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Running a van is becoming more expensive day by day, what with insurance, tax, petrol and the congestion charge for Londoners, many drivers feel like the cost is driving them off the road.
Find out how your premium is set
How does your van affect your premium?
How you can reduce your risks?
Choosing your insurer.
Paying your premium.
Honesty is crucial.
The most important part of keeping the cost of van insurance down is to understand how your insurer set your premium in the first place. The main three points taken into consideration are the level of cover, perceived risk and your insurer.
Each insurer will offer a different rate, this will vary depending on the level of cover required. Only Insurance can search 95% of the market and find the best policy and package available.
Only Insurance will consider your van when your premium is set, when purchasing a van it is important to take into consideration the price of insurance for your vehicle.
Choose carefully. Engine size and the cost of your vehicle will both influence your policy price, so if you haven’t purchased a vehicle yet keep in mind that expensive models or large, powerful engines will push up your policy price.
The most important thing when buying your van is that it runs well, is secure and not too flashy.
Cover needed. Covering yourself for less may initially appeal as you will see savings, but it also involves risking your security.
The minimum level of cover the law requires protects you from the liability of any damage caused by you to other people and their property. Upgrading to comprehensive cover will see an increase in the price of your policy, but will mean you are covered for any repairs to your car or medical treatment you need.
The level of cover will often depend on the vehicle you are insuring, an old and cheap van would be cheaper for you to pay for repairs yourself than purchasing comprehensive van insurance.
How much can you pay? A valuable tip for keeping the price of your insurance policy down is to pay for small claims yourself. If you claim on your policy for small expenses your premium price will increase unnecessarily.
Secure your van. If you seriously want to reduce the cost of your insurance premium you can improve the security features on your van. Ensuring your van has secure doors, ignition lock, immobilisers and alarm system will push down your policy price. Storing your van in a garage or driveway will lower your insurance premium, higher risk vans naturally carry a higher premium price.
Drive safely. Good driving will lower your risk from the insurer’s point of view, additional driving courses and a good driving record will keep your insurance costs to a minimum. The less mileage you have on your car and the less you drive day-to-day will also help keep your costs down.
Are you a good driver? Putting a sticker on your bumper that tells people to phone in if your driving is poor will also contribute to lowering your premium, people are willing to call these numbers after a bad experience and if you’re a safe driver you have nothing to fear.
No claims bonus. A no claims discount or bonus is offered by most insurers, if you haven’t made any insurance claims in previous years you can sometimes receive as much as a 70% discount. If the claims that have been counted against you are no-fault claims your no claims bonus is not affected.
Higher voluntary excess. A higher voluntary excess should you make a claim will keep your policy price as low as possible.
Using Only Insurance. Only Insurance can search 95% of the insurance market to offer customers the best policy, rates and package for the insurance deal they are searching for.
Renewals. When renewing your van insurance you can often get a cheaper price by reapplying for a new quote than renewing with the same insurer. Only Insurance can help by searching the marker to find the cheapest renewal price.
You can either pay your insurance premium in a one-off upfront payment, or through monthly direct debits. The cheapest way is a one-off payment as you will be charged interest on the amount you owe if you pay monthly. In the short-term it might seem easier to pay off your policy monthly, but this will be more costly to you in the long run.
If you really cannot afford to pay off your insurance in one lump sum, you could consider a credit card with a 0% interest rate, this will enable you to pay your insurance policy off in one go and pay off the credit card monthly, avoiding paying any interest.
Many people find it tempting to lie to their insurer in order to keep the cost of their policy down, this is illegal and expensive in the long term. If you are involved in an accident and your insurer finds out you were dishonest when taking out the policy your insurance may be invalid, making you liable for any costs.
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