Over 50s van insurance

Over 50s van insurance

If you’re a van driver over 50, insurers see you as less risky to insure. You’re likely to have more motoring experience under your belt and older drivers are statistically less likely to be involved in accidents.

The opposite is true if you’re a young driver with less driving experience – which is why young van driver insurance is so expensive.

Does age affect the cost of van insurance?

Insurers take lots of risk factors into account when working out your premiums, and your age is one of them.

Over 50s generally pay lower premiums for both car and van insurance than younger drivers. But where you live, your motoring experience, claims history and the van you drive all play a part too.

The best way to find out how much your van insurance will cost is to compare quotes.

So, does van insurance get cheaper when I turn 50?

Yes, usually, but there are other factors that influence the cost too.

How to find the right van insurance when you’re over 50

You’ll need to consider the level of cover you need – comprehensive, third party fire and theft, or third party only. 

There are four main types of use to choose from. You’ll also need to know whether you need private van insurance or one of the three types of commercial cover.  

That depends on what you’re going to be using your van for:

• Private – this is for social use only. So popping to the shops or visiting family. Commuting isn’t covered. 
• Carriage of own goods – covers social use, plus commuting and any of your own tools or goods you carry in your van, as long as you’ve told the insurer about them.
• Courier – also called ‘carriage of goods for hire and reward’. It’s the right option for you if you make multiple deliveries in a local area. Private use is covered too.
• Haulage – this is for you if you’re delivering goods long-distance to a single destination. Like with the other options, social use is included. 

If you’re over 50 and looking for van insurance, you could have more choice of quotes when you compare than younger drivers as you’re less of a risk. That means you're likely to be able to find cheaper cover.

Should you use a specialist over 50s provider for your van insurance?

That’s up to you. Most mainstream providers offer great deals for over 50s van drivers. 

Some policies might have an upper age limit, but it’s generally a lot older than 50. When we checked 70 goods carrying vehicle policies listed on Defaqto, the youngest max age limit was 65 and 25% had no upper age limit for proposers.^[1]

Some specialist over 50s policies might have certain extras offered as standard, such as courtesy cars, emergency driver cover or unlimited European cover.