Business van insurance

Whether you are a large or small business or even a one-man-band, if earning your living involves driving one or more vans, you will have one thing in common – a tight budget. Business van insurance however, is one major cost that simply cannot be avoided. This is why it becomes especially important to shop around for the cheapest policy. So how do you go about this and what do you need to know first?

New Van Insurance Regulations

The need for business van insurance is actually greater than ever. This is because of the recent introduction of the Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) policy. This states that it is now a legal requirement for registered vehicle keepers to have full insurance at all times, even if their vehicles are not being driven.

In other words it is now an offence for any driver to even keep a vehicle – including vans – without insurance unless they have notified the DVLA that it is being kept off the road under a Statutory off Road Notice (SORN).

This is a blow when it comes to van owners, as business van insurance is expensive enough without having to pay for it on vans that are temporarily out of action. So shopping around for cheap van insurance for business use really is crucial.

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Consider your business van insurance policy details

Before you do however, it’s a good idea to get to grips with what specific policy details will affect your premium in the first place. These include, the kind of van it is, the number of miles driven every year, whether it’s just you named on the policy or any other drivers, where the vehicle is going to be parked at night as well as security features on the van.

These will all be important factors in calculating your annual business van insurance premium, and may also affect the level of cover that you will actually be offered.

Additional features

It’s also important to remember that not all business van insurance deals are the same. For example, some won’t cater for legal cover, which may be an important aspect of your business’ needs and others may not include van breakdown cover, which could also be considered a must.

Others policies may exclude a courtesy vehicle when yours is in for repairs. The absence of this feature could stop your business dead in its tracks, potentially costing more money than your business van insurance policy in the first place.

In this case then, check the small print and make sure that the policy you ultimately opt for has all the required features to suit you and your business. After all, you don’t want to end up with the cheapest policy on the market only to find you are without a vehicle and/ or your business is suffering.

Tips to get cheap van insurance for business use

So long as you have this in mind, shopping around and comparing offerings from different providers of business van insurance is the best way save money. However, van drivers can also take their own measures to cut premiums further.

For example, some van insurers will lower their premiums if you have selected a higher voluntary excess. This is the amount you agree to stump up in the event of a claim. However, bear in mind there is also a compulsory excess applied on top of this payment – this means any additional voluntary excess will have to be something you can realistically afford.

Van drivers should also avoid the trap of buying additional products they don’t need when applying for business van insurance. Some policies come with lots of bells and whistles – such as cover abroad – that may not be necessary.