Have you ever thought that you are receiving surprisingly perhaps even astoundingly low cost van insurance? Unfortunately, just like many other things that appear too good to be true, ridiculously low cost van insurance can sometimes be deceptive.

This was the case recently for a 28-year-old Scottish man who took his partner's Nissan van out to run some errands only to be stopped by police and informed that he was driving without insurance.

However, the man was stunned, adamant that he was a named driver on his partner's policy and was therefore driving perfectly within the law. Police double-checked the insurance details of the vehicle and informed the man that unfortunately he was mistaken: only one driver was legally entitled to be driving the van, and that driver was not him.

As such, the man had to appear before a court where, despite claiming that his partner had told the insurance company to include him on the policy, he received a £500 fine and five penalty points on his driving license, which brought the total number on his licence to 11.

It seems that the man might have been telling the truth when he claimed that he thought he was not doing anything illegal; it turns out that he was a named driver on one of his partner's low cost van insurance policies, only it was a different van altogether – a Ford Transit Van.

"There was some uncertainty as to whether he had been added to that policy," said a police spokesperson. "It's fair to say the insurance company has a different version of the conversation they had to [the driver's] version."

"He would say there was a misunderstanding. His partner owns a Ford Transit van, which is insured for him. He has stated it was not deliberate flouting, if he wished to drive he would have driven the van. He would say it was a misunderstanding as to whether he had been added to the policy."

The Takeaway

However true the driver's story in the case described above, the incident should be a reminder to all of us not to make certain assumptions without first checking all the relevant documentation.

Sure, low cost van insurance policies are not everyone's favoured reading material, but it does only take a few minutes to verify that you have been included on a policy. Doing so can save you a fine, penalty points and a bill for prosecution costs.