One of the key factors that impact the cost of your van insurance is the amount of excess you are willing to pay. Not that you have a choice in the minimum amount that an insurance broker will accept, but you can pay more. So, why would you want to?
It grates to think that, even though you have paid your not-so cheap van insurance premium, brokers want you to stump up the deposit, if you like, on any claim you should subsequently make against the policy. And, like a deposit, it is non-refundable – once it’s paid, it’s paid.
No matter whether you pay a high price or whether you’re lucky enough to find cheap van insurance, the onus will be on you to find the excess should you ever wish to make a claim.
There are two types of excess in any van insurance quote: compulsory and voluntary.
As examples of compulsory excess, if you were unlucky enough to have your vehicle stolen or it was set ablaze, and you were to make a claim on your fire and theft van insurance policy, you would be expected to pay the first £100 in repair or replacement, whichever was applicable. Likewise, if you were to crack your windscreen and it needed replacing, you would have to pay the minimum of £50 towards the bill.
Those figures quoted are the usual expectations of a policy, but may be higher if you have taken out very cheap van insurance. The exact figures will be in your policy.
And, if you want to leave those figures at the minimum rate set out in your van insurance policy, that’s fine, but you will probably pay a higher premium for doing so.
If, however, you were prepared to pay a higher excess, using the examples above say £200 towards fire-damage or £100 towards a replacement windscreen, your van insurance would attract a smaller initial premium.
This works wonderfully well if you do not make a claim for the life of your premium. If, however, you do have to claim, you will have to honour the amount of voluntary excess you indicated you were prepared to pay for any claim when you filled in your van insurance application before the insurance company will settle the balance, on your behalf.
Amounts do vary, from broker to broker, so it is worth obtaining several comparison prices, before taking the plunge. It can be a gamble, so choose wisely.
