Temporary van insurance cover

Temporary van insurance is just like normal van insurance, but you're only covered for a short amount of time. It allows you to get your van insured for just the amount of time you need without having to take out a yearly policy. They usually run from between one day to a month, but you can also find policies that run for a number of months.

While temporary van insurance policies can save you money by not having to fork out a lump sum to cover you for the whole year, it doesn't always work out cheaper in the long run. With a standard van insurance policy, if you don't make any claims on it then you will be rewarded with a no claims bonus. Each year that goes by without making a claim, you will get a discount on your premium. You can save up to 75% on your van insurance premiums through no claims discounts. However, this is not the case with temporary van insurance. These policies don't count towards your no claims bonus, and therefore years of safe driving with temporary van insurance won't save you any money.

Whenever you drive a van, whether you own it or not, you will need to be insured. So, if you need a van temporarily, maybe if you're moving home or helping somebody to move some goods around, you will still need insurance. But getting a van insurance policy for the whole year, as is the norm, would be absurd let alone expensive.

If you only need to drive a van for a short amount of time, be it just a day or a couple of months, you can take out a temporary van insurance policy.

If your business owns a van, but it's only used sporadically, it could also be beneficial to get temporary van insurance policies whenever you need to use the van rather than get a policy for the whole year. Full time business van insurance is available, however, and is worth looking into if your business needs to use a van regularly.

Just like with other types of van insurance, the level of protection you're offered with temporary van insurance depends on the level of cover you get. There are three main levels of cover:

Third party only cover is the most basic level of insurance required by law. It doesn't cover any damaged caused to your own van but does cover the cost of any damage caused to another vehicle, person or property if you're involved in a collision. The next level up is third party, fire and theft cover. This also covers the cost of any damage to your own van in a fire, or if it's stolen. The highest level of cover is fully comprehensive, which also covers any damage caused to your own van in the event of an accident.

There are also some optional extras that you can add on to your policy to give you a higher level of protection:

• Tools in transit cover
• Breakdown cover
• Driving abroad cover
• Windscreen cover
• Mis-fuel cover
• Scratches and dents cover

There are a few ways you can reduce the premium you pay on your temporary van insurance. You should only take out a policy for the time you need but be careful not to drive your van for longer than your policy allows as it will make your insurance invalid, and any claims won't be paid out.

When taking out a policy, you will be asked to set a voluntary excess on top of the compulsory excess. This is how much you will have to pay when making a claim. The higher your excess, then the cheaper your insurance. However, don't set it too high as it could become unaffordable to make a claim if you need to.

The size of your van also determines how much your insurance costs. If you want cheap van insurance, especially if you're 25 or under or a convicted driver, then try and go for the smallest and least powerful van possible. Obviously, it will need to be large enough to do the job you need it to do, but if you get an unnecessarily large van then your insurance won't be cheap.

If you're taking out insurance for more than a day, you can get your van insurance costs down by keeping your vehicle safe. If you lock it in a garage overnight, or install an immobiliser or extra alarm, you could be rewarded with cheaper insurance. Always be sure to compare van insurance quotes from different providers before settling on a policy. Use our online price comparison tool to get a list of van insurance quotes from some of the market's best providers.