[…from Some van insurance quotes are more equal than others]

When it comes to van drivers, there are two types. No, not men and women, although that does count – more on that in [Women on top…]. What I’m talking about is there are individuals who drive vans for a living for an employer and those who use their vans to transport them and their goods to site, so that they can carry out the service which they have gone into business for, whether it be for themselves or sub-contracted to an employer.

For those whose career choice is van driver only, the amount you can contribute to cost savings is limited as you will, more than likely, be covered by your employer’s fleet van insurance policy.

That doesn’t mean that you can drive gung-ho; far from it. Road safety experts and commercial van insurance providers alike are encouraging businesses to not only treat the roads with respect as a way of reducing their fleet van insurance but some underwriters are actually contributing to digital image recording equipment, such as the Roadhawk device, in an attempt to clear up claims where it is the van driver’s word against the claimant.

There has been a marked increase in pay-out reductions for the underwriters by investing in this technology.  The incident evidence is recorded on a continual loop by a camera, which is switched to permanent record by a sudden shift in the van’s velocity and is proving extremely successful. This is also causing company van drivers to drive with more care in the first instance, thus reducing the amount of accidents.

For the sole trader, it is imperative that you not only cover the van, but take out an ancillary product, or extra cover, for the goods which you are lugging about in the back from site to site which provides the means for your livelihood.

There are two key messages from the police and van insurance providers which, if you apply to your business, will help you achieve the cheap van insurance quote you set out to find.

Lock up your vehicle! Even if you are parked up roadside or stopped for a bite to eat on site, taking that extra precaution like alarms or immobilisers could save you having to make a claim.

On the roads, ‘pirates‘ are targeting vans that have been left unattended by sidling up to them with their own vans that have a camouflage side door. Before you know it, that bacon sarnie could have cost you more than just a few extra calories.

And, secondly, take your tools out of the van at night. It can be monotonous, but if you have expensive tools or are transporting lead roll for roofing or copper pipe for plumbing, not only should you stipulate that when you get your renewal quote to ensure this is covered for loss, but also the police have seen a massive trend for thieves actully stalking tradesmen who they know transport this type of material.

These thieves can generally empty your van in the blink of an eye, if you leave this precious cargo onboard overnight; they will have got rid of it on the open market before you even realise it’s missing, leaving the robbery difficult to prove, even if the police suspect the culprits who will have not only harmed your livelihood, but also damaged your no claims bonus, thus any chance of a cheap van insurance renewal policy when next you need to apply.

It is, with great pleasure, that we are not reporting on the horrendous icy conditions that are blocking UK roads and causing the insurance sector to bury their heads until the cold snap is over. We’ve spent weeks preparing drivers for winter and getting their van insurance policies in tact in anticipation of the depths of a UK winter, but today was like being in Benalmadena in October – glorious. Winter? What winter?!

But that is no need to be complacent, if you’re taking out a van insurance renewal policy. Not only can the British winter turn up unexpectedly, but by not having the right commercial vehicle cover, you too could be in for a nasty shock if you’ve not marked every box on the tick sheet when it comes to taking out your new van cover.

Tip: buy a good pair of sunglasses for driving your van at this time of year! Although we have no snow, UK roads are inherently damp. Combine that with a low-lying sun and it can be like shining a bright torch in your eyes, if the conditions collude against you. And your visor is useless – the sun is too low in the sky to be blocked by dropping it down.

In the absence of any snow, and none on the horizon, we’ll run through that check sheet with some of the things you may not have considered, but may be essential to your business, should you ever need to make a claim.

Let’s start with the basics. If you drive a van, you need insurance. Okay, not rocket science. Where many commercial drivers slip up is that they believe, just because van cover was expensive last time, it covered everything.

For many businesses, sole traders especially, they know what they’re good at and that’s what they like doing. Filing tax returns, applying for public liability insurance and renewing your van insurance policies are aspects of running your business that simply get in the way of you doing your job. If there’s a quick way of dealing with them, you will, instinctively, take that easy option. It’s just human nature. Believe me, I know.

This oversight could be costing you hundreds of pounds every year. Not only on the cost of your base product, but also what not having a particular aspect added to your van insurance policy to save money could end up costing you in the event of you having to make a claim.

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The Met are warning truck and van drivers to be on their guard when they pull up in lay-bys for their cup of boiling coffee and bacon sandwich as thieves have moved up a gear in their skulduggery and found an unlikely way of committing daylight robbery.

The result for drivers is having a terrible effect on their livelihood, their reputation and, long-term, van insurance. First and foremost, everything that has been taken has to be replaced. Secondly, whatever job they are working on they are unlikely to be able to complete and potentially let down their customer.

But thirdly, having to explain to their van insurance provider that they were robbed whilst they were having a cup of tea is making it hard for the fleet insurance brokers to swallow, sometimes rendering their claim useless.

This is purely down to the nature and simplicity of the crime. Using a camouflaged door in the side of the van, the gang monitor Britain’s A and B roads and occasionally motorways waiting for the opportune moment to sidle up to the side of parked up van and extract the contents whilst the driver’s enjoying breakfast or, for long-distance drivers, taking a nap in their cab.

This is bad enough for the trauma that an individual working for an employer will go through, reporting the robbery to the boss.

However, it is having a devastating effect on tradesmen who are working for themselves; having to replace their whole business can be a hard enough concept to comprehend but, in this economic climate, it can be the final straw for some sole traders who may not be in a position to replace the stolen goods if the van insurance company will not pay out against their existing policy, if they have not taken out sufficient cover.

Generally, the contents of a tradesman’s van will need to be insured over and above the base policy. If, in this instance, they have not taken out the extra ancillary cover, they will lose everything.

Police have issued an overview of the make-up of the crimes. Generally, the gang, dubbed the “Pirates of the roads”, broadside curtain-sider vans, but not exclusively canvas-sided  trucks, slash the sides in silence, and make off with whatever they can slide in through their camouflaged side door.

The police are taking this seriously and have nicknamed the seconded the swashbuckling unit in charge of catching these gangs “Truckpol”, also asking other drivers to report any van that they see with a concealed side door, whether they are acting suspiciously, or not.

If you’re not covered for your contents, take a look at our cheap van insurance providers and see if you can save on your van insurance contents policy.

On a day when the BBC announced its association with Total Accident Management in respect to looking after their entire fleet for the foreseeable future, other sectors of the fleet vehicle industry echoed the same sentiments. 2012 will be a year of further cost-saving measures being implemented, be it hiring firms or software to control their commercial vehicle’s activities, fuel efficiency or achieving savings through cheap van insurance, something’s got to give, this year.

Unsurprisingly, fuel management is the top priority for firms in the UK this term; yes, the added fuel duty wasn’t applied by the treasury this month, but that has only been postponed until August, as things stand.

One possible way to reduce spending is to issue its van drivers with fuel cards and only top up with affiliated diesel outlets. Not only will this ensure drivers think twice about excessively using fuel but it will also help organisations with large fleets budget for future months. It will also help to underline which of their vans are optimising fuel; if it is found that smaller vans far outweigh their larger cousins in fuel consumption, by changing their fleet accordingly, it will also help to cheapen the costs of their fleet van insurance in the long term, too.

Ongoing investigations by the industry leaders in recent years have started to drill down into areas of their fleet operations where real cost-savings can be made. Of these, approaching different van insurance providers with the promise of large numbers of commercial vehicles, with the added bonuses of the owners private vehicles qualifying in some instances, too, has essentially helped combat the rising cost of van insurance that has dogged fleet costs in recent times.

Although this aspect looks to continue despite OFT investigations, by shopping around with your vehicle portfolio can genuinely help cheapen existing premiums, as commercial vehicle insurance providers fight to gain market share from their competitors and as a measure to compete with van insurance comparison sites, which have helped keep repeat insurance prices unrealistically low.

By employing all of the correct procedures to keep outgoings to a minimum, one spokesman for the industry suggested that cost savings of 10-15% were achievable. With regular servicing, optimising cheap van insurance and keeping an eye on mileage and fuel costs, this is perhaps not too unrealistic. Whether or not the van insurance industry are allowed by the Office of Fair Trading to continue increasing their premiums will be a major factor in the final realisation of any cost savings fleet managers hope to achieve this year. We will see in Spring, when the final verdicts are announced.

To see if your van insurance premium is likely to change this year, we have researched some of the best brokers in the market place on this site; using our comparison facility, get a cheap van insurance quote in minutes for your business, this year.