What do I need when insuring my van?

[fewleh]

Hey -- I honestly don't know if this is the right sub-forum for this post, but I couldn't find anything more appropriate. I just insured the Alfa, and at the same time was trying to insure my new van. A sprinter.. for the boring work trips.. when the Alfa just won't do the job! I've been reading around the net a fair bit and trying to suss out what I need. Do I need liability insurance for it ? As it's for business, I know a regular car insurance policy won't do the job, but past that I'm lost! Hopefully some other PH'ers who have been running vans can point me in the right direction for what I need and a decent company..

I have tried Adrian Flux .. and waiting to hear back from them. I've also tried a broker City Insurance who did come back with a decent price but I honestly didn't understand the policy.. and I fear I may be missing something that I will later come to need if I claim etc! Has anyone used either of these? Is there anyone else you'd recommend ?

Thanks in advance. Need to get the beast on the road asap and put it to work.

[fewleh]

Oh.. I meant to say. What should I expect to pay for an annual premium ? The best quotes I've had are around £400.. seems a little steep ? It's only a little diesel wagon

[Patch1875]

I never find cheaper than Direct Line for my van, I pay £350 for a Peugeot Expert so your not a million miles away.

Vans are generally more expensive to insure.

You won't need public liability for the van but make sure you have the correct cover for what you use it for.

[fewleh]

Thanks Patch, I'll give them a go.. need to look into the details of van policies more. I'm going to be carrying tools etc.

[JM]

The Co-op used to be good for van insurance.

I've never had insurance for the tools in the van and only had one break-in in 20+ years which cost about £500 to replace what was taken. But that will depend on what tools you have and where you park/use the van.

[insurance_jon]

for the van insurance you simply need a commercial vehicle policy.

vancompare.com is run by a pher (not me)

[insurance_jon]

what do you do for a living btw, as you may find some other covers useful

[AndWhyNot]

Last year I transferred my car policy to cover my van just by amending the policy- changed reg no and added business use, but not commercial use. The distinction was that I would be travelling for business purposes but my business wasn't travelling, such as a courier.
Was quite surprised when the premium reduced from car to van.
This year, same insurance co seemed to not want the business & provided no means of renewing the policy. I searched via the meerkat and got insured with an Admiral company- same terms for half of last year's premium. Well worth searching around but the price comparison sites are geared towards individuals & sole traders so check the various small prints to ensure you get the right level of cover.

[grumbas]

insurance_jon said:

for the van insurance you simply need a commercial vehicle policy.

vancompare.com is run by a pher (not me)

Thanks for the mention Jon!

First thing that springs to mind is if it's a new van, do you have a second ncb to use or are you going to need to mirror it from the Alfa?

As someone else mentioned vans are typically more expensive than cars to insure for various reasons. £400 doesn't sound bad at all for a sprinter assuming clean risk and full ncb available to use.

If you don't have a 2nd ncb give us a call (number on website) and the guys will sort out an intro/mirror deal for you.

Tools is a separate policy, and in all honesty is far cheaper done as an extension of your public liability policy if you have one.

If you're not sure public liability essentially covers you for damage/injury you may cause to third parties or their property in the course of your occupation (whilst not in the van). So an over simplistic example if you were a roofer and dropped a tile on a car parked below your public liability policy would pick up the repair bill.