Compare cheap van insurance quotes and you could save up to £313[1]
Customer satisfaction rating on reviews.co.uk[3]
[1]51% of consumers could save up to £313.19
Van insurance protects you, your van and its contents, so you can confidently go about your business knowing you’re fully covered – just like car insurance.
It's a legal requirement to have van insurance, just like with cars.
But van insurance differs from car insurance, particularly if you use it for business.
You’ll need to decide on the level of cover and type of insurance you need – this’ll depend on whether you use your van for business or pleasure.
Either way, the right policy can offer peace of mind and protect you from the unexpected.
We’ll help you compare comprehensive, third party, fire and theft, or third party only cover that suits courier, haulage and goods in transit drivers, whatever van you’re driving.
There are three levels of van insurance to choose from. Legally, you only need to have third party only, but it won’t offer you or your van any protection. Choose the level of cover you feel most comfortable with. And then choose the right type.
This is the highest level of cover you can get.
Fully comp insures your van against theft and fire, as well as proving cover for you, your vehicle and third parties involved in motoring incidents.
TPFT is the middle ground between comprehensive and third party only cover.
It will insure you for damage or injury to third parties, and for fire damage or theft of your vehicle.
This only covers injuries or damages to third parties – it’s the minimum cover level required by law.
Don’t assume that this option is the cheapest though. It’s best to compare different types of policies to find the one that works for you.
How you use your van is defined much more strictly than with a car. You’ll need to work out whether you need commercial or private insurance first, and then pick the type for how you use it.
For private use, like visiting friends and family and doing the shopping.
You can't commute - even to a single place of work.
If you use your van to get to work, you’ll need this cover. You can get cover for your tools or goods too if you need it.
You’ll need to let the insurer know what you carry in your van. If you don’t specify it, it won’t be covered.
Private use is included as standard.
This is cover for delivering large loads over long distances. With this type of insurance, your goods in transit will be covered too.
Haulage cover is for single destinations though, so if you make multiple drops, you’ll need courier insurance instead.
You’ll also have cover for social use included.
You'll see this called ‘carriage of goods for hire and reward’. It’s cover for delivering other people’s goods or property - and getting paid for it.
It’s usually for deliveries in a localised area and provides additional cover for the goods that you transport.
Social use is included too.
10 ways you could make your van insurance cheaper:
Smaller van, smaller engine, often equals smaller risk
If you can afford it, it’s always cheaper to pay for your insurance in one go
Try to avoid modifying your van as it can make insurance more expensive
Alarms, trackers and immobilisers may lower your premiums
The longer you go without making a claim, the bigger the discount you’ll get
Avoid unnecessary trips where possible, but be honest with your estimate
If you’ve got a garage or driveway, make use of it
If you’re not fussed about things like legal expenses cover, don’t pay extra for it
Take an advanced driving course, like Pass Plus
Don’t just renew - shop around for the right quote
The type of cover and van insurance you can get are pretty varied. You’ll still need to tell insurers how you use your van - commercial or private use, with or without goods in transit. But there are other types of policies that might work out better for you or your business.
If you run a business with more than one vehicle, this cover could be for you. It usually works out cheaper than insuring your workforce and each van or car separately.
Need any Tom, Dick or Zoe to drive your van at short notice? With any driver insurance, you don’t need to name them on the policy. Watch out for age restrictions though - under 21s might not be covered.
Make sure you’ve got the right protection for your prized motor. Lower mileage discounts are pretty typical for private use and commercial classics can get cover too.
The type of cover you’ll need for a minibus or MPV depends on the vehicle and usage, just like any van.
If your car has a front cab and an open cargo area, you’ll usually need van insurance. They’re very rarely classed as cars by insurers.
You can also get telematics insurance – commonly called black box policies – for your van, where the cost of your premium is based on how well you, or your employees, drive.
One-day, short-term or temporary van insurance for light commercial vehicles (LCVs) is handy if you only need cover for a short while.
Private van insurance is for ‘social use only’ – driving to see friends, do the shopping, etc.
Unlike car insurance, there’s no ‘social and commuting’ class of use for van insurance.
So even if you commute to a single workplace, and your employed rather than self-employed, you still need commercial use insurance.
It depends on the insurer and level of cover. But most fully comprehensive van insurance policies will offer you cover to drive abroad as standard – there are usually restrictions on how many days you’re covered for though, and the level of cover you have might reduce to third party only.
There are plenty of extras you can bolt on to your van insurance – some you’ll pay extra for, while others are included as standard, depending on the insurer.
Legal expenses, breakdown cover, courtesy vans and protecting your no-claims discount are all options for you to consider.
They all add up so only add the bits you really want or need. If you pay monthly for your insurance, you’ll pay interest on the extra cover too.
Yes, if you’re self-employed. Insurance, repairs and servicing, fuel costs and some other expenses are allowable business expenses. Which means you can deduct some of these costs from your taxable profits.
Instead of submitting all of your van expenses separately to HMRC, you can use a simplified process - a flat deductible based on mileage. The flat rate includes insurance costs.
Each insurer has their own rules. Some won’t cover drivers under 25, with others, it’s 21. Most insist you’ve held your licence for a year.
Age restrictions are common with fleet and any-driver van insurance too. It’s not impossible for younger drivers to get insurance, but expect less choice of insurers and higher premiums.
Some jobs require you to travel a lot or carry around expensive stock in your van. Even if you don’t use your van for work, you might still be charged higher premiums if your job is deemed risky.
It’s not so much about age, as about experience. Inexperienced drivers are a high risk to insurers, so van insurance premiums are adjusted to account for the likelihood of needing to pay out for a claim.
You can, but whether an insurer will give you a quote depends on the other drivers’ details. Remember that putting an inexperienced driver on your policy could push up your premiums. Incorrect information could invalidate your policy so be honest about who the main driver is.
If you have an existing NCD for a car you owned previously, then it’s unlikely you’ll be able to transfer it to a van insurance policy, but ask your insurer to make sure.
Yes, but it depends on your insurer how much they’ll charge you. Whether you cancel within the 14-day cooling-off period or not, you may be charged an admin fee and an amount equal to the cost of cover provided so far. Some insurers might not charge an admin fee and you should get a pro rata refund.
[1]Price savings are based on independent research by Consumer Intelligence, conducted between 1 October to 31 October 2019: It compared 11 insurers from our panel and found 51% could achieve a saving of up to £313.19 with us on their van insurance