Cheap Van Insurance

It's possible to search 70 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.

These savings can be had anytime. Provided you haven't claimed, most insurers allow policies to be cancelled with a refund, and while a few charge penalties, you’re still likely to save more than they cost.

• Ten second summary
• Step 1: Getting the right cover
• Step 2: Best Buy comparison sites
• Step 3: Grab cashback and haggle
• Step 4: Remember next year
• Size of the savings
• Discussion / Related Articles

Big Van, Little Van

Ten Second Summary

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. The key is to get the most quotes in the shortest amount of time using screenscraping websites, where 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. Yet there are three big things to remember...

• The order maximises the search in the minimum time. Read How the order's picked
• Always double check your results. Read What to check
• Your data is being given to insurers. Read What insurers may do

Compare in the following order

Once you've found the cheapest

Once you’ve found the cheapest from the screenscrapers; there are two important checks to make:

• Double check the quotes

  Click through to the insurance provider's own website to double check the quotes, as to speed up searches some comparison sites make a few assumptions.

• Examine the policies coverage

  Is the policy suitable for you? So if you want out of hours contact, is it included? Plus while you’re there it's worth playing 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).

Screenscraper and broker differences

Brokers and screenscrapers may seem like they're doing a similar job, as each search a number of different insurers; yet they're radically different beasts. My favourite analogy for this is to compare it to searching for the cheapest loaf of bread.

Each individual insurer is like a baker, so your choice is simply to buy the cheapest loaf it offers that fits your characteristics. Brokers are the equivalent to supermarkets; they stock a range of bakers' loaves and the price they charge depends on their relationship with the supplier. Yet screenscrapers are like sending someone to speed round all the supermarkets and bakers to find the cheapest loaf of all of them.

What if my insurer goes bust?

The economic times we live in mean you never know which companies may be the next to have problems. Fortunately, insurance providers are covered by the government-backed Financial Services Compensation Scheme, meaning if they go into default, you’re protected.

The main way this happens is the FSCS will try and find another provider to take over your policy, or issue a substitute policy. However, if you have any ongoing claims, or need to make a claim before a new insurer is found, the FSCS should ensure these are covered. For full details, read the Insurance section of the Savings Safety guide.

Step 3: Grab cashback and haggle

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 special cashback websites

These are special sites carrying paid links from retailers and financial services providers; in other words if you click through them and get a product they get paid. However importantly, they then give you some of this cash which means you get the same product, but a cut of its revenue.

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. If you’re new to cashback sites, ensure you read the Top Cashback Sites guide for pros and cons before using them, if not use the Cashback Sites Maximiser to find the highest payer for each insurer.

One thing to remember though, if you've used several comparison sites then buy your policy via a cashback site it might not track unless you clear your computer's cookies first. Further information on deleting or controlling cookies is available at AboutCookies.

If all else fails check special deals:

If you can’t get cashback it’s worth noting some companies have special deals not mentioned by comparison services. These currently include:

Tesco: Tesco is paying new customers who buy its Class 1 van insurance directly and before 14 Oct 09, a £40 giftcard, which can be spent in Tesco stores, at Tesco Direct or at a Tesco petrol station.

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.