Compare van insurance quotes

If you have a van or commercial vehicle that is in use on public roads, you’ll need to take out van insurance. Third party insurance is a legal requirement to protect other road users. Depending on the level of cover you choose, you may also claim back costs if you cause an accident.

Comprehensive insurance is often no more expensive than either third party or third party, fire and theft.

The best van insurance will be the van insurance policy that is best for your needs. It will depend what level of cover you need and what you use your van for.

First you will need to know what level of cover you want.  Just like car insurance, van insurance cover comes in three different levels:

Then you might want to add some extras. Some van insurance policies will come with extras or you can add them for an additional fee. These can include:

When deciding what level of van insurance cover, you will first need to decide what exactly you want to insure your van for.

The quotes will differ depending which type of cover you choose, the type of work you do, and how much of your driving will be for work.

There are different levels van insurance for business

The most popular is standard business van insurance, which covers you for

Business van insurance comes in four levels

Class 1: provides cover for driving between a number of different places of work or to visit clients and customers. You won’t be covered for door-to-door sales. This is typically the cheapest class of cover.

Class 2: provides the same cover as class 1 van insurance but also allows you to add a named driver – most policies specify this must be a colleague. Again, door-to-door sales are not usually covered. 

Class 3: provides cover for long-distance driving, which makes it the most suitable option if you make door-to-door sales. However, you will only be covered to deliver samples, so if you are delivering commercial merchandise, you will need commercial van insurance.

Class 4 or commercial van insurance – you must tell your insurer the type of goods you will be carrying and for what type of business. You will only be insured for carrying the goods  you have named for the purpose you have stated – you cannot do a second job, or help out a mate, transporting items, or for a purpose, you have not declared to your insurer.

This is included on class 4 business van insurance. If you want additional cover you will need to speak to your van insurance company or compare van insurance quotes online.

The difference between a car and a van may seem clear, but it's not always as simple as you’d think. Sometimes larger family vehicles such as multiple passenger vehicles – MPVs – may be classified as vans.

If you have a camper van or MPV, you may be unable to get a car insurance quote because your vehicle may actually be classed as a van or another type of commercial vehicle. 

If you're unsure you can consult your V5C logbook. Vehicles in category M1 are classed as cars, while those in categories N1 and N2 are vans.

If you work for a company that uses a number of vans in its fleet, you may need to find a fleet policy. These can include pickup insurance, fleet van insurance, courier van insurance, multi van insurance, any driver van insurance.

As with multi-car insurance you can also get multi-van insurance, this allows you to:

Like car insurance, there is no set price for a van insurance policy. The cost of cover will depend on the type of van, its value, your driving history and how the van will be used.

However, you should bear in mind that many vans will be used much more frequently and cover much more mileage than the average family car and can also carry more high-value equipment. This may mean that your van insurance costs more than insurance for a small run-around car

There are specialist van insurers that provide tailored cover for a reasonable price.

One of the best ways to reduce the price of your van insurance premium, without cutting back on cover is to increase your excess.

Most types of insurance policy, including van insurance, will include an ‘excess’ figure. This is the amount that you will have to pay when you claim on your policy (or the amount that will be taken off any claim that is paid out).

Your insurer will set a compulsory excess but you can increase the total by adding a voluntary excess. Although this can reduce your van insurance premiums, make sure it is an amount you could afford in the event of a claim.

Just like on a standard car insurance policy you can build a no claims discount for every year you hold a van insurance policy without making a claim.

The best way to shop around for commercial van insurance is to compare quotes. You will need to have:

If you don't provide accurate and truthful information, your van insurance provider may refuse or reduce any claim you make on your policy.

If you own a classic van, one that is at least 20 years old. There are specialist van insurance brokers although you may be able to get an online van insurance quote from mainstream insurance companies.

Your insurer will send you a policy document, either online or by post. This provides full details of the cover you've paid for. if you want to cancel your van insurance policy - you have a cooling-off period of 14 days.

Make sure you keep all your van insurance documentation safe, in case you need to make a claim at a later date.