Insurance prices for van drivers remain at a premium due to uninsured drivers who are thought to cost the insurance industry over £500 million every year – an expense which is being paid for by law-abiding motorists. Despite this, there steps you can take to get cheap van insurance for young drivers.
How to get cheap van insurance for young drivers
Avoid fronting
Avoid ‘fronting’ your insurance. Contrary to popular belief, you are not legally allowed to say that an older, more experienced driver is the main policyholder on your cover if they are not actually going to be the major user of the vehicle.
This is insurance fraud. You can have the same person on the policy as a named driver, which will bring down the price of your cover as long as they don't use the vehicle more than you. If this is stated an insurer will assume the driving responsibilities are shared.
Basic cover
On a budget? Don't bother with all the trimmings, only buy the van insurance cover you need.
Insurers will take every opportunity to add as many extras onto your policy as possible, such as legal expenses and van breakdown cover. But add-ons aren't free so have a good think as to whether you actually need them or not.
Secure your van
The problem for insurers is that vans tend to be a target for robberies and these high risks are translated into expensive premiums for drivers. If you can reduce the risks then you'll reduce the premiums you pay.
Fitting a professional alarm, immobiliser, tracking device or telematics box will aid your quest for cheap young driver van insurance. Just make sure anything you install on your motor is approved by your insurance provider otherwise you'll be wasting a lot of money for no benefit. Some insurance companies will only recognise specific brands of security device therefore always seek advice before purchasing anything.
Your premiums can change depending on where you park at night. If you leave your van in a private driveway, secure car park or better still, a lockable garage, then you can expect to see the price of your cover fall. Just make sure you stick to what you've told your insurer.
Keep a low mileage
Insurance providers also look at the amount of time you spend on the roads. The more miles driven the higher chance you have of an accident.
Van insurance companies will ask you to specify your estimated annual mileage before providing a quote, so have a good think about how much you actually use your vehicle. Again, just make sure you stick to the mileage stated. If you don't there could be a problem when you come to claim.
Boost your excess
How much excess are you paying? This is the amount that you have to pay before you claim. Paying as much as possible will make a huge difference to the cost of your insurance. The higher your excess, the lower the price of van insurance for young drivers.
Most van insurers have an obligatory excess of £100, this prevents people for making minor claims that are expensive for the van insurance companies to process.
Just remember, before any claim you'll have to pay that excess so make sure you don't push it too high, you don't want to price yourself out of making a claim.
Compare van insurance for young drivers online
You will increase your chances of finding cheap van insurance for young drivers if you compare deals online.
MoneySupermarket compares deals through 15 of the UK's leading van insurance providers in an attempt to find the cheapest young driver can insurance quotes available.