Temporary van insurance allows you to get covered on someone else’s van on a short-term basis. Policies differ dependent upon the insurance provider, but typically you could get from 1 hour to 30 days cover.
It’s a useful and flexible option to have, for instance if you’re moving to a new house and are lucky enough to have a friend who has a van you could borrow you would be able to get covered on it and save the extra expense of hiring a vehicle.
What are the benefits of short-term van insurance?
Higher level of cover
Temporary van insurance is something entirely separate to the annual policy on the vehicle. Short term insurance providers typically offer full comprehensive cover as standard. This is beneficial as annual insurance policies would usually only cover additional drivers with third party only insurance, the legal minimum which only covers other people, vehicles and property in the event of an accident.
Protects No Claims Discount
Considering the policy is entirely separate, the vehicle owner’s No Claims Discount is not affected.
Flexibility
Temporary van cover gives you much greater flexibility than that of an annual policy. You could take out insurance as and when you need it to borrow or loan a vehicle. It may be a quicker option than getting added to someone else’s policy, which would not be ideal for a one-off use.
Can I use short term van insurance on my own vehicle?
Generally, temporary van insurance is used on a vehicle you would want to borrow, but there’s no reason you can’t get a policy for your own van. You may find you only use the vehicle occasionally and an annual van policy isn’t necessary, a better option would be to pay for insurance when you need it.
However, it’s illegal to have an uninsured vehicle in the UK so you’ll need a Statuary Off Road Notification (SORN). A SORN is written permission from the DVLA to keep your vehicle off the road and uninsured. You could then use short term car insurance to insure the vehicle when you need it. When your policy ends you will then need to declare a new SORN.
For more information about SORN, read the Government’s guidelines.
Why might you need short term van insurance?
There are many scenarios where short-term van insurance could be useful. You may be moving to a new house and need a van at your disposal for a week. This could be a more cost-effective option than hiring a van.
Or you may need to hire a van if none of your friends or family have one at their disposal. Many hire companies expect you to have your own insurance covered for the vehicle or they may offer insurance as a package at a much higher rate. This is where a short-term cover would be beneficial.
When taking out a short-term policy, always check the terms and conditions to ensure you have the cover you require for the length of period you need. If you have purchased a policy for the incorrect time-span you could be unknowingly driving uninsured.