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Van Insurance for the Self Employed

Becoming self employed is a big step and the start up costs can initially seem a little overwhelming. Since you will be using your Van for business purposes, you’ll need to make sure you have commercial cover. With vaninsuruance.co.uk, we’ll guide you through the process of finding a cheap deal on your Self Employed Van insurance policy.

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Who needs self employed Van insurance?

If you’re self employed and require the use of a Van to go about your business, you need to make sure you have the correct commercial cover. The first step will be to determine what type of business you will be conducting so that you can insure your Van under the correct business class of use.

If this is your first time arranging Van insurance cover, you’ll notice some significant differences. Business Van insurance categories are defined a lot stricter than those of car insurance, mainly due to the added risk and costs associated with a Van and its contents.

If you use your Van for business whilst self-employed but don’t have a commercial use policy, you wont be protected against theft, damage or accidents involving your Van. You also wont have the necessary protection for your cargo or any tools that you transport for work.

What are my options for Self employed van insurance?

The type of Van insurance that you require will depend solely on the type of business you are running and how your Van will be used on a daily basis. Understanding business Van classes of use is key to getting the right cover at the right price. Insuring your Van for the wrong class of use could mean your not covered in the event you need to make a claim.

  • Courier & Delivery Services

    If you are going to be delivering goods as a self employed business, you will need to make sure your covered for “carriage of goods for hire & reward”. Usually courier drivers are delivering goods that they don’t own which vary in size, value, and nature. This type of policy will provide additional cover to protect your cargo from damage or theft while in transit.

  • Tradesmen & Service Providers

    If you’re a self employed tradesman, there’s a good chance you’ll require a specific set of tools in order to conduct your business that you’ll transport daily in the back of your Van. In this case, a “carriage of own goods” policy is required. In addition to this type of cover, you may also want to also consider protecting your tools from loss, damage, and theft with a separate tool insurance policy.

  • Specialist Service Providers

    For food service trucks, ice cream vans, refrigerated vehicles, minibuses and other more specialist trades, you’ll need to declare a different class of use. Due to the many modifications with specialist Vans, you should seek advice on the various options available for your specific circumstances.

Is public liability insurance included?

As a self employed business owner, you will need to make sure that you have all the relevant insurance covers in place to protect you against any eventuality. That includes covering yourself for public liability. If you cause damage to someone’s property or injure a member of the public whilst conducting your business, a public liability policy will protect you.

While not included as standard with Van insurance for the self employed, some companies may offer you a policy for a small additional fee. Its worth checking any other business policies you currently have such as tradesman insurance to see if your already covered.

Whats the VAT rate for self employed Van insurance?

Value added tax (VAT) isn’t usually added to commercial insurance policies. Instead, an insurance premium tax (IPT) will be added to your policy at a rate of 12%. You’ll find all relevant details about tax in your policy cost breakdown. IPT is favourable over the standard 20% VAT rate in the UK which is good news for the self employed and small business owners.

Whats the best way to save money on self employed Van insurance?

As a self employed business owner, watching costs is always a key factor to lasting business success. While insurance isn’t something you should be cutting corners on, there are a number of ways in which you can help lower the cost of your cover.

  • Your Van

    It goes without saying that a bigger, more powerful Van will be seen as a bigger risk in the eyes of your insurance company. Consider downsizing to a smaller Van and you may find that the lower insurance group provides some significant cost savings.

  • Excess

    As standard, you will have pre-defined compulsory excess to pay should you need to make a claim. You can then specify an amount of Voluntary excess to help lower your premium. Be warned however, you will need to pay both upfront before your insurer will process a claim. What might seem like a good cost saving could end up leaving you out of pocket.

  • Avoid Modifications

    Modifying your Van from its standard factory specification, especially when performance related will see your premium skyrocket. Don’t modify the looks or performance of your Van in order to keep your premium lower.

  • Limit your mileage

    If you spend longer on the road, your statistically more likely to be involved in an accident. If you can, try to limit the mileage you drive. Specifying a lower annal mileage can indeed lower your premium but be sure to be honest about it. Getting caught providing inaccurate information in order to lower your premium could result in a claim, and your cover, becoming void.

  • Use vaninsurance.co.uk to compare deals

    We’ve developed an exclusive portal to help you quickly compare the best deals from a range of leading insurance companies, underwriters, and brokers. As we work with many of our panel on an exclusive basis, so you won’t find the same deals elsewhere. Comparing insurance costs, levels of cover and service offerings all in one place is the quickest and easiest way to save money.

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