Van Insurance
Competitive Cover From Your Local Independent Insurance Brokers
Need competitive, high-quality van insurance? Let Trisure Insurance Services compare our markets to find you great value cover. Our friendly team of specialists can do the shopping around for you and find you the right cover at the right price. Get your free, no-obligation van insurance quote today or call (01733) 777799.
What is Van Insurance?
Van insurance gives van drivers the protection they need to drive legally on public roads. As van owners have different uses for their vehicles – for work or private use – there are many policy options. Thanks to our close connections to several leading insurers, we can offer you a van insurance quote to cover the following:
- Using it for work
- Using it to carry your own goods
- Using it to carry other people’s goods for money
- Using it for personal use – so-called social, domestic, and pleasure
If you’d like some commercial van insurance advice or a free, no-obligation van insurance quote, call us on (01733) 777799 or click here to start your quote.
What Does Van Insurance Cover?
While there are plenty of options with van insurance, all policies are based on giving you the cover you need to drive on public roads legally. There are three options for this:
- Third-party only – the minimum cover required by law; this will only protect you from third-party liabilities – e.g., damage to another driver’s vehicle in the event of an accident if it is your fault
- Third-party, fire, and theft – this is the same as third-party cover, but it also insures your vehicle should it be stolen or lost in a fire
- Fully comprehensive – fully comprehensive covers you should your vehicle be lost to fire, stolen and, in the event of an accident, it will pay for repairs to your vehicle even if the accident was your fault
Which option suits you will depend on how much cover you’re looking for and how much you want to spend. Fully comprehensive is the most expensive policy, and third-party is the cheapest. Van insurance cover also offers further options:
- Social, domestic, and pleasure – sometimes called ‘SDP cover’, this is for people who don’t use their vans to carry paying passengers, goods, or to get to work
- Carriage of own goods – if you’re a tradesman and you use your van to get to work, you’ll need this cover, and you’ll need to let your insurer know what you are carrying in your van. If you don’t specify, your goods won’t be covered. SDP cover is included as a standard with this type of policy
- Hire and reward – if you carry goods for money, you will need hire and reward cover. This is a commonly used policy for couriers, especially so-called lifestyle couriers who do deliveries part-time.
- Haulage – you will need this option if you deliver larger loads over long distances in your van. Haulage cover is for single destinations, so if you make multiple drops, you’ll need courier insurance instead.
- Van fleet – if you have two or more vehicles, you can get van fleet insurance and save money on per-vehicle cover while cutting down on admin as you only have one policy to look after
Van Insurance Policy Add-ons?
Yes, there are a few add-ons for van insurance policies, some of the most popular include:
- Public liability – covers you should a member of the public injure themselves or if their property is damaged while you are working. This is popular with couriers and delivery drivers
- Goods in transit – insures your cargo should it be damaged, lost, or stolen while being moved. There were over 5 million parcels were stolen from couriers’ vans in 2021, according to The Guardian, so making sure your packages have goods in transit insurance is a good idea
- Legal assistance – covers your legal expenses should you need to claim for uninsured losses following an accident that wasn’t your fault. If you’re prosecuted for an event related to using/owing your van, this will cover your legal fees and give you access to legal advice
- Breakdown and recovery cover – if you use your van for business, this is a good thing to have. With breakdown insurance as part of your policy, you can rest easy that if you run into trouble, help will soon be on the way
- Tools insurance – covers the cost of replacing equipment you might keep in your van if it’s stolen
How Much Does A Van Insurance Policy Cost?
How much your policy will cost depends on several factors, some of which we’ve outlined below:
- Your age – younger drivers tend to pay more. You need to be at least 21 years of age to get cover, and some insurers won’t insure drivers under over 75
- What you do with your van – if you have a van for social, domestic, and pleasure, it’s likely that your premiums will be lower than if you are a courier, for example
- Where you are driving it – inner cities, routes with high accident rates, or postcodes with high crime rates can all push up your premiums
- Your claims history – drivers with several years of no-claims bonus will likely pay less than those who have multiple claims
- What you are driving – an older, less secure vehicle is likely to more expensive to insure than a newer one. Equally, heavily customised vans can be more expensive
- Your vehicle’s security – vans that are garaged overnight, ones with dashcams and interior cameras, immobilisers, alarms, and telematics devices will usually be cheaper to insure than those without these security benefits
For a personalised van insurance quote, contact Trisure Insurance Services today on (01733) 777799 or start your van insurance quote here. We’ll compare our markets to find you a competitive policy that suits your needs.
How To Save On Van Insurance
Everyone wants to find ways to save on their insurance without compromising on quality. You can save on your van policy costs by:
- Increasing your excess – if you’re confident in your driving abilities, increasing your excess – the amount you pay in the event of a claim – can reduce premiums
- Build up your no-claims discount (NCD) – have you been driving for years without a claim? Insurers regularly offer discounts based on how long you have been claim free. If your driving history is as a named driver rather than the actual policyholder, you may not be able to get a NCD. So, if this is your situation, ensure you become a policyholder as soon as you can so you can reap the benefits of a NCD
- Install a telematics system – you may have noticed that technology like black box devices (telematics) are becoming more common in insurance policies. This is because they provide insurers with more information and prevent them from being left in the dark over a claim – especially when a claim is disputed. So, if you’re confident that you’re a safe, sensible driver who can stick to the requirements they ask of you, getting a telematics system fitted in your van could be an easy way to save money on your cover
- Having a named driver policy – specifying who can drive the vehicle rather than having any driver policy can also reduce your costs
- Pay annually – rather than in instalments
- Protect your vehicle – vans and other delivery vehicles are an attractive target for thieves. Parkers reported in late 2021 that thefts were up over 8% since 2015 and look set to double by 2030. Dashcams, deadlocks, and garaging overnight are all good ways to help lower the risk of theft and potentially lower your premiums
- More than one vehicle? Get a fleet insurance policy – if you have two or more vehicles, you could save time and money by taking out van fleet insurance
Van Insurance FAQ
Van insurance is a complex cover area, so to help you get the protection you need, here are our van insurance frequently asked questions. We hope they will be of help, but if you’d like some independent advice, contact us today on (01733) 777799.
Get A Van Insurance Quote
If you’d like a competitive van insurance quote, call Trisure on (01733) 777799 or click here to start your quote. We’ll compare our markets to find you a competitive policy that suits your needs.