VanInsurance

Buying Van Insurance for Multiple Businesses

Owning a van is a huge investment for self-employed business owners and they will often seek to maximise their savings. Because vans are so versatile, one way to increase your income is to use your van for more than one business, and entrepreneurs often operate multiple businesses. This may have an impact on your van insurance rates.

The Drivers

When you own a van for business use, you can insure the van rather than a specific person. This is as long as you have a policy that insures your van for business use. This means that a number of different drivers can operate your van without being named on the insurance policy. This may be quite beneficial if you have a high turnover of drivers or they work on a more temporary basis, but your premium will be quite high.

If you have several drivers regularly working for you, it might be cheaper to add them as named drivers on your policy. As long as they have good driving histories, you could make savings on your premiums. However, if one of them has a bad driving history with claims against them or points on their licence, this method may actually add to the cost of your premium.

Van Usage

There are different levels of coverage depending on what purpose you require your van for. If you originally take out your van insurance as a 'sole trader', and then you expand to use the van for 'business use', you must inform your insurance company that your usage has changed. Your premium is likely to go up as your commercial usage increases, but if you get into an accident and have to make a claim, and your insurance does not match the usage of the van given on the policy, your insurer will not pay out. In this eventuality you may find yourself at a serious financial disadvantage, without a van or the means to pay for a replacement.

When applying for van insurance, you will be asked about the type of business or businesses you operate. You should not need separate van insurance for running two businesses out of one van as it is the van which is insured, not the business. However, whichever business provides the most risk to the insurance company is the one which will determine the cost of your policy. For example, if you ran a stationary food business during the day, but used the van as a courier service at night, the courier service may have more risk attached to it due to being on the roads more actively.

In addition, it is important to note that some types of business are not covered by all insurers. For example, if you branched out into the entertainment and fashion industry with your van, you may find your original policy void as this type of business is often excluded from commercial van insurance policies. To avoid any confusion or the possibility of your insurance being voided, make sure you consult with your insurance company to make sure you are covered for your new or additional business ventures.

There are now many insurance companies that specialise in coverage for commercial van usage. They will be able to advise you on the type of policy you need which is best suited to your business needs. They can often provide optional extras which are specific to your business or businesses, and your cover can be designed for your unique circumstances. Approaching an insurance specialist is the best option when buying van insurance for multiple businesses.

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