Temporary van insurance

See guide sections

In this guide

What is temporary van insurance?

Temporary van insurance is a short-term comprehensive insurance policy to protect you and your van. It’s ideal if you need insure your van for between 1 and 84 days.

Unlike conventional van insurance, temporary van insurance policies allow you to insure your van for just the period you need to drive it. This can help save you lots of money.  

Make sure that you declare your van off road and park it off public roads if you don’t have it insured, or you could risk a fine!

Should I get temporary cover for my van?

There are lots of reasons you may want temporary van insurance. It can be ideal if you use your van for:

• Moving home or transporting goods on occasion. 
• Using a backup van for work that is only used for emergencies. 
• Renting a van for a day trip or holiday. Most rental companies will include insurance in your rental, but if they don’t then temporary insurance is ideal.
• Test driving a new van can be made much easier by taking out temporary insurance before you decide to keep it. 

How does short term van insurance work?

Temporary van insurance allows you to drive a van for a short period. With the owner’s permission, you can very quickly and easily have comprehensive van insurance for a short period. 

To get your insurance, you should be ready to provide: 

• Personal details including your name and address.
• Your licence proving you are able to drive the van in question.
• Your driving history. 
• Details of the van you want insurance for. 
• The period for which you would like temporary cover. 

Having this information ready can help make your experience easier and less stressful. 

What are the benefits of temporary van insurance?

A temporary van insurance policy can be a great alternative when you don’t need to drive your van 12 months of the year. It offers immediate, short-term insurance so that you can be confident you are safe and legal to drive without paying excessive amounts for a year long policy. 

Temporary van insurance can run for a set time, from one day up to several months!

Taking out a temporary insurance policy is usually cheaper than adding your name to the main driver’s policy and it means you will only pay for the time you need to be covered. 

Most temporary policies even give you comprehensive cover for the UK, and third party only cover for the EU as standard, with the option to upgrade to comprehensive cover in the EU as an optional extra. Be aware this may change after Brexit negotiations. 

Temporary van insurance is sometimes more expensive than adding your name to another policy as a second driver. Make sure you compare van insurance before making your decision!

Will I need policy extras?

It’s important to check the details of your van insurance policy before buying insurance. Some policies will cover your personal belongings, or even legal cover as standard. For other policies you will need to pay extra. 

The following types of cover are often charged as optional extras:

• Breakdown cover will cover you in the event of a breakdown.
• Courtesy van cover will mean you are given another van to drive while yours is in for repairs. 
• Comprehensive cover abroad is useful if you are taking your van on holiday. 
• Personal belongings can be important if you are carrying expensive luggage or equipment.
• Legal cover will cover any legal costs in the event of an accident. 
• Additional drivers is important if you want to share the driving with someone else on your trip. 

If you think you will need cover for any of the above then make sure your policy covers it or choose to add it on. Remember that adding optional cover will increase the cost of your policy so only take out what you need!