Tag: compare van insurance

Driving at 31mph Could Mean Very Expensive Van Insurance

Posted on by News Desk

As the Police are getting tougher on motorists who speed on the roads, van drivers are being warned about the potential expense of being pulled over.

This comes after reports of a van driver who was stopped by the cops for speeding at 31mph in a 20mph zone, and after a good telling off they decided to slap 6 points onto his license. Not exactly something you want to happen is it, but Police now have orders to be tougher on anyone caught speeding.

If 6 points on your license isn’t enough punishment, van drivers are being made aware of the potential expense it could mean for their wallet…when it comes to van insurance that is.

The amount of points you have on your license is taken into consideration by the van insurance companies when you send in your application, and when they see a recent 6 points, and for speeding as well…then don’t be surprised if you find yourself paying hundreds of pounds more than you expect.

One site even did a calculation on exactly how much 6 points on your license could add to your insurance, and they came up with a number of £328, which on average, could very well be put on to a van insurance quote.

Let’s face it, van insurance is expensive enough right now as it is, do you really want to be paying more? Of course not, and that is why you should always watch your speed and keep it within the limits. Even going a few miles per hour above the speed limit can result in a fine and points. Don’t take the chance.

You might want to consider telematics insurance for your van, where all of the driving data is recorded and then sent off to the insurance company.

If you stay within the speed limits and drive safely, then not only will you keep out of trouble with the law, but your van insurer will also see what a good driver you are and hopefully reward you with a cheaper policy, not a more expensive one.

Another good way to make sure you get cheap van insurance is to visit a comparison website, where in only 3 minutes you can put in some basic details about yourself and your van, and then instantly get access to over 100 quotes.

Also, don’t forget that you can get a quote at anytime even if your renewal date is a few months away.

What a lot of drivers do is to start comparing quotes around 2 months before their renewal comes up, then if they find a really cheap deal they can simply pay a small cancellation fee with their current provider to end the coverage early and begin with the cheap van insurance right away.

Drivers “Optimistic” About New Van Technology

Posted on by News Desk

New van technology is here, and it is here to stay. Drivers have not always embraced this kind of technology..until now? A new survey reveals all.

This survey was actually conducted by a van insurance comparison website, a bit like this one, although we think our site is much easier to use. Straight to the point and no-nonsense.

Out of all the people asked in the survey, more than 50% said they were concerned about safety when it came to new technology in their vans.

I can see where they are coming from with that one, because at the end of the day, when you have all these new gadgets installed in your van it often takes your attention away from the road.

Just under 50% of those surveyed admitted that new van technology could very well make them too reliant on gadgets, to the point where it would diminish the actual skill of the worker.

I agree with that one. Yes technology is good, but I think we could soon get to a point where the reliance on technology is just too much, and the skill level of van drivers is not what it was.

Not surprisingly, only 1.5% of van drivers said they wanted technology that allowed them to run apps in their vans. I’m sure that most drivers still struggle to operate the apps on their phone, never mind starting to integrate it into the vehicle. Too confusing.

Automatic parking fared a bit better in the survey, with many van drivers admitting they prefer to let the vehicle do the work rather than having to park themselves.

However, when it came to the subject of driverless vans many people were not so keen, obviously because if a van doesn’t need a driver then many of those who were surveyed would be out of a job.

Drivers also didn’t like the idea of telematics that is designed to monitor driving style in a bid to get cheap van insurance. Although they like the idea of paying less, the “big brother” nature of telematics is a bit off putting for many of those surveyed.

In my opinion I don’t think they have anything to be concerned about when it comes to telelmatics, as long as they are obeying the laws of the road of course.

Cheap van insurance is difficult enough to find, so anything that can be done to gain trust of the insurance companies should be applauded and not ignored.

Just like a van insurance comparison website. Every van driver should use one if you ask me, mainly because you can find many different quotes and then instantly compare them.

Overall, the survey found that many drivers were “optimistic” about new van technology, with 82% being interested in some form of technology that is on offer right now.

Van Driver Fined £5000 for Parking in his Own Driveway

Posted on by News Desk

There are many places that van drivers can get fined for parking, but in your own driveway is not somewhere you would expect to get a ticket.

Unfortunately though, this is exactly what has happened to van driver Dave Tooke, who over the last two years received 53 parking tickets that total £5000 in fines, despite being parked in his own driveway.

Just what is going on here? It was only a few weeks ago I reported on how van drivers were being stopped from buying new houses because the building companies don’t want them parking their vehicle in the neighbourhoods..well, it now seems that van drivers can’t park anywhere.

Thousands of ordinary van drivers are being stopped from parking their vehicles, and if you ask me it just isn’t on. Something needs to be done, even if it means getting a petition started so that politicians and local councils will stand up and take notice. I for one, would sign it.

This all comes at a time of course that van insurance is also becoming more expensive. There isn’t a day that goes by without people contacting me complaining about how their premiums are £200, £400, and even £500 more expensive than last year, and to those people I say…always compare van insurance, and don’t be loyal to any insurance company because they don’t deserve your loyalty.

Fortunately, it only takes about 3 minutes to fill in the form on this very site, and then once you click send your details are sent off to hundreds of the van insurance companies. This is what I suggest every van driver in the UK does if they want to save money.

Back to the parking situation and it appears that Dave Tooke has been living in his £400,000 3 bed house for 4 years now, and for the first 2 years he didn’t have any problems at all, parking his van on the driveway in front of his house.

The last 2 years has been a different story though, and its been problem after problem according to Dave with fines coming left, right and centre from people in authority that just don’t want him to park his van on the estate.

It really does seem that van drivers are being singled out here. Who knows why exactly, but there are many people out there who don’t want tradesmen living in their area.

At the end of the day, Dave can afford the £400,000 house, so he really should not have to deal with this. If the real estate company didn’t want van owners living on the estate then they should have communicated that when he bought the house…not 2 years later.

They were fine taking his £400,000 it would appear, but now they have forgotten all about that. I’ve said before that when things are going well these building and real estate companies get a bit too choosy.

Hopefully Dave can get this whole situation sorted out, and just be left alone to park his van on the property that he paid for.

Vanarama Now Offer Van Insurance

Posted on by News Desk

You’ve no doubt heard that advert theme song on the TV, “Van-a-rama,” but did you know they now offer van insurance? Yes they do.

Vanarama Insurance Services is their name, and giving you multi-year policies is their game. Basically, what they are doing is allowing small business customers to combine lease and insurance costs.

Does this work out cheaper though if you are currently leasing a van or looking to lease a van? It all depends really, because at the end of the day if you only get one quote from Vanarama then you have nothing to compare it against.

The moral of the story here is to get a quote from Vanarama, but also, compare van insurance from as many companies as possible. You can do this right here by filling in a simple form that takes about 3 minutes.

Once you have as many quotes a s possible, then you will know for sure what the best option is. It might be Vanarama or it might be another company.

Something that did impress me when reading about this new van insurance service being offered by Vanarama is the fact they offer a guarantee on the cost of your policy, which means it won’t become more expensive.

I think a lot of other van insurance companies should take note of this…it’s called rewarding customers for their loyalty, something that we don’t hear much of these days.

However, this guarantee is only offered when you take out out a lease on a van for at least 3 years and then buy insurance at the same time. Make sure you read the small print and don’t sign anything until you are fully aware what you are agreeing to.

There are many people out there who are eager to start their own business and see leasing a van as a viable option. Sometimes it can be, but in a lot of situations it might be a better solution to wait until you have a bit of money saved up and then buy a second hand van.

The problem with leasing a van for people who are just starting out in business is that those monthly payments can be difficult to make when you are getting your first few customers.

Many people then take out loans to make these payments, but then find they can’t make the loan payments. In no time at all their business is no longer profitable and they go find a job instead.

I’m not trying to put anyone off starting a business or leasing a van here, all I am saying is that be realistic about your finances and don’t sign anything unless you can comfortably afford to make repayments.

Maybe Vanarama is the right choice for you, just make sure you compare van insurance first so you get as many quotes as possible.

Pay-as-you-go Van Insurance set to Launch

Posted on by News Desk

Want to get van insurance on a vehicle that is driven infrequently? Well, you could soon have a very flexible pay-as-you-go option to save money.

That’s right. A car insurance broker named Cuuva are just about to launch a new type of insurance that is aimed at people who drive their cars on an infrequent basis.

Research shows that around 6 million cars in the UK only take to the road now and again, so as you can imagine, there is no doubt going to be a lot of demand for this type of policy.

This got me thinking though, surely there are also many van owners out there who only drive now and again? This is why I reckon pay-as-you-go van insurance could be something that we see launched by Cuuva or a different company pretty soon.

I guess it all depends how the pay-as-you-go car insurance performs, but if successful I’m sure we will be seeing a “van equivalent” as some point.

Of course, there is already similar types of insurance out there, with things like temporary van insurance being offered. However, many people have complained these kind of policies are way too expensive. Perhaps pay-as-you-go is the solution? It could just be.

Some experts have even commented that this type of insurance will revolutionise the sector, and could leave many customers saving up to 70% on what they are currently paying.

When you consider that the average van insurance policy is around £1500 and the average car insurance policy around £700, then there are many people around the country who are going to be interested in this news.

If you want to save money on van insurance the first thing I always recommend is to start with a comparison website. Never go directly to the insurance companies website for a quote because then you instantly lose your bargaining power.

Instead, get quotes from many different companies, and then you are in a better position to see what is out there, choose the cheapest price, and even haggle if you want to.

Some van insurance companies have no problem if you want to try and bargain with them, especially when you have a few different vans or commercial vehicles and want to get the best price possible.

It all begins with a comparison website though, but fortunately you only need to put in a few basic details. It should take around 3 minutes.

Back to pay-as-you-go insurance, and it seems that Cuuva also have an App available to download, which allows you to get a quick quote when you want to borrow a car from friends or family.

Will this work with van insurance? Yes it would in my opinion, especially when you consider the amount of times people need to quickly borrow a van but don’t want to become a named driver or take out complete van insurance.

Anyway, let’s wait to find out what happens with pay-as-you-go van insurance, although I’m sure we are going to be hearing more about it.

Delivery Driver Caught on Video Throwing Packages

Posted on by News Desk

A delivery driver for a well known company was filmed by a member of the public throwing packages into the back of his van.

The video footage clearly shows the driver scanning the parcels individually, no doubt getting ready to take them on his route, only to then pick them up one by one and chuck them without any consideration to the damage that may have been done.

With more people spending a lot of money online these days you can be sure there was some expensive items among those packages, which means they should have been placed in the van, not thrown.

Once the footage was posted onto sites like YouTube where it got millions of views, then the delivery company who the driver worked for had to face the public and give out an apology.

You know what…I bet this company isn’t too pleased with their driver because not only does it bring bad publicity to their brand but it also means many of their customers got broken packages. I’m sure drivers get training on how to handle packages, so why this driver was just throwing things around is beyond me.

Not only that, but when a delivery company breaks something then it comes directly out of their pocket. I’m sure they have enough expenses already…take van insurance for example, which is more expensive than ever before.

Now, these delivery companies can always compare van insurance, which is what I advise everybody to do, but what can they do about drivers who throw packages around? When caught on video and with enough evidence they can get rid of them of course, but in most instances they probably don’t even realise it is going on.

That’s why I think it’s important that when ordinary members of the public witness this type of thing, they film it on their mobile phones and then upload to social media.

This is the only way we are going to get their attention, so they are then forced to do more about making sure their drivers don’t throw packages around.

What makes the video even more frustrating is that many of the packages were marked “fragile” and the driver just didn’t seem bothered.

However, looking at it from another point of view, it has also been reported that many delivery drivers are working for about £6.80 an hour, which is actually below minimum wage.

Also, there have been stories about delivery companies making unreasonable demands on their drivers, which then results in behaviour such as throwing parcels around and driving on the wrong side of the road (like an Argos van driver did recently).

As UK consumers become more comfortable shopping online and their expectation is to get items delivered quicker than ever before, I think more needs to be done by the delivery companies to make sure their drivers are properly trained.

You can Save Money on Van Insurance According to Experts

Posted on by News Desk

If you are a business owner in the UK then you’re no doubt aware just how expensive van insurance is these days. It’s just too much.

However, owning a van or numerous vans is often necessary to keep your business running smoothly, whether you need to make deliveries, visit different sites, or simply go to meetings, a van is the number one choice for many people.

In my opinion, I think that many van insurance companies have been getting a bit too complacent just recently, which has resulted in many quotes being twice as much as car insurance quotes.

While van insurance is always going to be more expensive that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything you can do.

Many of the top motoring experts in the UK say you should always compare van insurance, and I agree completely. You can easily do this with a comparison website and get more than enough quotes in minutes.

The good news is that many of these experts have been talking to the media recently about ways business owners can save money on van insurance. Make sure you pay attention to the following tips.

Insuring young van drivers

If you are a small to medium sized business who employs people under the age of 25, then you may have found your van insurance becoming more expensive recently. The simple reason is that young drivers are seen as more of a risk by the insurance companies, so they make their quotes according to this.

Fortunately, there are ways to save money on van insurance for young drivers. One of the best ways according to experts, is to put the drivers on a Pass Plus course that usually costs a few hundred pounds and takes around 6 hours to complete. However, once they have passed the course then expect to save around 20% on the van insurance policy for that driver.

Buying a fleet policy

Another great tip is to buy your van insurance in bulk rather than numerous single policies. This is known as a fleet policy, and many insurance companies are only too pleased to offer you this kind of deal because it means they get all of your business.

The main benefit of buying your van insurance in this way is that you often get discounts, especially when you shop around and speak to different companies.

Telematics and GPS

I’ve talked a lot about telematics and similar technology on this blog, and for good reason, as many experts agree this kind of thing is the future.

This is why business owners who install telematics and GPS tracking devices are often rewarded with cheaper van insurance, because it allows them to track the driving style of their drivers, and if the drivers obey the rules of the road then insurance companies are more confident about giving you better quotes.

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