One way to become popular with your family, friends and neighbors is to buy a van. There always seems to be someone needing something awkward or oversized carted somewhere. It’s easy to see how you could make money as a man and a van business. Vans can be used for both personal and commercial use but when it comes to insurance, there are no grey areas. It’s either commercial use or private use. Doing a favor for a friend using your private use van to earn a few extra dollars, will invalid your insurance. Right from the start you need to get the correct insurance cover for your intended use and stick carefully to its terms.
Types of Private Van Insurance Cover
Private van insurance is like insurance of any other personal vehicle. It has the same three levels of cover just like your car insurance.
- Third-party cover that covers loss or injury to other people, a third party, in case of an accident
- Third-party, fire and theft cover with recovery, in case your van is stolen or caught fire along with any loss incurred by a third party
- Fully comprehensive cover which covers any damage to the can and people involved in the accident within the insurance limits
Reducing the Cost of Private Van Insurance
There are ways of reducing the cost of private van insurance. Some of them are,
- Reducing your premiums by voluntarily paying a higher excess amount even before your insurance provider covers the claim.
- Smaller vans are easier to handle and are assumed as low-risk vehicles so its insurance cost is lesser than high risk bigger vans.
- Drive safely and sensibly to reduce your insurance cost. Typically, telematics or a black box are installed in your vehicle by an insurance company to assess your driving. Scoring well on telematics helps reduce premium costs.
- Vans are a bigger vehicle so avoid driving them unnecessarily since vehicles with less than the expected mileage have lesser premiums.
- The more secure your vehicle results in a lower premium. As there are fewer chances of a vehicle being stolen when equipped with the latest security measures such as locks and immobilizers.
- Allocate an appropriate space for parking your van in a garage or secured parking plazas. Parking your vehicle in a secure location reduces insurance risk.
- Annual payments are always more cost-effective than monthly installments where you have to pay a higher monthly interest rate which significantly increases the insurance cost.
- Some insurance providers also provide discounts to annual insurance payers which helps reduce future premiums.
- Some insurance providers also provide discounts if the driver has taken a certified driving course.
Saying no to a few bucks offered by a friend moving house is a small price to pay, if you want to keep your private use insurance valid. But when it comes to doing favors, the biggest one you can do, is for yourself by shopping around for the best van deals and taking steps to make sure you understand the conditions. Going to van insurance websites like Moneyexpert.com can help immensely. You alone are responsible for having the correct van insurance for your needs. Anything less, and you may as well of not bothered. In the event of an accident, neither you nor your cargo will be covered.
