Van insurance: the importance of third party cover

July 4th, 2011 | by admin |

Essentially insuring your van is the same as insuring your car. The main difference is the cost which will tend to be higher for vans. The process of choosing the cover will also be the same: you need to compare the cover provided and the price charged by different insurance companies and decide on the one that provides the best cover for an affordable price. It is a false economy to simply look for the cheapest cover which complies with legal minimums. The reason that the law is there is because of the real importance of certain forms of insurance, the reason why the insurance is important is not only because the law recognises its value and makes it mandatory: the law creates the obligation because there is a real need for it.

So, a satisfactory level of third party liability cover is the first thing to look at, and if your business cannot afford the premium for third party insurance that you think prudent, then have a look at umbrella policies. These provide protection for uninsured losses created when the victim of an accident claims more than the limit on the primary insurance.

After that, you need to think about who is likely to be using the van and for what purpose. It is important that all potential drivers have an absolutely clean driving record in terms of motoring offences and of claims. You cannot afford to pay the huge increase in the premium that will result from a driver with a poor record being employed in a position where they will sometimes drive a van. Make that part of your recruitment policy, if yours is the sort of business where drivers also do other jobs.

Then a commercial purpose will need a proper commercial van insurance policy covering properly for the risks associated with your particular business. A specialist provider will be the first port of call and if you need guidance as to where to look, then the trade association relevant to your particular line of business or trade ought to be able to help. Hopefully you are a member of that already and you should take advantage of this associated benefit.

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