Choosing Van Insurance In The UK

By Anna Chrisholm

Whether you are driving a car, truck, van, motorcycle, or any other type of motorized vehicle on UK public roads, according to the Road Traffic Act 1988, you are required to maintain a minimum amount of insurance on it. This is mainly to ensure that other people, and their property, are compensated for in the event of an accident caused by you. Those Brits that own and plan on operating their vans on British roads may require additional kinds of insurance, depending on the usage of their vehicle.

Individuals that plan to use their vans for solely pleasurable and recreational situations need to acquire the same kind of motor insurance as those using cars and trucks for non-business related driving. This type of insurance is broken into three forms: Third Party, Third Party Fire and Theft, and Comprehensive insurance.

Third Party Car Insurance: this covers damage caused to other people’s property and vehicles involved in your accident. It also covers the medical expenses of those injured in the accident, specifically the driver in the other vehicle, his passengers, and your passengers. This insurance offers no compensation for your medical expenses or to assist you in paying for repairs needed to fix or replace your van. This type of insurance fulfils the bare legal requirements and is the least expensive in cost.

Third Party Fire and Theft Insurance: this provides the same level of cover as basic Third Party insurance, but also provides compensation to you when your van is damaged because of fire, and can assist financially in getting another van in the event that yours is stolen. This level of insurance costs a little more, but still doesn’t provide any help to you for medical expenses, and doesn’t cover you for damage caused to your van that needs to be fixed.

Comprehensive Insurance: this supplies the ultimate in van insurance and is the most expensive. Not only does it cover everything protected by the Third Party Fire and Theft insurance plan, but it provides the necessary monetary assistance with your medical expenses and van repair. The greatest benefit of this level of van insurance is the peace of mind it offers, ensuring that you have very little to worry about in the unfortunate event that you are involved in an accident while driving your van.

These three types of insurance plans cover you driving in your van for personal reasons. However, if you plan to use your van for business, there are a few other types of additional insurance plans that you may need to purchase as well. The specific insurance cover you will need depends on what manner you plan to use your van for.

Other Types of Insurance That May Need To Be Purchased:

1. Public Liability Insurance. If you will be using your van to transport people as part of your business, you will need to get this type of insurance. Although Third Party, Third Party Fire and Theft, and Comprehensive insurance polices already provide some compensation to the passengers in your vehicle, there is generally a cap to the amount of compensation that can be awarded. Having additional public liability insurance will give you the added protection that your business may require.

2. Carriage Of Own Goods Insurance: If you will be transporting products, tools, and equipment in your van, it would be wise to get this form of cover to protect against damage or theft. The ability to quickly recoup products, tools, and equipment vital to run your business can prove to be a lifesaver in the case that they get damaged or stolen.

3. Haulage Insurance: If your business involves the transport of the items of other people, then it would be advantageous to secure this form of cover. It will protect these items in the situation that they are stolen or damaged while in your care.

Is Van Insurance More Expensive Than Insurance On A Car?

The answer to that depends on the value of your van. If you are driving a large, heavier van that is priced on the high-end, than the insurance will probably be more expensive than the insurance on a typical car. However, if it is of average size and weight, and isn’t in the greatest shape, the insurance will most likely be comparable to your standard car insurance policy. Again, it really depends on the value of the van itself.

With regard to van insurance prices, the most effective way to ensure that you are getting the greatest amount of cover for the least cost is to compare several different van insurance policy quotes against each other. Now you could spend a few hours going to van insurance sites individually to get your quotes, but there is a far easier way. By using a site like CarInsuranceComparison, which is located at http://www.carinsurancecomparison.co.uk, you will be able to get your required van insurance quotes at lightning speed. The reason for this is that you only need to type in your personal and vehicle info into their web forms one time. The site will then take that data and send it to several top-quality insurance sites that they work with. In no time at all, you will have a list of quality van insurance quotes to compare. Simply select the one that seems best to you, pay online, and be able to print out your necessary insurance documents from the convenience of your home.