the cost to rent vehicles can be high, it may be worth having this included on your van insurance policy.

Legal Expenses

This type of insurance will cover you in the event of legal action pertaining to that vehicle - e.g. in the event of an accident.