Tesco Van Insurance

The commonly held idea that van drivers are the first to honk their horns, cut you up at the lights and succumb to road rage is a myth according to a new survey released by Tesco Van Insurance. In fact the opposite is true. According to the statistics, van drivers make fewer and smaller claims compared to car drivers. Not only are they safer on the road, they are often more skilled as well, with no fewer than one in five having taken an advanced or specialist driving course. And with 26% of men saying they would like to drive a van, it seems they are more popular than we thought too!

If the results are a surprise, they shouldn’t be. As far back as 2003 the AA revealed that van drivers were in fact the safest drivers on Britain’s roads. Research carried out by the Association at the time showed that the average van driver not only had a clean driving licence but went a whopping four and a half years before making a claim. In fact only 17% of van drivers made claims on their insurance policies, compared to 25% of car drivers.

Several years down the road, the situation doesn’t appear to have changed much either. As recently as 2007 the AA said the story was essentially the same.

But just why are van drivers safer drivers? Part of the reason may well be the high proportion of van drivers who are self-employed and use their vehicles for business purposes. They are keen to avoid accidents for the simple reason that their livelihood is at stake; if their van is out of action it may well prove impossible for them to carry on working. Not only that, but a battered or damaged van is hardly a good advertisement for business.

Now the call has gone out for the insurance industry to acknowledge van drivers’ good safety records and offer them better insurance rates. Allan Barns of Tesco Van Insurance says the latest figures clearly show why British van drivers deserve to be rewarded with good insurance rates.

It all seems rosy but before you watch the van in front of you drive off into the sunset, there is something else to bear in mind. According to MyFinances.co.uk police surveys reveal that light goods vehicles are more likely than other vehicles to be targeted by thieves. Vans used to transport and store goods, valuables and/or tools are easy prey for thieves. Older vehicles (which are often not fitted with alarm systems) are especially vulnerable. For a small van owner whose business depends on his tools, their theft can be a disaster.