Van insurance premiums are beginning to rise again after a year of falling prices, signalling a potential turning point in the market, according to the latest Van Insurance Price Index from Consumer Intelligence.
Average quoted premiums fell by 6.0% over the past 12 months, but increased by 2.3% in the last quarter, indicating that insurers are starting to push prices back up.
The average of the five cheapest quotes (Rank 1–5) on price comparison websites stood at £1,674 in February 2026, down from £1,728 a year earlier, but rising in recent months as market conditions shift.
The data shows a widening gap between age groups, with younger drivers continuing to face significantly higher premiums despite recent reductions.
Under-25s: down 8.1% year-on-year, but up 3.5% in the last three months
Ages 25–49: down 5.2% annually, up 2.7% quarterly
Over-50s: down 8.1% annually, broadly flat in the last quarter (+0.1%)
Despite these declines, affordability remains a major challenge for younger drivers, who face average premiums of £3,555, compared to £1,512 for drivers aged 25–49 and £1,064 for over-50s.
The return to price increases comes as competitive dynamics shift across the market.
Most of the top 10 most competitive providers increased premiums in the last quarter, reducing the availability of the lowest-cost quotes on price comparison websites.
Zego Sense remains the most competitive provider despite implementing some of the largest recent price increases. Meanwhile, Acorn Insurance has aggressively reduced premiums by around 25% over the past year, increasing its market share and becoming the second most competitive provider.
The competitive landscape has also been impacted by insurer exits. Sterling, previously a top 20 provider, stopped quoting towards the end of 2025, while Aviva briefly entered the third-party van market before withdrawing within months.
These movements have had a particularly strong impact on third-party pricing, where premiums rose by around 5% in the last quarter (TPO +4.9%, TPFT +4.7%), compared to a more modest 1.8% increase for comprehensive cover.
Across usage types, premiums followed a similar pattern of annual decline followed by recent increases.
Carriage of Own Goods: down 5.9% annually, up 2.0% in the last quarter
Social, Domestic and Pleasure: down 6.3% annually, up 2.8% recently
This suggests a consistent shift in pricing direction across the market, regardless of how vans are used.
Laura Vas, Senior Insight Analyst at Consumer Intelligence, said:
“After a sustained period of falling premiums, we are now seeing clear signs that pricing is starting to move upwards again.
"The majority of competitive insurers have increased prices in recent months, reducing the availability of the cheapest quotes. At the same time, changes in the competitive landscape, including insurer exits and strategic repricing, are beginning to feed through into customer premiums.
"While affordability improved over the past year, particularly for higher-risk segments, these latest trends suggest that the window of declining prices may be closing.”
Despite the recent easing, long-term data shows that van insurance premiums remain significantly higher than a decade ago, with average prices up 185.5% since 2014.