UK van owners feel the pinch of rising insurance costs

• The cost of the average van insurance policy has increased by 18.9% over the last year.
• The average quoted cost of van insurance in the UK now stands at £1,127.

Van owners across the UK are facing ever-increasing insurance costs, with the average annual van insurance policy rising by an eye-watering 18.9% over the last 12 months, according to the latest Consumer Intelligence data.

Ongoing claims inflation, as well as rules introduced back in January by the Financial Conduct Authority to put an end to the practice of price walking, have all contributed to rising insurance costs for motorists in the last 12 months.

“The recent decline in the value of the pound has served to exacerbate the rate of claims inflation, so we may well see policies rise further until we reach a point of stabilisation,” says Harriet Devonald, product manager at Consumer Intelligence.

The average cost of van insurance in the UK now stands at £1,127.

Long-term view

Average premiums have now increased 56.8% since April 2014 when Consumer Intelligence first started collecting data.
Prices are at their highest point since our records began.

Types of cover

Drivers using their vans as a car substitute (£1,159) – under ‘social, domestic and pleasure’ (SDP) policies – continue to pay slightly more for their premiums than those who use their vans for business (£1,117).

Prices for both SDP drivers and business users have risen at broadly similar rates over the last 12 months, at 18.4% and 19.0% respectively.

Age differences

Our older age demographics have witnessed the biggest increases to their van insurance policies in the last 12 months.

The over-50s have seen insurance costs soar by more than a fifth (20.2%), with van drivers aged 25-49 (19.2%) recording similar rises. Younger van drivers under the age of 25 saw their policies increase 15.2% over the same period.

A typical annual policy for a van driver under the age of 25 remains prohibitively high at £3,060. For those aged 25-49 premiums are now, on average, £887. While for the over-50s, an annual policy costs just £627.