Tag: September

Don’t Let Your Tools Go AWOL

Posted on by News Desk

Here at CVI, we are sure you’ve heard ad infinitim about the risk of keeping tools in your vehicle. We know our readers are generally a pretty smart and savvy bunch, and so those of you who do carry tools, are, we are sure, know to display all the warnings, such as one of those stickers saying ‘no tools left in the van overnight.’

And it’s a good job you’re cautious, too While we know that tool theft was a thing (incidentally, catalytic converter theft is also on the up), did you know that tools are actually stolen from the vans of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland a shocking once every 20 minutes?

20 minutes?

That is a ridiculous number of tools to be going AWOL each year. 

According to research, tools went AWOL from vehicles 28.681 times last year. And that is just the thefts that were reported, so we can only imagine what that tally may be when you included the ones that didn’t even get reported. 

That equates to 78 incidents of tool theft every single day of the year. 

Of those thefts that were reported, the majority happened in London, followed by the North West, Yorkshire and Humberside. A whopping 4,400 crimes were reported in Lancashire alone last year.

This just goes to show how important a great van insurance policy is. If you don’t have your tools covered, you can wave goodbye to that job – and that’s something none of us can do with as things stand with the uncertainty of a winter of coronavirus approaching. 

Of course, personal responsibility also plays a part, and ensuring tools are well secured inside the vehicle, that the van is kept locked and well supervised can all help to reduce incidents of told theft from vans.

The good news is that some instance companies are now offering specialist tools insurance for van insurance policies, some even offering full replacement of any stolen tools within 24 hours – so there is no waving goodbye to those jobs you’ve got lined up, after all.

To stop the chances of it happening, here’s our advice:

  • Leave your van where you can see it – on site, if possible
  • Always lock it between trips to load and unload
  • Make sure you have a sticker advising you don’t leave your tools in there overnight and that your van is alarmed – it’s always worth deterring them from trying
  • Make sure you have lockable storage inside your van that is fixed to the vehicle – there are some great storage cages which can prove worth every penny
  • If you have safe overnight storage for your tools – use it!
  • Try and park the van somewhere secure overnight

We can’t guarantee you won’t get your tools nicked, but you can do your bot to try and prevent it from happening. After all, it’s another insurance claim that nobody needs to make….

Top Tips for Keeping Van Insurance Down

Posted on by News Desk

You know us, here at Cheap Van Insurance. Always on your side, always backing the little guy, the honest van drivers of the UK, as you speed up and down the country, doing what you do best – getting stuff done.

So, this week, we thought we would put together a little aide memoire of all those tips and tricks we like to share with you each week, of how to keep your costs down when taking out your next van insurance policy. 

1: Shop around

It goes without saying, but you’re in the right place to start. Everyone should shop around for their van insurance, to find the best possible deal, but there’s no need to traipse from site to site, or broker to broker. Who has time for that? Our simple form gets the brokers and insurance providers coming to you, with their best deals and offers. 

Because let’s face it, life is hard enough. But shopping around for the best van insurance deal doesn’t have to be.

2: Don’t auto-renew.

Shop around! Last year’s van insurance may have been the deal of the century at the time, but as we have reported here, a lot has changed in the last 12 months (even more than usual), so it makes sense to see what new deals are out there and have some better quotes to go back to your current insurer with, should you really want to stay with them.

Knowledge is power.

3: See what else you can get:

Once you have some competitive quotes, see if you can haggle a bit. See if one of the companies will throw in a useful added extra (we don’t mean a cuddly toy – something actually useful) that will save you money. 

4: Mileage:

Don’t underexaggerate how far you travel. Often, the difference between mileage is negligible when it comes to the cost of your van insurance premium, so do the right thing and tell the truth. The same goes for where your van is kept and what it is used for. 

5: Named drivers

You may have always had the missus on your van policy, just in case, but if she has got some points on her car license recently, you may wish to reconsider if she doesn’t actually drive the van. It’s the same with employees – only have those ones on the policy that will actually drive the van. And make sure you are hiring people with a clean license that won’t cost you a fortune to cover in van insurance fees.

6: Tools:

We talk about this in-depth next week, but it’s essential that your tools are covered with a good policy. The optimum is the firms who offer 24-hour replacement for stolen tools, so you’re not stuck twiddling your thumbs, waiting for your replacements to come through.

Do all the above and make the most of our free quote tool, and you can thank us for making your life that tinny bit easier. 

You’re welcome. 

The Irish Example

Posted on by News Desk

Good news for Irish van drivers this week, with the launch of a scheme that we very much hope to see cross the Irish Channel and trickle into the British system.

If you are fortunate enough to be living and working in Ireland, you will no doubt have heard about the new grant scheme that has been launched to support tradespeople in this post-COVID economy.

Yes, over the water, they have launched a new Enterprise Support Grant, which offers tradespeople a grant of us to €1000 per sole trader who do not qualify for other government support. 

Welcomed by tradespeople over, there, the grant is helping take the strain off the nation’s sparkies, plumbers, builders and carpenters who are able to claim the grant to help make their life a little easier in this post-COVD economy. 

What is really great about the grant is that not only can it be used for stocking up on tools and equipment, but the money can also be put towards vehicle running costs, including fuel, servicing, and van insurance too.

As we all know, insuring a van is not cheap. For many tradespeople, it represents a large chunk of expense towards doing and running their business. And while here at CVI, we do our very best to ensure that all van drivers get the best possible deal on their van insurance, irrespective of age, gender or trade, we know that since the economy ground to a halt earlier this year, getting back up and running has been a massive struggle for many. 

We very much welcome this news and hope that our own Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, sees this initiative and takes inspiration from it, and offers a similar scheme to the van drivers of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

After all, with the government desperate to get us all back to work, we can only hope that they don’t forget the role of the British van drivers play in the economy and that they do their bit for those who may have missed out from other initiatives, such as the furlough scheme or self-employment grants. 

Here’s looking at you, Rishi.

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