Van insurance premiums return to pre-pandemic levels

• The average annual van insurance premium has risen 2.3% in six months  
• But prices are only 0.1% higher than they were 12 months ago. 

In the first half of 2020, UK van drivers benefited from falling average insurance premiums as a result of people driving less due to the restrictions in place. However, increases in the last six months mean the average premium now sits 0.1% higher than it was 12 months ago, according to research by acclaimed insight business, Consumer Intelligence.  

Harriet Devonald, product manager at Consumer Intelligence says: “Premiums quickly recovered as many businesses went back to work from June last year. It remains to be seen how this new national lockdown will affect insurance prices. 

“Given the new, recent tighter restrictions placed on areas all over the country, times still remain uncertain and so may well impact driving habits and, in turn, premiums. 

“As always, though, premiums will be impacted by claim frequencies and severity.” 

Average premiums have now increased 37.4% since April 2014 when Consumer Intelligence first started collecting data. The average annual policy for a UK van driver now stands at £1,116. 

Within the age demographics this increase has been far from uniform, however. In fact, younger drivers aged under 25 have seen their insurance premiums fall 12.5% over the period. While those aged 25-49 and the over-50s have borne the brunt of the price rises, with increases to their policies of 52.3% and 53.1%, respectively. 

Drivers using their vans for business (£1,135) are now paying slightly more for their premiums than those who use their vehicles as a car substitute (£1,059).  

Business users have seen the cost of van insurance rise 1.1% over the last year; those using their vans as a car substitute – under a ‘social, domestic and pleasure’ (SDP) policy – have witnessed a 2.7% fall to their annual premiums in the same 12-month period.  

Younger van drivers aged under 25 continue to benefit from plummeting premiums – with 14.4% falls in the last 12 months alone. But a lack of any great telematics presence in the van market continues to keep insurance costs prohibitively high for our youngest demographic – at £3,683 for an annual policy. 

It is a different story for our other two age groups. Similar-sized increases – of 4.4% for those aged 25-49 and 4.5% for the over50s – meant premiums ticked upwards for both groups over the last 12 months. Motor insurance now typically costs £509 for an over-50s van driver, while for those aged 25-49 it is £783.