Help Lower Your Van Insurance

The UK is now officially in recession. The credit crunch is biting hard which means that an increase in theft of people’s home contents and vehicle contents is likely to increase. Opportunist thieves will be looking to grab Sat Navs, mobiles, tools, CD players-basically anything they can lay their hands which sell fast on the black market to make easy cash.

Perceptions that it’s only drug users looking for cash to get a quick fix is still true, however, there are many people who are struggling to make ends meet who may be joining in on the smash and grab brigade-especially if people continue to make their theft easy by leaving their vehicles unlocked and their possessions in full view.

Simple steps can mean the difference between you and your van being targeted. Stickers telling would be thieves that ‘no tools or equipment left onboard overnight’ may just deter them-or at least make them think twice. Having said that there’s absolutely point having a sticker like that and then leaving your tools or equipment onboard! Being a statistic in vehicle crime is a ’label’ you can definitely do without.

Are you aware that having such a sticker-and taking your gear out of your van each night-can actually help to lower your van insurance premiums? Insurance companies welcome customers who take a positive and active approach in trying to reduce vehicle crime.

It’s certainly worth checking your policy or phoning your insurance company to see whether they do reward-by lowering the cost-those who are fed up with being targeted by opportunist thieves.

Taking Positive Steps i the Credit Crunch

Finding cheap van insurance has never been easier, simply go on-line and let the search engines work their magic. A whole host of different insurance companies and brokers are currently offering some very competitive deals and with the credit crunch hitting many businesses now is the time to take a look at what is being offered at the most competitive rates.

There are a number of things that you can do to help reduce your insurance costs further still. Many insurance companies will offer discounts if you add a company logo to the side of your vehicle, there is no need for expensive art work and flashy designs, it is a matter of showing the insurance folk that you use your van as part of your business. A logo may also help to distinguish your van from the ‘white van man’ syndrome which is still being bandied about by many people.

Fitting immobilisers and alarms may also help cut the cost of your insurance, removing expensive tools and equipment from your van each night may become tedious, however, you can bet your bottom dollar that the night you don’t remove them the thieves will strike and you will be left high and dry with no gear to work with. Many van insurance policies will cover tools and equipment and although you may think it unnecessary to include them consider how much it would cost to replace just a few tools, let alone the time it will take trudging round the shops trying to find replacements.

Van Drivers Among the Safest on UK Roads

Recent studies carried out by Tesco in the UK has rated van drivers as among the safest drivers on the UK’s roads. These ratings may be somewhat surprising to many due to the ‘White Van man‘ reputations which the majority of van drivers are saddled with.

The study revealed that fewer van insurance claims where made in comparison to other vehicle insurance policy holders. This study also indicated that the ratings would obviously be welcomed by van drivers and earn them more respect from insurance companies. Why am I not really that surprised that the increase in women van drivers has been attributed to helping the notorious ‘bad’ van driving become a thing of the past?

Credit Crunch

Perhaps the credit crunch will help us all to see a decline in reckless driving from van drivers, as companies will simply not be able to afford financially to have vans, their drivers and goods damaged by stupidity and incompetent driving.

Fully comprehensive van insurance may provide courtesy vans to help transport goods and cover the cost of damaged goods, but will it help to re-build reputation after clients have been let down? I somehow doubt it, it may be worth remembering that clients can be very fickle, let them down once and they’ll be looking for someone else within hours! It’s a ‘dog eat dog’ world out there, so making sure you have competent drivers and fully comprehensive van insurance is an absolute must if you or your company are going to be ‘top dog’!