Another aspect about owning a smaller commercial vehicle, and this is something that many sole traders overlook, is the ability to customise it with your brand and logo. A city van owned by a florist, for example, would cost a lot less to be kitted out in the shop’s livery than a Ford Transit. And van insurance brokers like the fact that you have gone to the trouble to emblazon your wheels with your organisation’s legend, for two reasons.
Having a logo shows that you are serious about your business and are therefore possibly a long-term customer rather than a fly-by-night outfit. It also means that you are a lot less likely to be reckless on the road as you will know how much it would cost to get the van re-sprayed in the event of an accident. Both reasons ensure that you will get a cheaper van insurance quote by getting logo-ed.
If you can get it into your head when you compare van insurance quotes online that your task is to provide your broker with all of the aspects in your day-to-day business driving that will help him reduce your premium, your half way to obtaining the cheapest deal available to you. The other half of the equation is identifying those aspects that you may otherwise overlook.
Your van insurance broker likes his greens
For example, does your business only operate within the local vicinity? There are two greens that come into the equation when you’re dealing with insurance for vans and that’s your Green Card and the green of your carbon footprint, and both have connotations when it comes to your mileage.
If your business is local and has a limited mileage every day, that means you are exposing your van to less threat than a driver whose delivery route incorporates multiple deliveries over longer distances on a daily basis; your broker will take that into consideration.
There is a lot to be said for going green when it comes to considering switching to an all-electric powered van. A lot of aspects about EV/ZE (French) vans appeal to your insurance broker that lends itself to you obtaining that elusive cheap van insurance quote. In an article tomorrow, we will consider all of the aspects (mostly positives) of switching to a plug-in engine.
The other green aspect, now that Europe is so close, is the Green Card that permits a van driver to travel the Continent’s roads. Many van insurance policies now automatically include the certificate in the base van insurance policy. You are advised to check, if you are absolutely positive you will not take your van outside the UK, that there is not a supplementary charge on the van insurance quote that makes it more expensive than it should be. Beware, though; without it, if you do change your mind and hop across on the ferry, any incident could be extremely costly, a lot more so than in the UK, so call your van insurance company and get it added on before you travel.