When you are purchasing insurance for a van, you will usually be looking to insure it for business, although not necessarily. Some people will find a van useful when they are into DIY at home and have things to take to the refuse tip. Others might want something with more storage capacity for going on holiday with. We must therefore not exclude these options when considering van insurance for everyone.
If you are looking for van insurance as a business or for personal use, then you can find out more by visiting https://www.onesureinsurance.co.uk/van-insurance.
Why is Van Insurance More Expensive?
You will find that if you do not insure a van, it is generally more expensive than insuring a car. As with car insurance proving more expensive the higher the engine capacity, vans tend to have that higher engine size that will attract the higher premiums.
Also, vans tend to be for transporting goods, so that has to be considered too. They make more trips than cars in transporting items and so spend more time on the road when it comes to the risk of an accident. Also, time tends to be money in business and those driving tend to rush more when they are driving. Insurers are aware of this. As well, where the goods contained within the van are to be insured, more premium will be needed.
Covering a Van and a Car
Vans and cars need to be insured separately and neither policy can cover the other one.
Vans, unlike HGV lorries, can be driven on a car licence and so there is nothing to stop a household from owning a van as one of their vehicles. It is slightly different to insure but still possible. Different sized vans can be useful for different activities.
Campervans are vans used for personal or recreational use and they must be insured separately from your car to cover you on trips.
What Business Insurance Covers With a Van
When you want to purchase insurance for a van that is used for business purposes, you will be looking for commercial van insurance. This will cover the van for work, including professional and personal possessions. It will cover travel to various places of work and also cover the materials or goods that are transported in the van.
Typical occupations that would receive help from having a work van will include couriers, florists, and builders. Anyone who has something to transport from A to B will benefit from the extra storage space. When goods are being transported it is important to have them covered against theft. Insurance companies will bear in mind with their premiums that these may be areas where the crime rates are high. In terms of storing the van at night, they will know the postcode for that, which will also be effective to premium as night-time can present the most theft risk.
Where a van is stored at business premises, they need to be secure to keep insurance premiums down. Ideally, you want a van protected by being housed inside a building as opposed to being out in the open. In a compound, the compound should be locked and have measures in place to deter thieves, to keep insurance costs to a minimum.
Can My No Claims Bonus Be Used on My Van?
The answer to this question is that no claims bonus is transferrable to van insurance. As a vehicle that is driven on a road, we can build up claim-free years. It makes sense to transfer your no claims bonus to the vehicle insurance that costs the most as the discount will be a percentage of the premium that would have been required to have been paid otherwise.
Some people, of course, will have built up no claims bonuses on several vehicle policies. Then you can weigh up your options as to which no claims bonus is best on which policy.
We do need to think differently when we are insuring a van. This will be because of its use and depend on whether we wish to purchase insurance for just our van or its contents as well. It can be a great loss to a business if these were to be lost, so they should be protected by insurance.