What Van Insurance to Consider Based on Your Trade
If you own and drive a van as part of your job, then you will need specific insurance in order to cover both your van and any contents. However, this isn’t quite as black and white as choosing between domestic or commercial cover.
There are in fact 3 different types of commercial insurance that you could be covered by depending on the context of your job. We have listed these below, explaining which policies are best suited to which trades.
The 5 Types of Van Insurance
In total, there are 5 different types of van insurance you can get, these being:
- Social only
- Social and commuting
- Carriage of own goods
- Carriage of own goods for hire or reward
- Haulage
The first two of these are simply domestic forms of cover, covering leisure use and your commute to a permanent place of work, respectively.
The latter three, as we have highlighted in bold, are all forms of commercial or business cover, which are the ones we will be focusing on.
Van Insurance for Commercial + Business Purposes
Carriage of Own Goods
If you have a carriage of own goods insurance policy for your van, this simply covers any and all of your personal tools and equipment that you need to effectively carry out your job.
For example, if you are a plumber, any equipment you own (such as plunges, wrenches, augers, cutters etc.) that you use or may require when called out to complete a job will be covered by this insurance.
This insurance is best for independent trade workers (e.g. electricians, locksmiths and cleaners) or owners of some mobile businesses (such as hairdressers or dog groomers), since the goods within your van are owned by you and are not being sold/exchanged for profit, rather your profit comes from your service.
Carriage of Own Goods for Hire or Reward
Also known as courier van insurance, carriage of own goods for hire or reward insurance policies differ from carriage of own goods policies in that they cover you if you are delivering goods in your van belonging to other people, in exchange for money.
This is the insurance most delivery drivers or domestic couriers will need to use, as well as taxi drivers, which is particularly due to two things:
- The frequency of deliveries – if you require this cover, you will likely make frequent drop-offs throughout the day in multiple destinations; and
- The range of goods – couriers and taxi drivers will often carry a range of goods in their vans and will not be aware of what these all are.
Haulage
Haulage insurance is also suited for delivery drivers and couriers. Although, while it is very similar to courier van insurance, it is specific to people making deliveries to an established clientele, typically operating on a pre-booked schedule or by appointments. Couriers who require haulage insurance will also know exactly what they’re carrying.
In which case, haulage insurance is best suited to you if you are a delivery driver who is contracted to deliver to one or more specific companies and tend to regularly make the same journey to each of these every so many weeks.
Van Suppliers
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