There's a new kind of van driver in town, and it's the woman kind, so it seems.

If someone was speaking to you about a 'van driver,' you'd automatically assume that the driver was a man.

This is because men have always been associated with driving bigger vehicles such as vans and trucks compared to women who are linked to the smaller vehicles.

According to recent figures however, this may soon be a thing of the past.

Recent research has found that the percentage of women who are taking to the roads in vans zooms way past the percentage of male van drivers.

Women raising van enquiries

A recent van study by, Swinton, one of the UK's leading providers of van insurance, stated that it has seen a 23 per cent rise in the number of enquiries for van insurance made by women in just two years.

From what used to be a man's kind of vehicle, another study by the AA discovered that over a third of commercial van drivers are now women.

The increase in "Fem-Van" drivers is due to the growing number of women working in trade professions such as electricians or plumbers, or for their own businesses such as deliveries.

A further study found that 53 per cent of the third of female van drivers are self employed compared to just 44 per cent of self employed male drivers.

Phil Moss, Commercial Vehicle Manager at Swinton, said: "The female van insurance market has seen a dramatic increase over the past few years as more women take their businesses to the roads. Our research has shown that female van drivers are highly responsible on the roads and very courteous to other motorists."

Van appeal

Aware of the increase in the number of female van drivers hitting the roads, van manufacturers are now tailoring their vehicles to appeal to both men and women."

The study by Swinton found that 78 per cent of 1,000 women preferred white vans, which proved to be the most popular colour, followed by 17 per cent opting for silver.

And shockingly, only one female out of the 1,000 who participated, admitted to driving a pink van.

But something that's not so shocking is the cost of van insurance for women.

When it comes to insurance, men have always faced higher car insurance premiums compared to women as according to insurers, women are considered to be a lower 'risk' as they are more cautious and vigilant.

And if women do end up in an accident, their claims are most likely to be minor dents and scratches compared to claims made from those of the male generation.

As with women being offered cheaper car insurance compared to men, van insurance for women is also cheaper as a number of van insurance providers and specialist firms provide discounts especially for females.