It's possible to search 27 providers in just 10 minutes and save £100s on your van insurance. More and more insurers are starting to provide cover to a growing number of van owners, as drivers are no longer considered the high risk they used to be.
You can save even if you're not at renewal
If you're thinking, ‘my insurance renewal isn't for six months', you're playing into insurers' hands. Provided you haven't claimed, most allow policies to be cancelled with a full refund. So follow this plan to see the savings, then check whether there are any leaving penalties. If not, switch and save immediately; if so, do the sums, you may still save by switching, even with a penalty.
Ten Second Summary
|
Lower your risk to cut the price Read Step 1 |
|
Double check the results to finesse the price Read Step 3 |
|
Remember next year Read Step 4 |
Step 1: Getting the right cover
Insurance premiums, the name for payments made to insurance companies, depend on the insurer, the level of cover and how risky you're perceived to be. Most of the issues for vans are identical to those for car owners; so do read the full Car Insurance: picking a policy article for help in how to choose your policy.
Yet there are a few issues that are specifically for van insurance.
- Business or pleasure. If you’re using a van for your business, make sure the policy covers business use and not just social, domestic & pleasure use. You should also check a policy includes any specific business requirements you may have, such as a contact at the insurer on a bank holiday, if this could affect your livelihood. The opposite applies if you’re not using a van for business as you may end up with unnecessary cover.
- Speedy repairs: If your van is broken into or is in an accident, it will most likely be off the road during repairs. If you rely on it for your business any time out of action can affect your work so look for a policy that will carry out repairs as quickly as possible or offers a replacement vehicle.
- Contents: Vans’ lack of windows (compared to cars) can make them more attractive to thieves who will often take a gamble on there being a greater chance of hidden goods. Insurance policies vary as to what they cover, some needing contents to be covered separately, so make sure you’re covered if you have to leave items overnight or to repair any damage caused to the vehicle.
- Age: If you’re under 25 you may find it difficult to get cover, and the under 21s will find it harder still. To keep costs down a third party policy is usually the best option for younger drivers.
- Breakdown: As most vans are heavily used the chances of breaking down are increased. Some policies include breakdown cover but check it’s worth the cost or if separate cover could be cheaper in the Roadside Recovery article.
Beware monthly payment plans
Whoever you insure with, if it gives an option to 'pay monthly’, be careful. What usually happens is the insurer actually loans you the annual cost and charges you interest for the privilege. While occasional promotions are interest-free, usually the interest rates are hideous. So either pay it off in full, or if you can’t afford it in one go it's actually cheaper to pay with a 0% credit card for spending and make the same repayments to that.
Step 2: Find the best van quote
As insurance prices depend on an individuals unique circumstances, there’s never one ‘cheapest’ provider. Therefore the key is to get the most quotes in the shortest amount of time.
Use screenscraping websites
Here you enter your details and their software automatically fills in the required info at a host of brokers and insurers websites, grabbing you a quote, literally ‘scraping the data off the screens'. It's a very quick and easy way to quickly cover a huge chunk of the marketplace in minutes.
- GoCompare. GoCompare has expanded in the last year and now includes van insurance amongst its services. The quote system allows you to select which areas of cover are most important to you, such as legal cover or breakdown, as well as comparing the price. Coverage: Quotes retuned from 5 insurers and 11 brokers Link: GoCompare*
- Comparethemarket. Comparethemarket is an extended web broker that includes a number of insurers others miss, and is thus very strong at filling the gaps. Doing this search as well as GoCompare will include an extra 13 insurers to your search. Coverage: Quotes returned from 15 insurers Link: Comparethemarket*
As screenscrapers need to enter your details with insurers to get a quote, be aware there's a slight chance you may get sales calls from the insurers later.
Is it worth using both sites?
If you’re doing this you’ll need your paperwork anyway, so you may as well do both searches as it doesn’t take that much longer. Between the two screenscrapers you get are 16 insurers and 11 brokers; if you’re wondering how they make their money, they get a lead fee when you click through to a website for insurance; although this shouldn’t impact the quote you get.
While this isn't every insurer, it's certainly a good proportion. For total belt and braces, you could also check the two big insurers these miss, DirectLine and RAC.
What's the difference between screenscrapers & brokers?
My analogy for this is ‘buying bread'. Direct insurers are like bakers, thus your choice is simply to buy its cheapest loaf. Using a broker is like going to a supermarket; they stock a range of baker's loaves whose price depends on their relationship with the supplier. Screenscapers are like sending someone to speed round all the supermarkets and bakers to find the cheapest loaf of all of them.
This importantly means as screenscrapers include brokers websites, which in turn cover a range or insurers, they're actually covering a much wider range of the market than it may at first appear.
Step 3: Extra tricks to finesse the price
Using the above system should have found you a cheaper quote, yet if you’re a higher risk rider or just want to get a cheaper price you can probably save even more.
Check the policy details
Once you have your best quotes, take the top three results and click through to the providers' website to double check the prices and possibly play around with some of the policy details to see the impact on the price, e.g. the excess (the amount you pay towards each claim).
Hidden cashback may be available
A few insurers pay out cashback if you sign up to them via the specialist cashback shopping sites. This means you can sometimes sneak even more cash off. For more details on these sites read the Top Cashback Sites article. Not all insurers are included, and you should never choose an insurer just for the cashback, but if your cheapest does pay out, why not grab it.
Haggle
Although the van insurance market is not as competitive as for cars, all companies are desperate to retain business. Once you’ve got a decent alternative price from a comparison website, get on the phone and try to haggle (unless cashback’s available, as that has to be via the net). There's usually massive price flexibility, but be fully armed with the cheapest quotes.
The first port of call should be your existing insurer: after all if it can beat or even match the best quote, it saves the hassle of switching policy. If that doesn’t work, take it to other insurers.
Cross-selling
If you already have car, house and travel insurance with a particular insurer, you could call it to check, if it provides van insurance, whether it’ll give you a discount.
Step 4: Remember next year
Don’t let your annual renewal policy catch you up and simply sign up for another year with the same insurer. If you apply for cover from your existing insurer as a new customer it’s likely you’ll be given a cheaper price. This is because van insurers like any company will happily profit from apathy if they can. It’s for this reason renewal notifications are sent as near to renewal as possible; as then you’re pressured for time and less likely to try and find a cheaper price.
To avoid being forced to decide quickly, diarise a warning six weeks before your renewal date, so there’s plenty of time to sort out a new provider. Alternatively use the free Tart Alert which sends a reminder text or email (it's designed for 0% credit card end dates, but works just as well for insurance).
Using this system should save you time and money. For a single 30-year-old man based in Leicestershire, with a mid-range van looking for comprehensive cover, one insurer was charging nearly £650. Using a broker the price was reduced to £440.
However, using the combined screenscraper system the best price found was £260 and that's without haggling. Using the complete system above can result in serious discounts.
| Sample Van Insurance Quotes Single male, Leicestershire based, comprehensive cover for mid-range van |
||
| Company | Quote | Saving |
| Direct | £646 | - |
| Broker | £442 | £204 |
| MoneySavingExpert.com system | £261 | £385 |
| Van: 2002 Transit Connect LX, petrol 1796cc, factory immobiliser, no tracking, 3 years no claims bonus, kept on street at home, business use, 12,000 miles, £250 excess. | ||
To stay updated changes will be in The Free Weekly MoneyTips Email
Ask a Question/ Forum Discussion
Van Insurance
Other Articles That May Interest You
Cheap Petrol and Diesel
Best Bank Accounts
Breakdown Cover
Kit Out Your PC For Free
Always double check the product details before signing up to them
Spotted a brokenlink/out of date info? Let me know at brokenlink@moneysavingexpert.com
LINKS THAT HELP THIS SITE (all have a * in above article)
(this has no impact on product or recommendation - see explanation below)
How this site is funded. Two types of contacts are listed. The first, which all have a * within the main body of the articles, help MoneySavingExpert.com stay ad-free and free to use, as they're affiliated links' which invisibly take you usually via affiliate linkage or commercial money sites, which then pay this site. The second type doesn't help and therefore doesn't have a *.
You shouldn't notice any difference, the links don't impact the product at all and the editorial line (the things I write) is NEVER impacted by the revenue. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the best product, it is still recommended and still included in exactly the same way. For more details read How This Site is Financed.
LINKS THAT DON'T HELP THIS SITE
(please only use if necessary)
No * Link Available: DirectLine, RAC
Duplicate links of the * links above for the sake of transparency, but this version doesn’t help MoneySavingExpert.com: GoCompare, Comparethemarket