Many businesses are reliant on their vans and not all of these are sole traders. If you've got a single van but you regularly need other people to be able to drive it, standard van driver insurance might not be the right choice. You might be better off with any driver van insurance.

Any driver van insurance allows you to insure multiple drivers on one policy, giving you more flexibility and freedom so that your business won't be disrupted by unexpected accidents and allowing your customers to remain confident they can rely on you. While standard van insurance typically allows you to name up to four other drivers to be covered to drive your van, once you've named them, you're stuck. If they move on, or you decide that you no longer want them to drive your van, you'll have to call up your insurer and remove them. Then you'll have to make another call when you want to add someone new. All these changes are also likely to carry admin fees and these can soon ramp up. 

Is any driver van insurance right for me? 

The obvious advantage of any driver van insurance is that it enables you to allow more than one person to drive your vehicle and they don't need to be pre-named. So, effectively, if you were at a site and busy working, you could ask someone else to drive your van to go and get parts for you. With more than one driver insured to drive a company vehicle, you're less restricted and you'll have the freedom to keep your van on the road with any driver at any time. This can be a lot more preferable than having just a handful of named drivers tied to one van, meaning that if they're not available for a job, no one else can drive.

One downside is that any driver van insurance tends to be more expensive than standard van insurance, particularly if anyone on your workforce is relatively young and inexperienced. Still, it is likely to be less costly than alternative options for insuring multiple drivers, and the chances are that it could be right for you and your business if you require the maximum amount of flexibility.

Young drivers and any driver van insurance

Age is a huge factor in the cost of any driver van insurance. The problem that some businesses run into is that, while any driver van insurance offers their business increased freedom, their quote may end up being extremely costly if some of their drivers are under 21 or even 25. This is because younger drivers are considered by underwriters to be more of a risk on the roads than their older colleagues, with statistics showing a higher likelihood of them being the at-fault party in an accident.

Ensuring all drivers are over the age of 25 is a good place to start if you want to get the lowest possible price on your insurance. Some insurers may even stipulate that no one under the age of 21 can drive your van and this is something you'll need to check when taking out an any driver van insurance policy.

Other types of van insurance for greater flexibility

As we mentioned earlier, standard van insurance will allow you to name a fixed number of other drivers for your van. You will need to provide their driving details to the insurer before you can register them on your van insurance policy, but when the provider knows who will be driving, it generally makes the price of cover cheaper than fully-flexible any driver van insurance.

Most small businesses probably won't need more than four drivers on a single policy, so named driver insurance might be the best way to go, especially if all the additional drivers are experienced drivers over 21 or over 25 -  this option provides a certain amount of flexibility and helps keep the cost of cover affordable.

Temporary van insurance

Temporary driver van insurance is another way of enabling flexibility. Many policies include a provision to allow you to name new, temporary drivers of your van, even at short notice and there are also a number of companies that offer immediate cover, even for just a few hours. Sometimes these facilities can seem expensive, but in an emergency, it can be a way to keep your van on the road.

Get a cost-effective quote for van insurance today

Whatever your circumstances, iVan compares quotes from our leading UK insurance partners including; AXA, LV, Zurich, Ageas, Covea and many more, to find the best possible price on any driver van insurance for you.

With a quote engine that finds the best van insurance deals from the UK's most trusted and best value insurers, iVan can help you find a deal that works for you, on your terms.

Get a quote or call 0345 6461396 for a really competitive van insurance quote today.

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