Direct Line are asking all van owners to make sure they have the correct insurance cover otherwise they could find themselves out of pocket in the case of a claim.
Most van drivers use their vehicles for commercial purposes so it is vital that they get the correct van insurance that covers business use. Another aspect that many drivers of vans fail to appreciate is that it is classified as a place of work and so the smoking ban is in force. Drivers can be fined up to GBP2,500 for this warn Direct Line.
Van insurance has become much more competitive in recent years, with companies such as Direct Line recognising the increased demand for cover and therefore developing their products accordingly.
The view of Swinton, the biggest insurance broker on the high street, is that drivers with six points plus on their licence will soon be the norm, categorised as standard.
With the advent of the speed camera and the often scandalously low speeds at which they are set to trigger, Swinton feel it is not right to automatically penalise drivers because of these points. Bearing in mind the fact that approximately six million drivers have points on their licence, which is over ten percent of the whole population of the country, the approach from the insurer seems a very fair and sensible one.
Swinton are taking the view that the driver with six points on their licence today is as safe as the one who had three points five years ago and no points ten years ago. We just hope other insurers follow suit.
Drivers who omit to mention previous drink driving convictions could well find their car insurance is invalid should a claim be made say Norwich Union.
A Norwich Union representative understood that a conviction for drink driving would increase a drivers car insurance premium considerably but by choosing not to declare it at all would cost much more when the cover was deemed invalid. Such a conviction would certainly come to light when a claim was made so it is in the drivers interests to declare it upon buying the insurance cover.
Should a person be found not to have declared something such as this and then had their cover terminated this information would be held on a central car insurance database explained Norwich Union, which would increase the premium still further.