Top Tips for Keeping Van Insurance Down

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. 

Van Drivers Told – “Demand Cheap Insurance”

Ever think to yourself that van insurance is getting more expensive? You are not alone, as millions of drivers around the country get hit in the wallet.

Should you just take it though and accept these expensive prices? One leading insurance expert says no, and in fact, you should actually demand a cheaper quote.

As we speak, the average van insurance policy costs £1500, although in certain parts of the country, such as East London, you can expect to pay even more.

The problem is that many van drivers think there is nothing they can do about it, especially as most quotes are generated by big multi-national companies worth billions.

The general thought process is that you can’t haggle with these companies to get cheap van insurance, but in most situations you can, and if persistent you will win.

I reckon the message here for van drivers around the country is clear…”demand cheap insurance.”

A new report that was recently published announced that van drivers who haggle and don’t take the first quote they are offered, typically save on average about 10%.

Not only that, but if you use the haggling technique in conjunction with a van insurance comparison website, like the one you are on right now, then you could potentially save even more.

Say goodbye to the average van insurance price that everyone else pays, and say hello to your special price, the one reserved for those van drivers who are prepared to go the extra mile.

Most people assume that big van insurance companies won’t haggle and would simply laugh at the very notion, but no, they are more than prepared to listen to your pitch and the reason for this is…competition.

That’s right. The fact of the matter is that competition is fierce right now between the insurance companies, and they all want your business.

This is why I am always telling van drivers…use a comparison website to find some cheap quotes and then phone them up to haggle and play them against each other.

However, even though many people listen to my message, only around 27% of van drivers do any kind of haggling when it comes time to get a new policy or renew.

Fortunately, you are now one of the insiders, and have the knowledge needed to get cheap van insurance quotes even when it is getting more expensive for everybody else.

So what are you waiting for? Compare van insurance right now and then be prepared to haggle if you really want to save money.

Car and Van Insurers to Analyse Facebook Posts

In a move that is sure to get attention, Admiral insurance has launched a new scheme to analyse Facebook posts before giving a quote.

We all know how car insurance, and particularly van insurance is getting more expensive in the UK, and that’s why Admiral have decided to try this new technology

Many people will no doubt see it as them trying to spy on their potential customers, but in my opinion this is not what is going to be happening at all.

In fact, I think that most of the time when you look through the posts of a Facebook account then you very quickly get an idea of what that person is like, and more importantly, what kind of personality traits they have.

This is key for car and van insurance, because it’s these personality traits that typically let you know what kind of driver that person is likely to be.

It’s worth noting that initially this is only going to be used with first time drivers, so if someone has just passed their test and wants to get insured on their first car or want a van to start a business.

Now, before thousands of angry people start writing in to Admiral and complaining about this, you must understand that it is going to be completely optional, and will only be done if the person agrees to it when getting a quote.

The main thinking behind this is to actually save drivers money, as it simply gives the insurer more information to work with, that can be used to decide what the quote is going to be.

In other words, if Admiral look at your Facebook posts and decide that you seem like a sensible person who will obey the speed laws, be friendly to your fellow drivers, and treat your car or van with respect, then it’s likely you will be rewarded with a cheap insurance quote.

So what of things will Admiral be looking at exactly? A statement by the company says that Facebook posts that are written with proper grammar and use calender apps to set-up specific times for meetings with family and friends are looked upon as good indicators of a safe driver.

However, if your Facebook posts are over confident and aggressive, with bad spelling and no calendar apps, then expect to be given a more expensive van insurance quote.

At the moment Admiral only plan to use this on Facebook, but they might move to other social media sites such as Twitter and Instagram if it proves to be successful.

Oldham Bricklayer Quoted £40,000 to Insure a Van

A young bricklayer by the name of Gary Shipp has been quoted £40,000 for van insurance by a leading online comparison site.

Mr Shipp, who is 18 and comes from Oldham, had been looking into starting up his own bricklaying and building venture, but was stopped in his tracks when he saw just how much money van insurance was going to cost him.

I thought we are supposed to be encouraging young people to start their own businesses and take the path of entrepreneurship? Obviously not.

Sure, you can expect a younger driver who has only recently passed their test to be quoted a bit more than someone with a proven track record of driving safety, but is £40,000 a bit too much? I think it is. It pretty much makes it impossible for this guy to make any profit for the first few years of business, which in turn would mean the business will fail.

However, it’s good to hear that Mr Shipp is not letting this stumbling block stop him from doing something. Although it’s not ideal, he has been using his Vauxhall Astra car to transport his equipment to and from different jobs, as he starts the task of getting new clients and making a name for himself in the local area.

Good on him I say. Many people would use that ridiculously high van insurance quote as a reason to give up on their dream and stay in their job, but this guy is not letting anything stop him, even if he has to pile a load of bricks into his Astra and drive around town.

While it is shocking to see such a high quote for van insurance, it really is the norm unfortunately for people under the age of 25. Yes, it is possible to see the point of view of the insurance companies, as they want to reduce their risk as much as possible, and maybe they just don’t feel confident insuring someone that is 18.

Ultimately though, everybody has to start somewhere, and if an 18 year old wants to get started in their own business they should be helped to do that now, and not when they are over 25 and considered to be more responsible.

Looking at both sides of the story here, in my opinion, I think some kind of trial period with the use of telematics could be a good idea, where younger drivers are given a few months to prove themselves as safe and responsible commercial drivers, and then once the trial period is over and the insurance company is happy with the data, the driver is offered a more reasonable quote.

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