Van insurance news roundup: 7 days ending 17 Jan 2014:
The writing is on the wall this week – and if I’m reading it correctly it could mean that van insurance rates are about to drop like a stone for many drivers!
Now, I don’t want you to get all excited. True, the idea that you could save a few quid on that obnoxiously expensive commercial van insurance policy you have is thrilling news, but let’s keep a level head about us and go over the evidence pointing to it this week, shall we?
First of all there was a new report this week that switching from one van or car insurance company to another saves the average motorist shedloads of cash. How much is a shedload? Well It looks like the typical savings right now is around £137 – and let’s be honest, that’s nothing to sneeze at.
How are these amazing, almost unbelievable discounts coming into effect? Well researchers say that in addition to insurers reserving their best rates for new customers they’e been cleaning house when it comes to fraud, and the results have been that payouts on bogus claims have been reducing. This means less costs for insurers and lowered premiums for those of us who have to keep their vehicle insured year on year. In other words, don’t auto-renew on your insurance cover this year and you could save a bit more than you expected as long as this trend holds long-term.
Speaking of long term, there’s even more evidence pointing to a possible drop in expensive rates as well thanks to a new Government scheme to store licence information digitally in order to create a database insurers can search at the time of providing a customer with a quote. Since insurance providers simply assume no one tells the truth about how many points they might have on their licence when applying for cover they tend to simply raise rates for everyone to cover those berks that can’t be arsed to be honest – but this new system will let insurers see who has a clean driving record and who likes to do a bit speeding on the motorway. This could lead to even cheaper rates for motorists who keep their noses clean.
Of course this new programme probably won’t go into effect until next year, so you’ve got a bit to wait. Then again, if you renew your cover now there’s a good chance that by this time next year your rates will be even lower!