There are over four million licensed vans in the UK, with the most common use being to carry tools and equipment. Vans are an important part of many businesses, as they can be used to transport goods and materials to and from various locations. Many companies own a fleet of vehicles that their employees must drive to complete their day-to-day activities.
You may want multiple employees, or even family members to drive the same van for business or personal use. This requires a specialist insurance policy that can accommodate the number of drivers that you require.
As with all vehicles that are driven on public roads, your personal or work van must be fully insured and road taxed. You may be faced with a fine and penalty points if you are caught driving an uninsured vehicle.
In this article, we’ll talk you through your options when it comes to van insurance, including the various levels of cover on offer and how you can lower the overall cost of your policy.
What is any driver van insurance?
Despite what the name suggests, this type of insurance doesn’t allow anyone to drive your van. You need to provide your insurance company with a list of people that you want to include on your policy as a named driver. This will allow multiple drivers to drive your van at any time and be covered by the insurance should anything happen.
You will need to include a number of personal details before you can add a new named driver to the policy, such as their driving history, age, and if they have had any previous driving convictions or made any claims. These can all impact the risk factor of the driver and can increase or decrease the overall cost of the insurance policy. However, other named drivers on the policy can balance out the risk level and potentially lower it if they are more experienced or older.
Let’s go into further detail about the benefits of having any driver van insurance, including the best options for you and how you can lower the overall cost of your insurance.
Do I need any driver van insurance?
All vehicles that are driven on a public road are legally required to have full insurance, whether that be van or car insurance, depending on the vehicle type. You could be faced with a fixed penalty of £300 and six points if you are caught driving with no insurance. This can lead to an unlimited fine or a ban from driving if the case is taken to court.
Any driver van insurance is a useful policy to have if you own more than one van and want to insure a fleet of vans or if there are multiple people that drive your van on a regular basis. You can buy this insurance whether you are a business owner who requires employees to drive your company vehicle or whether you want personal vehicle insurance so that your family and friends have access to your van.
Any driver van insurance offers more flexibility than standard insurance because you only have to deal with one lot of paperwork and renewal dates. It’s also fairly simple to update the policy by adding or taking named drivers off the insurance if their circumstances change.
Employees at a company may need to drive various different vehicles on a regular basis, which is why it is a good idea if they are insured to drive all of the company’s vans at any moment.
What are the levels of any driver van insurance?
There are several levels of any driver van insurance, depending on how much protection you want your vehicles to have. The type of insurance models are as followed:
Fully comprehensive
This is the highest level of van insurance and protects both the driver and any third parties if they are involved in an accident. The vehicle is also protected in instances of fire, theft or vandalism.
Third-party, fire and theft
Although this cover isn’t as complete as fully comprehensive, the next level of insurance still covers various scenarios and risks that your van may encounter. The vehicle is protected against threats such as fire and natural disasters like lightning, as well as providing cover should the van get stolen or vandalised. Third-party, fire and theft also covers you should van cause damage or injury to any third-parties.
Third-party only
This is the minimum legal level of cover that you are required to have for your van. Although you are covered if your van damages or injures a third party, you are in no way covered if you or your van encounter damage or injury. This means that you may be faced with hefty payments if you are involved in an accident and your van requires repairs or is written off.
You can learn more about the various levels of van insurance cover in our Ultimate guide to van insurance.
What are the restrictions for any driver van insurance?
It’s important that you name the correct person as the primary driver of the van. This is because the person who drives the van on a regular basis may impact the risk level. For example, a primary driver under the age of 25 is at a statistically higher chance of having an accident, whereas an older and more experienced driver can lower the chance of incidents.
Some insurance providers don’t offer insurance to younger drivers under the age of 25, whilst others don’t offer insurance to drivers under the age of 21 due to the increased chance of accidents. There are also some insurance companies that set a maximum age limit such as 70 years old because they believe that older drivers have slower reactions or health concerns that could impact their driving ability.
Is any driver van insurance more expensive than standard insurance?
As there are multiple people driving the same van, there is a higher chance that an accident will occur. Therefore, any driver van insurance is more expensive than standard van insurance. It is still a good option to consider, however, as it can often work out better value to have any driver insurance than lots of individual van insurance policies for the same van.
Companies that experience a high turnover of staff can also benefit from any driver van insurance because it saves the admin time and repeated cost of amending and changing multiple van insurance policies for individuals.
There are several factors that can influence the cost of your any driver van insurance. For example, drivers under the age of 25 years old, especially male drivers, are at a higher risk of being involved in accidents than any other age group. This means that your insurance premium will be higher if you are aged 17 to 24 years old. Despite this, older drivers with clean driving licenses can lower the overall insurance cost as they are less likely to be involved in accidents.
Other reasons that the cost of your insurance could be higher is the purpose of the van, the vehicle size and the items that you are transporting in it. Business vans will cost more to insure because they will likely be used by a higher number of people and driven more often than vans for personal use. The van size can also impact the cost of the insurance as larger, heavier vans with a larger engine can often be harder to control or have more power than smaller, lighter vans.
Vans that are used to transport valuable goods and machinery will have a higher insurance premium because they are at a higher risk of getting vandalised or stolen.
What are the alternatives to any driver van insurance?
You can buy standard van insurance for one driver if you don’t have enough drivers to warrant buying a multi-driver van insurance policy. However, there are also other alternatives to any driver van insurance that allows you to insure multiple drivers or multiple vans at the same time.
One option is short-term van insurance, which means that you can temporarily insure your van with specified drivers. The insurance could last anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of months. Alternatively, you could buy a named driver insurance policy, which typically enables cover for up to four drivers. This is often a more affordable alternative to any driver van insurance as fewer people need driver cover which means a lower chance of accidents.
A multi-van insurance policy can work out more affordable than insuring several vehicles under individual policies. They often operate under an any driver policy as well, although this can vary depending on your insurance provider.
FAQs
How can I save money on my van insurance?
You can save money on your insurance by paying for the policy annually rather than monthly. This means that you won’t be subjected to interest payments which can dramatically increase the overall cost of your insurance.
Another way to lower the cost of your van insurance is by installing security features such as cameras and steering wheel clamps to deter thieves and make the vans harder to take or damage.
You could also pay a larger voluntary excess as this can result in lower premiums.
It’s a good idea to speak to insurance brokers about your insurance options as they can compare various policies and advise you on the best cover for your needs and the van’s purpose. You can compare van insurance for individuals with any driver van insurance to see which is the most feasible option for you and all your drivers.
Can I drive a van with a standard driving license?
All drivers that you want to insure on any driver van insurance must hold a valid UK driver’s license. A standard driving license holds a B classification, which allows you to drive vans that weigh up to 3,500kg. This means that individuals as young as 17 years old can drive a van, although some insurance companies don’t offer young drivers cover due to the increased risk of accidents.
Employers are responsible for making sure that their employees are safe to drive, as well as maintaining the vehicles. They must make sure that all drivers are properly trained and have a solid understanding of road traffic law and The Highway Code.
You can apply for another license if you want to drive a heavier van, although you will need to pass an examination. There is a £1,000 penalty if you are caught driving commercially without a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC). This license will also allow you to commercially drive lorries, coaches and buses.
Summary
Any driver van insurance policies give multiple drivers the necessary cover to drive the same vehicles. This is an especially good policy to have if you are a business owner and need your employees to drive the same van or a fleet of vans. You could also buy this insurance if you want your family or friends to have insurance to drive your van for personal use.
Any driver van insurance allows specified individuals to drive one or multiple vans under the same insurance policy. This saves having to set up various insurance policies, which could work out as more expensive than one inclusive policy.
The three levels of any driver van insurance are comprehensive, third-party, fire and theft, and third-party. All vans need a minimum of third-party insurance, which covers vans if they damage or injure a third party. Drivers must be insured to drive a specific vehicle, even if the van itself already has insurance.