Commercial Van Insurance and All You Need to Know

 

 

Van insurance is a specialist type of motor insurance in that you can insure for the goods carried, as well as the vehicle itself. Depending on the policy, you can insure against loss of the items being delivered or the tools carried. This is whether they are lost because of an accident, fire, or theft.

To obtain van insurance, it is as easy as clicking the right links on the one sure insurance website to check out prices and options. You can obtain quotes for several vans, to determine which will fit your company’s budget best as a long-term solution to transporting goods or tools.

 

Van Insurance Rules

If you purchase a van that is for private use, then you can switch your policy from insuring a car, but where it is used for business, you will need to take out a separate policy.

Then, if you are carrying goods or tools that you want to be insured, it will need to be commercial van insurance that reflects the level of cover needed.

 

Commercial Van Insurance

Commercial van insurance will cover professional or personal possessions that are inside a van, should the van be stolen, or the possessions damaged because of a fire or accident.

The advantage of having business use, which is assumed with a commercial van insurance, is that it will cover the specified drivers to travel to and from multiple workplaces, in addition to the transportation of any goods or materials. The types carried will need to be advised to the insurance company in order to be properly covered.

 

“Any Driver” Policies

With van policies, it is possible to insure for ‘Any Driver.’ This does not mean that anyone can drive the van that you have not informed the insurance company about, but those that you have named can be covered for accidental damage, as well as other costs that are claimable in the event of any kind of claim while they are using the vehicle.

 

Can You Drive Another Van as Part of Your Policy?

You can only drive the van that you have insured and the one appearing on your insurance certificate. Also, your van insurance does not mean that you can drive a car, either. That will need to be insured separately too. 

Another point to note is that you need to own the vehicle that you are insuring. The exception would be when you hire a van, and you are the temporary custodian of it. Although, generally, the company you hire the van from will arrange the insurance for you as part of the hire package.

 

Do I Need a Different Licence for a Van?

Although not an insurance question as such, an insurance company will want to know that you have the correct licence to drive the vehicle that they are insuring you for. The good news is that most vans can be driven by possessing a regular car licence. There are, as always, exceptions. 

Vans that have GVWs of more than 3.5 tonnes will not be legally driveable on a standard B car licence. That is unless you qualify for “Grandfather rights.” That is something to look up. The main point here is that you do need to be legally licensed for the vehicle you insure, as well as only insuring a vehicle you own.

 

Price Differences

Expect to pay more to insure a van, under whatever sort of arrangement. This will be because it is a larger vehicle that has a higher cubic capacity in terms of its engine, not to mention its capability for carrying a whole manner of goods. Then, if we upgrade, or rather take out a commercial vehicle policy, it will cost us more for insuring what we are carrying. Then, that will be determinable by the type of goods. 

Carrying hazardous goods will present a fire risk, whereas carrying goods that are desirable to a thief will present a theft risk. Either of these situations will impact on risk, in terms of the fire and theft parts of the policy. Accidental damage cover is determined by how young the drivers are, as well as the performance capabilities of the vehicle under their control. 

 

Hopefully, the above will help you understand what there is to know about van insurance, which can be quite different from car insurance in terms of its cover and price structure, when it comes to the calculation of its premium.

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