What is private van insurance?

Private use van insurance (also known as personal or non commercial van insurance) insures you to use your van in a personal (i.e. non business) capacity on UK roads.

When you insure your van for social, domestic and pleasure purposes you’ll be covered for any personal, or non commercial use of the van.

What’s classed as personal van use?

Examples of private van use include:

• Day trips and holidays
• Shopping
• Hobbies
• Visiting friends
• The school run
• Driving your van for fun

The social, domestic and pleasure class of van use is strictly limited to private use only. If you use your van for any commercial or business-related activity, you’ll need to take out a commercial van insurance policy.

SDP only van insurance excludes driving to and from a place of work.

Private van insurance with commuting

What if you also want to commute in a private van?

If you use your private van for commuting to and from a single place of work, you’ll need to select the “social, domestic, pleasure & commuting" option. This will insure all the private van driving that comes under the social only category, but will also cover the commute to and from a permanent place of work.

When you choose a private van insurance with commuting policy, it’s likely that you’ll be spending more time on the road at peak hours. This means more risk for your insurer, and usually increases the cost of your personal van insurance policy.

What are the other classes of van insurance?

Most of the 4.5 million vans on UK roads are used commercially, in connection with a business activity. They are covered by two additional classes of van insurance:

• Business use for carriage of own goods
• Business use for carriage of goods for hire or reward (haulage)

You can find more information about these usage classes on our business van insurance page.

If you’ll be using your van for any business-related activity, you can also compare quotes for these usage classes at Biker Insure.

What’s covered on a private use van insurance policy?

Private van insurance, just like car or motorbike insurance, has three levels of cover. This is the same whether you choose social domestic and pleasure only, or opt to include commuting on your personal van insurance policy:

Windscreen Cover – Provides cover for the repair of chips, cracks or a replacement windscreen. Some providers may also cover side windows and sunroofs.

Breakdown – There are different levels of cover available. Most providers offer roadside assistance as standard, but some policies may also include recovery, home start and onward journey.

Courtesy Van – Typically provided if you use the insurance providers approved repairer. Subject to availability, courtesy van cover often excludes claims where the van is written off or stolen.

Legal Cover – Provides assistance with the recovery of uninsured losses in the event of a non-fault accident e.g. personal injury, excess recovery, and loss of earnings.

Personal Accident – Provides cover if there is an accident in which the policy holder is at fault – typically for serious injury and death. Claims limits can vary, and some policies may include other drivers and passengers.

You won’t see the following optional extras on the comparison results page, but some personal van insurance policies can add:

Key Replacement – Provides cover if your van keys are lost or stolen.

Driving Abroad – Provides cover when driving your van in the EU, typically for up to 90 days per trip.

Wrong Fuel – You’ll be covered for repairs to your van if you accidentally fill up with the wrong fuel type.

These can be added on the insurers website before you buy, if available.

If you've added any optional extras to the comparison, you may also need to add or reapply these on the providers site before you purchase your policy.

Remember to check your policy details and extras with your insurance provider, as cover can vary between providers.

You can also choose whether you want to protect the No Claims Bonus earned on your private van.

What factors affect the price of personal use van insurance?

Non commercial van insurance quotes are based on a number of variables personal to you and the van you drive. They can include:

• Van make, model, age & value
• Where you keep the van, and security measures
• Your age and where you live
• Your occupation
• Your claims and driving history
• How you use the van
• The amount of voluntary excess applied
• How many years No Claims Bonus you have

The important thing to remember is that personal van insurance is specific to your individual circumstances and the van you drive.

The only way to find out how much your policy will cost based on your own personal situation is to get a quote:

How to get cheap personal use van insurance

Comparing personal van insurance quotes is one of the best ways to find a cheap van insurance for private use policy.

Because you can compare 60+ van insurers in the same place, we think you’ll stand a really good chance of finding the cheapest and best van insurance deals for your personal circumstances. And with all the quotes compared in just a few minutes, you’ll certainly save a lot of time when compared to getting personal van insurance quotes from all the brokers directly.

Here are some more tips for cheaper private van insurance:

Don’t overestimate your mileage – Think carefully about how many personal use miles you’ll realistically do per year in your van. If unsure, it can help to look at your old MOT’s. It’s often the case that you can find cheaper quotes if you enter a lower mileage, because the risk is lower.

Remember that if you think you’ll exceed your stated mileage, you’ll need to tell your insurer.

Think about a voluntary excess – All private van insurance policies have a compulsory excess to pay in the event of a claim. This varies from insurer to insurer, but you can also elect to add a voluntary excess on top of this. The higher the excess you choose, the lower your premiums should be.

Remember that you’ll have to pay more in the event of a claim, so factor this into your decision accordingly.

Do you need such a big van? – The answer is probably a definite “yes”, but be aware that smaller vans are not only usually cheaper to buy and run, but they’re also often cheaper to insure than bigger and more powerful vans.

Parking location – Most residential garages can’t accommodate bigger, high roof, or long wheel base vans. But if you have a suitable garage, make sure you use it. If not, try to park on your private property/driveway as savings can be had over simply parking up on the road overnight.

Security – Trackers, alarms, immobilisers and high security locks could drive down the cost of your personal van insurance. If you already have extra security fitted, be sure to let your insurer know to see if any extra discounts are available.

Pay annually – If you can afford to, it’s cheaper to pay for your private van insurance annually because monthly payments typically charge interest.

No Claims Discount – Your NCB is key variable in securing cheap personal van insurance. Significant savings can be accrued, so try to build – and keep – your bonus intact.

Don’t modify if you don’t need to – Even simple modifications can affect your quotes. Avoid the temptation to modify, and keep your private van as standard as possible.

Take an advanced driving course – If you’re a member of the IAM or have another advanced driving qualification, you could be seen as a safer and less risky driver.

How much is personal van insurance

If you’re driving a van for social reasons only, the costs for personal van insurance can be similar to an equivalent or comparable car.

How to compare private van insurance

There are three sections to fill in when comparing private van insurance:

Section 1 - Van Details – You’ll need to answer questions about your van. These include how much it’s worth, any modifications, where it’s kept overnight, what you’ll use it for (SDP only or SDP + commuting), and what your annual mileage is.

Section 2 – About You – Details including your name, age, address, occupation and licence details.

Section 3 – The Cover – This is where you’ll say when you’d like the private van policy to start, what level of cover you want, plus voluntary excess amounts and the amount of van NCD you hold.

This process should only take a few minutes. The system will then compare 60+ van insurers, ranked from cheapest to most expensive. You’ll also be able to see at a glance the compulsory/voluntary excess amounts, and policy extras.

If you need to make any alterations to see how they affect the quotes (such as the type of cover or your voluntary excess amount), you can easily get a re-quote without needing to fill everything in a second time.

Once you have compared private van insurance, you can either choose to buy online via the providers website, or purchase over the phone. Remember to check the details of your personal van insurance cover and any extras before you buy.

Van licence for private use

You can drive a van up to 3.5 tonnes (3,500kg) with a standard driving licence. If you passed your test after 1 January 1997, you might need to take extra tests to drive vans weighing between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes. It’s the same whether using the van for personal or business reasons.

Private van speed limits

Vans have lower speed limits than cars on UK roads – even when only driven in a personal capacity.

If you're using your van for personal use and not carrying large payloads or tools, It can be all too easy to forget you're driving a van (especially modern, quiet, fast ones) - and to drive at the same speeds as you would in a regular car.

Bear in mind that national speed limits for vans (unless a car derived van) in the UK are:

• Single carriageways - 50mph
• Dual carriageways - 60mph
• Motorways - 70mph

Is my vehicle classed as a van or a car?

If you’re driving a van, you’ll need a van insurance policy - whether for business or pleasure purposes. It can sometimes be confusing what your vehicle is classed as, especially as some vans can look a lot like cars and vice versa.

If you’re unsure, you can check your logbook – or enter your reg number at the vehicle enquiry service: www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk where you'll be able to see the type approval details of your van.

✅ If your vehicle is a van, it will be in class N1 – light goods vehicles up to 3,500kgs.

✅ If it’s a car, it will be class M1 – passenger cars.

Why use Biker Insure to compare private van insurance?

Although our speciality is motorbike insurance, as van afficionados we also provide access to a comparison service for private van insurance. The system compares what we think is a market leading 60+ different van insurance providers, so we’re confident that you’ll find a policy to suit your needs and budget.

We’re independently owned, completely impartial and love to save van owners money too!

Discover cheap van insurance for personal use by comparing quotes today:

Private van FAQ's

*51% of consumers could save £581.67 on their Van Insurance. The saving was calculated by comparing the cheapest price found with the average of the next four cheapest prices quoted by insurance providers on Seopa Ltd’s insurance comparison website. This is based on representative cost savings from June 2023. The savings you could achieve are dependent on your individual circumstances.