Bodily injury liability
Covers medical care for someone injured in an at-fault accident.
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Compare van insurance
Protect your van or minivan with the right insurance.
If you have an older van that you use for day-to-day getting around, you can save money by getting a policy with the minimum required coverage. But if you have a newer or customized van, it might be worth it to get coverage that’ll protect your investment.
Compare van insurance and get driving
What van insurance do I need?
Yes, nearly every state requires you to either have insurance or prove you can pay for damages after an accident. While each state sets their own insurance laws, necessary coverage will include some combination of:
Property damage liability
Covers repairs to someone else’s car, home or property in an accident you cause.
Personal injury protection
Covers healthcare and lost income after an accident regardless of fault.
Uninsured motorist coverage
Covers damage caused by a driver without enough coverage to pay for costs.
Additional van insurance coverage to consider
Buying additional coverage beyond your state’s required minimums can help protect both you and your van after an accident.
Collision
Pays to repair or replace your car after an accident.
Comprehensive
Covers anything other than a collision, such as vandalism, theft and weather.
Gap insurance
Pays the remainder of your car loan if your car is totaled.
Rental car coverage
Pays for a rental car if your van is damaged in an accident.
Roadside assistance
Call for a tow, jump or roadside help if your car breaks down.
New car replacement
Get a new car if your vehicle is totaled or stolen.
Medical payments
Helps with medical costs after a car accident, no matter who’s at fault.
Pet injuries
Covers vet bills if your pet gets hurt in a car accident.
Special insurance considerations for vans
If you live in your van, designed the interior yourself or have customized it in any way, there are a few specialized things you should look for in a policy:
- Agreed-value insurance. If you have a customized vehicle, like a live-in van you built, you may want to insure it for an agreed value so that you’ll be reimbursed for the cost of the customizations after a total loss.
- Deductible-free windshield replacement. If you spend a lot of time on the road, or if you travel with your van to rocky places or on dirt roads, you may want to consider an insurance policy that will fix a chipped or broken windshield without a deductible.
- Homeowners or renters insurance. Your auto insurance protects your van, but it doesn’t protect the belongings inside of your van. If you keep expensive belongings like your laptop or camera in your van, it’s a good idea to have homeowners or renters insurance to protect your belongings. Save money by bundling it with your auto insurance.
How do I get cheap van insurance?
To save on your van insurance without sacrificing coverage you need:
- Keep your van safe. You can save money by fitting your van with a security system and agreeing to store it in a locked garage.
- Pay your premiums annually. Some insurers might offer you a discount in return for paying your premiums yearly instead of monthly.
- Keep your eye out for discounts. There are a number of ways you can score discounts, including by holding multiple insurance policies with the same insurer, taking a defensive driving course, being a safe driver and signing up online.
- Rethink your level of coverage. Periodically review your coverage to determine whether it’s offering value to you and ditch options you don’t need. For example, if you don’t drive often and rarely leave the city, you might not need roadside assistance. If your van’s getting up in age and isn’t worth much more than your deductible, you might not need collision or comprehensive insurance.
- Raise your deductible. A higher deductible will result in a lower premium. Just don’t raise your deductible so high that you can’t afford to pay it after an accident.
Compare van insurance by make and model
Compare car insurance for popular vans and minivans and get customized insurance rates and coverage to consider.
How are my van insurance premiums calculated?
There are a number of factors that go into how your insurer calculates your premiums, including:
- The kind of van you drive. The insurer will look at information like its make, model, age, engine size and safety rating. It may even look at things like how commonly these models are stolen.
- Your driving history. A clean driving record will get you a lower premium.
- Your claims history. Even if your driving history is OK, you could still end up paying more if you have a long claims history. For example, if you’re constantly getting your windshield repaired, your insurer might assume you drive on gravel roads and could therefore increase your premiums.
- The van’s other drivers. Your insurer will look at the age, driving history and claims histories of other drivers listed on your policy and adjust your premiums accordingly.
- Where you live. If you live in a safe neighborhood and park your van in a locked garage, you’re likely to pay less than someone who doesn’t.
- How you use your van. If you only drive your van to work and back, you’ll pay a lot less than someone who lives in their van and travels the country.
- Your deductible. A higher deductible will help lower the cost of your van insurance premiums.
Can black box insurance help me save on van insurance?
Black box or telematics van insurance policies are available to most drivers and will usually see monthly premiums calculated based on real data collected about a driver’s current performance.
Black box van insurance customers must first have a black box device fitted into their van, which uses GPS technology to continually monitor the driver’s performance, braking habits, speed, distance traveled and which roads are taken. Insurers use that driving information to decide your insurance rate. Safer drivers pose less of a risk so they pay less for car insurance.
If you’re a safe and careful driver despite being young or inexperienced, telematics insurance could help to save you money. Similarly, if you’re a high risk driver of any age, a black box policy could help to prove to your insurance provider that you’re a good driver. Getting black box insurance lets you take control of your driving and prove your worth to your insurer, which could translate into cheaper insurance.
What are the benefits of black box van insurance?
Benefits of a telematics van insurance policy include:
- Save money. This type of policy could help to decrease insurance premiums for drivers who are considered to be high risk by insurers due to their age, such as young, inexperienced drivers, as well as experienced, older drivers in their 70s and beyond. Having a premium based on a person’s current driving and braking habits rather than their age could lower premiums that could otherwise be high.
- Drive better. You may find that black box insurance actually improves your driving over time. As you’ll get regular reports, feedback and scores of your driving, you may want to achieve a higher performance score from your insurer.
- Additional monitoring and analysis. By having a black box device fitted to a van, other monitoring and analysis may be included as standard such as anti-theft tracking or accident alert. Data can be shared in the event of a claim being made to find out what actually happened.
- Safety checks. If a driver is involved in an accident, some black box van insurers monitoring the impact will try to make contact with the driver or contact emergency services if necessary, which could be priceless in the event of a serious accident.
Bottom line
Vans often come with special insurance requirements, but that doesn’t mean they’re hard to insure. And if you take advantage of available discounts and compare insurance providers, they don’t have to be expensive either.
Frequently asked questions about van insurance
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