what kind of insurance do i need to drive a van for living?
i want to go sel-femployed, sell my car and buy a van to simply transport packages etc. like for example people posting adverts they need to transport a bike from hull to birmingham. i tried to get a quote for insurance and got completly lost. the best quote so far was for 4800!!!(even when i was a second driver and my old man with no claims discounts as 1st) this is too expensive i mean i know im young but never had an accident etc. so i went on churchill page today and they gave me quote for van insurance for 1200 pounds which is acceptable but i'm not sure if this is the policy i need for this kind of work...any ideas on the insurance?
You as second driver and dad as main is fraud. Fronting is the term used. Even if you did this and got away with it, unless dad is getting rid of his car he cannot use the NCB on the van as it can be on one policy at a time. He would have to prove that he has the NCB which he will not be able to do with the car policy in force - so no help anyway.
You need commercial insurance and the type depends on what you plan to do and what you plan to carry.
If you will be a courier, taking anything at short notice to anywhere, you need courier insurance. I had that for a 2.7 tonne (small) Renault Trafic 18 months ago and at 47 it cost me £800 a year as a courier.
If you are doing pre-planned haulage work then it will be cheaper.
You will also need "Goods in Transit" insurance.this will depend on what the goods are. if you want cover to knowingly carry high value items like phones, jewellry, spirits etc it will be around £500. If you exclude knowingly carrying those it will be more like £200 a year. If you want to do subcontract work for other carriers you will have to have this and along with your properly, (not fraudulently) set up van insurance they will insist on seeing proof before usiong you.
If you are sometimes working with the general public or if subcontracting then you also really need "Public Liability" insurance - £200 ish a year.
The van insurance is like car cover just more expensive and will be determined by the same things like age, licence history, where you live, where it is kept overnight etc. A small Peugeot 206 van will typically cost twice as much as an equivalent car to insure.
