Tag: van insurance

Hope you have more than third party cover on your van

Posted on by News Desk

Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 16 sept 2012:

If you don’t think you need more than third party cover on your van or commercial vehicle, you might want to reconsider that after this week’s news stories.

Is your van of choice a Ford Transit? If so, you’re at heightened risk for losing everything if you just have third party van insurance, because it was revealed this week that one out of every four vans nicked in the UK is a Transit, according to official figures.

Ford Transits weren’t just stolen 25 per cent of the time when it comes to light commercial vehicles; they were also the vehicles stolen most often. No other commercial vehicle is stolen more, though the second-most nicked van, the Mercedes Sprinter, was pinched 21 per cent of the time, indicating that commercial vehicle thieves might have a taste for the Mercedes brand as well.

Honestly you can’t be surprised that the Transit is made off with the most often, considering it’s been the reigning champion as far as sales in Europe for something like four decades despite is bloody awful looks. No one’s stealing the Transit because they’re keen on its looks, though – the demand for parts on a van as ubiquitous as a Transit is always high and can fetch a pretty penny for criminals.

However, it’s very surprising to consider that so many people try to save cash on their commercial van insurance by simply taking out third party cover instead of a comprehensive policy. If you are one of the ‘lucky’ ones who’s tasked with managing a fleet of Transits, at the very least you should ensure that you’ve taken out third party fire and theft cover in order to ensure you’ve got protection against such a high incidence rate of theft.

Ideally you should have comprehensive cover on any commercial vehicle that you use for work, but we understand: times are tough, and you might not have the budget for a shedload of comprehensive policies for a large fleet. However, this can be the worst kind of false economy if something untoward happens that’s not covered under your cut-rate policy and your firm ends up paying out of pocket – it could be absolutely catastrophic and ruinous.

Do yourself – and your firm’s bottom line – a favour and take out the most comprehensive cover you can afford. And for pity’s sake don’t insure a Ford Transit with anything less than third party fire and theft!

Don’t lend your van to a student unless you have good cover

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 9th Sept 2012:

September can be a rather hectic month for van owners if they have friends of family attending university, but don’t be tempted to just hand over the keys to that student!

This week saw one of the biggest names in van insurance cover warning off van owners from just lending out their vehicles to new or returning university students. Sure, you can go ahead and lend the van to your favourite student, but if he or she isn’t on your your policy, you could be in a world of hurt if there’s an accident – to the point where you could have your insurance invalidated!

Instead, Swinton said, you should go along with the student – make sure you’re the one doing the driving – and help them move. It’s not exactly a treat to help someone move, especially if it’s a long journey to university and back with a load of personal effects, but if the alternative is risking the validity of your commercial van insurance cover, it’s definitely worth the trip.

If you really don’t want to do the driving – or help with the heavy lifting – you can always add the student to your own policy. Even if the student has comprehensive car insurance of their own, there’s no guarantee that they will be insured to drive your van as a third party without checking the details of both your cover and the student’s.

You can go ahead and add drivers to an insurance policy, which will enable the student to drive the vehicle without risking invalidation. However, insurers are still charging quite a bit for cover, but more news this week revealed that one motor broker has decided to join an insurance comparison site, adding a number of its van insurance products to the aggregrator.

Four new van insurance specialists will join the insurance site, thanks to the deal struck between it and the broker, and increasing competition in a sector that is in dire need of more. Not sure if you’ve actually looked at the average cost of cover recently, but it’s quite dear indeed, so when it comes to driving down prices, the more rivals operating in the insurance market the better.

 

Police out in force, just waiting for van drivers to slip up

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Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 2nd September 2012:

So you might think that you’re safe and happy with all the mucking about you’re doing with your van, but you couldn’t be more wrong: the police are on the lookout for van drivers.

In fact, there are nearly 50 van drivers that re decidedly less jolly than they were last week, what with the recent undercover sting operation set up on the A27 and A3 near Havant. Police officers pulled over a total of 88 vehicles, and 47 of them won the dubious honour of leaving with 47 tickets – great for the police, but bad for any lead-footed van drivers.

Not only will these blokes need to pay out on any fixed penalties for things like speeding, MOT violations, and not driving with valid van insurance, but they’ll have to answer to their insurance companies as well; providers take a dim view of their customers flouting the law, after all. Hope those 47 van drivers are looking forward to rate hikes at renewal time!

Of course, you could end up being slapped with more than just a fine if you get caught out with no car insurance nowadays, thanks to the new continuous enforcement regulations that require you to have a vehicle insured no matter if you’re driving it or not. You could end up getting your van seized outright by the authorities now – a fate that befell one woman this week as well after the police began poking into her suspiciously-parked van.

The woman, who was parked in the car park of Coxheath Village Hall of all places, drew the attention of a local Police Community Support Officer. The PCSO investigated – as is their wont to do – and found out there wasn’t a lick of valid insurance on the vehicle.

So what happened? Well the van’s owner left with the parting gifts of six points on her licence, a £200 fixed penalty, and lost her van, so let that be a lesson to you if you think the police aren’t taking insurance matters seriously. We suppose the other lesson you might want to take away from all this is to not park your car in the village hall car park if you’re trying to avoid notice, but some people just aren’t that bright, apparently – or just enjoy taking public transport.

 

DIY removals boom – but is your van covered for any eventuality?

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Right now is the most busy time, traditionally, to pack up and move, and many people resort to DIY removals in order to save cash – but is your van ready for the work?

If you’ve got a van and you keep it in good nick, you’ve probably experienced more than a few pleading friends and relatives ringing you up in an effort to enlist your help in moving their valuables to their new abode – or their rubbish to the tip. If you’re a compassionate sort, you’ll probably say yes and show up one early morning to help with a DIY removal – but you’d better make sure your van insurance is up to date and you’ve got enough cover for any eventuality.

One of the best ways to make sure you’re ready for any trips with a van packed to the gills with someone else’s stuff is to peruse your favorite van insurance comparison site and see if you can’t get a better deal for what you’re paying your current insurer. This is especially important if you’re coming up on your yearly  renewal, as insurers are almost universally reticent to provide returning customers with the best van insurance rates – and a comparison site can help you save cash or find a better value for money.

It may come as a bit of a shock but ‘comprehensive’ insurance from one provider may not match what you can get from another insurer. Extras like breakdown cover aren’t included sometimes – or if they are, you need to pay extra for the service – so you may be pleasantly surprised to find out you can get cover for about the same price as you’re paying now – or even cheaper – with better extras thrown in for good measure.

Don’t think police are targeting van drivers? Think again.

Posted on by News Desk

One 40 year old woman caught driving her van without valid insurance recently had her vehicle seized right out from under her for violating continuous enforcement laws.

Last week we warned that you’d better get your ducks in a row when it comes to securing commercial van insurance or risk your vehicle being seized, but apparently the message hasn’t sunk in yet.  Well, here’s proof that we know what we’re talking about: a Coxheath woman was caught driving without van insurance, was issued a £200 fixed penalty, given six points on her licence… and had her van yanked out from under her for her sins.

The whole incident occurred on 3 August, where Joanna Watts, local Police Community Support Officer, received a report of a ‘suspicious vehicle’ in Coxheath Village Hall’s car park. PSCO Watts investigated and the rest is history.

Obviously the driver of the van wasn’t a loyal reader of this website – otherwise she would have known that getting behind the wheel of her van without the proper insurance cover was not a particularly bright thing to do. Still, it doesn’t matter how many times British van owners are warned, as there’s always someone out there who thinks they won’t be caught and can avoid having to pay for even cheap van insurance; go ahead and see how well that plan will work.

The bottom line is a very simple one: sort out your insurance requirements before you’re stuck having to take public transport everywhere because you couldn’t be bothered to do it.

Insurance: it’s not just a good idea – it’s the law

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No one will ever argue against the benefits of making sure you have valid car insurance or van insurance, but don’t forget that it’s not just a good idea: it’s the law.

Yes, commercial car insurance currently costs an arm and a leg, even if you use an insurance comparison site to find the best deals. Still, it’s better to have the proper cover in place if you end up getting into a road traffic accident, because repair costs and medical bills can be incredibly expensive if you have to pay these costs out-of-pocket.

Not only can you not afford to get into an accident without valid insurance, you can’t afford to be caught out by the authorities either. It’s a legal requirement to have your van insured at all times, regardless of whether it’s currently being driven or not, and if the police find out you’ve been getting behind the wheel without proper cover, you could be in for some weighty penalties – up to and including having your licence taken away and your car destroyed!

Continuous enforcement rules are now in effect in the UK, which means that if you own a car or van, the vehicle needs to be insured at all times. The only way around this is to file a Statutory Off Road Notice with the government, which certifies that your vehicle is currently off-road.

If you’re caught violating these new rules, you’re in for a world of hurt if you don’t get cover for the vehicle. Sure, fixed penalties may start at £100, but if you simply refuse to insure a given vehicle, you could have it seized from you and crushed, in addition to ever-higher penalties while running the risk of an invalidated licence as well.

Keep off your mobile while behind the wheel

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A good number of us are addicted to social networking sites, but if you’re updating your status from behind the wheel, you’re endangering your life – and the lives of others.

No one’s going to tell you that you can’t go ahead and spend an hour or so draining down the batteries in your smartphone so you can obsessively post messages to Twitter or comment on the latest stupid cat picture one of your mates posted on Facebook. But it’s utter madness to be behind the wheel in heavy traffic, texting away, and using car insurance and van insurance companies are now handing down massive rate increases if you’re found to be participating in the activity.

Insurers are so concerned about how dangerous the activity could be that they’ve routinely begun rising rates more than they would for someone convicted of a drink driving offence. Not only that, but there are some insurers that are flat-out refusing to offer cover at renewal time for anyone who demonstrates the poor judgment of checking their Facebook news feed while driving.

Cheap insurance is hard enough to find as it is, what with insurers constantly raising their rates so they can recover their costs from a record number of insurance claims; it may be tempting to go ahead and just take a peek while you’re driving, but you’re contributing to the problem if you’re doing so, because you’re much more likely to end up in a road traffic accident if you take your eyes off the road to use your mobile. You can’t even claim that you’re a careful driver otherwise – because you’re doing exactly the opposite of what a careful driver would do, aren’t you?

Van insurer warns against catalytic converter thefts

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Of all the things to worry about, now van owners and operators have to be on the lookout for criminals making off with their catalytic converters right from underneath their bonnets.

One van insurance provider has recently warned of a crime spree over the past few weeks that involves the theft of catalytic converters. The commercial van insurance company has begun to urge van drivers to be much more careful where they choose to leave their vehicles overnight in an effort to help them avoid being the victims of such a theft.

June’s crime figures saw the Leicestershire area particularly hardest hit, with almost 250 thefts occurring between January 1 and June 1. This figure is incredibly inflated from last year’s figures, where the first half of the year saw only 47 reported thefts, the car insurance provider remarked.

The insurer’s representative, Joe de Vries, commented on the new report, stating that the increase in catalytic converter theft is ‘terrible news,’ adding that van owners across the country need to be much more vigilant in order to prevent their own vans being subjected to the same fate. Mr de Vries said that van owners should park their vehicles in secure areas overnight, such as a garage, but as not everyone has access to such facilities, parking a van in a well lit area such as directly below a street lamp would be the best way to deter thieves.

The rise in catalytic converter theft is believed to be linked to the cost of scrap metal, which has been on the rise. Organised gangs have been harvesting the components to send overseas, where they are stripped of their metal, law enforcement officials say.

Van registrations rise, insurers brace for new customers

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Insurance providers are bracing for an influx of new customers after it was revealed that the number of van registrations recently increased.

The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders released their most recent figures, reporting that total van registration figures have gone up by 6.7 per cent in comparison to last year. The 2t and under category increased even higher, with an impressive 11.6 per cent rise in total registrations as of May 2012.

Commercial van insurance providers are using the information to prepare for the influx of new customers on the search for van insurance. Comparison sites are also girding their loins, as the current state of the UK’s economy has led numerous Brits to become much more diligent in searching out the best deals in an effort to save money.

The cost of motoring has been increasing steadily over the past few years, whether it be from insurance rate increases or rising petrol costs, and drivers have been looking for any way to save that they can. Other economic factors, such as high unemployment, have attributed to consumers looking for ways to make their money stretch even further, leading to comparison websites becoming wildly popular, as these websites offer Brits a way to select financial products that are the best value for money.

An insurance director at a major comparison site, Simon McCulloch, commented on the news, stating that insurance quote aggregration sites are a valuable resource for savvy consumers, as you’ll be hard-pressed to find more competitive rates anywhere else. Many comparison sites offer not just savings on car or van insurance but a wide range of financial products, such as credit cards and life insurance, and many also offer comparison services for utilities such as gas and electricity as well.

Comparison sites brace for impact as vehicle sales increase

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Car and van insurance comparison sites have been bracing for a fresh influx of new consumers after new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders indicate that the sale of new vehicles in the UK has increased dramatically.

The SMMT announced that May’s new car sales increased by 7.9 per cent year-on-year to a new high of 162,288, the largest sales increase of its kind for nearly two years straight. The current number of vehicles sold in the UK during the first five months of the year now stands at 868,166, a figure that represents an overall increase of 2.6 per cent, according to the SMMT’s figures.

Anticipating heightened demand as consumers seek out personal car insurance and commercial van insurance for their new vehicles, comparison sites have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to help Brits find the best deals when it comes to insurance. Comparison sites do not exclusively deal with car and van insurance comparison services, as many will also offer comparison services for financial products such as credit cards, bank accounts, and other insurance products such as pet or travel insurance, but with so many Brits looking for ways to save money in the current economy – and with motor insurance compulsory – nearly every comparison site boasts a large panel of insurer partners to provide high levels of customer service to price-conscious consumers.

Comparison sites provide a time-saving benefit as well as a cost-saving one, as consumers can simply put their personal details in once and let the website do the rest; in moments the site will return a long list of different insurance quotes for the consumer to choose from, eliminating the need for tedium and making the entire process as painless as possible.

Step 1

Complete your quick and easy quote

Step 2

Reveal your van insurance policies

Step 3

Pick your favourite and get instant cover