But there are times when things might not be so clear cut. What if you only occasionally use your van for commercial purposes? Does commuting count as personal or business use?
In this post we’ll outline the key differences between personal and commercial van insurance, to help you decide what sort of cover is right for you if you use your van for both work and personal driving.
What is Personal Van Insurance?
A van insurance policy for personal use will cover you for ‘social, domestic, and pleasure’ use only. This is cover for your everyday driving: The school run, shopping excursions, a weekend road trip, or transporting the equipment you use in pursuit of your hobbies or interests.
It’s important to note that a van insurance policy for personal use will only cover you for everyday non-work related driving. If you use your van in any capacity for work purposes, then you will need a commercial van insurance policy.
Will Personal Van Insurance Cover Commuting?
It depends on the level of cover you’ve chosen. If you have Social, Domestic and Pleasure insurance, you won’t be covered for driving to and from work.
To be covered for regular commutes to a single workplace, you’ll need Social, Domestic, Pleasure and Commuting insurance. Without this, any journey to or from work won’t be insured.
What is Commercial Van Insurance?
Commercial van insurance might also be known as business van insurance. You will need this cover if you drive your van for ‘business use’, for example, as a labourer, courier, delivery driver, florist, dog walker.
You can read our full guide to business use.
Consider: Do I Need Commercial Van Insurance?
There are a number of grey areas, particularly around mixed use. Here are a number of examples of when you’ll need to consider commercial van insurance:
- If you use your van as part of a house move, then you should be fine with a personal use van insurance policy. However, if you use your van to help others move, and you charge them money for the service, then you’ll need commercial van insurance.
- If you occasionally use your van for business purposes, then you will need commercial van insurance. For example, you may own a campervan that you mainly use for leisure activities, but you sometimes use it for deliveries.
- If you use your van to transport goods, equipment you use as part of your job, or even for hobbies that generate an income, then you’ll need to specify this with your insurer.
What Happens If I Don’t Have The Right Type of Cover?
If you use your van for business purposes in any capacity, then it carries a different risk then if you just used your van for social, domestic, and pleasure use and commuting to a single place of work. This is why commercial van insurance policies usually cost more than van insurance policies for personal use.
If you currently have a van insurance policy for personal use but intend to start using it for business purposes, then you will need to add the right business use to your current policy.
It is vital that you tell your insurer exactly how you intend to use your vehicle otherwise you may find that you don’t have the cover you need should you ever make a claim on your policy.
Get a van insurance quote now or make a change to your existing policy in your customer account.
