Buying a van and taking out a van insurance policy can be a tricky task. There are countless factors you need to consider before you buy and to help you on your way, Gladiator has compiled a guide to vans and more importantly, van insurance. We have tried to explain some of the principles of van insurance that people commonly ask us about, but obviously there may be something else you want to ask us about van insurance. If this is the case, please use the form HERE to ask us a question and we will email you an answer.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW?

Please select... What is van insurance? Why do I need to get van insurance? Should I risk not having van insurance? What if I were to be hit by an uninsured driver? What paperwork will my van insurer send me? What are policy exclusions? Am I covered to drive other vehicles under my van insurance policy? What is an excess on a van insurance? What is a compulsory excess? What is a voluntary excess? Different types of van insurance policies What is covered under a Third Party Only van insurance policy? What is covered under a Third Party, Fire and Theft van insurance policy? What is covered under a Comprehensive van insurance policy? What is No Claims Bonus? Additional items your van insurance company can provide

What is covered under a Comprehensive van insurance policy?

Fully Comprehensive van insurance policies are the next step up from Third party, Fire and Theft policies. They cover everything covered by either TPO or TPF&T van insurance policies, but in addition also covers accidental damage that may be caused to your van.

The easiest way to think about what is covered is to consider an example. If Graeme insured his Astravan under a comprehensive van insurance policy and crashed into a car, then damage to both vehicles as well as injury to all passengers other than Graeme will be covered.

In the event of a claim being made under a comprehensive van insurance policy, then an excess will have to be paid to the van insurance company. The type and amount of excess will depend on the type of claim made. For example, accidental damage claims will require you to pay the accidental damage excess (made up of the compulsory excess and voluntary excess), a theft or fire claim will result in you having to pay the fire and theft excess. Some fully comprehensive van insurance policies will include windscreen cover as part of the policy. If this cover is included, then an excess will be payable in the event of you having to claim.