Van Insurance Advice

Gillie

Hi Folks,

Buying a 05 Citreon Berlingo.
It will be for Private use (have big doggies!)

Anyway. I am currently insured with Quinn Direct for fully comp on a normal car.
They tell me that I will have to cancel the private insurance and start a new commercial policy for the van.
Don't mind that too much but they said it would mean I could not drive any private cars anymore without being a named driver. Do I have any other options here?
I have a full lic and just over 1 years no claims. 28 years of age.

Thanks.

galwaytt

well, I believe some companies plain won't insure small vans, period, so at least you've got a quote.

Some time ago, I contacted AXA with a similar enquiry, and was told 'no quote'. When I explained it was social purposes only, e.g. to carry a jet ski, I was told 'well if you knew you were carrying a jet ski, we'd cancel the policy anyway...' :eek: WTF??

No reason you can't insure another car, separately, with someone else though.

Kristopherus

I have my car insured in my name and also a van & lorry. Hibernian are the underwriters. The car is through One Direct & the commercials are through a broker with Hibernian. Mind you the broker can do it cheaper than Hibernian can through their branch office. You can get a quote online from Quinn - Direct. I'm not aware of any restrictions once you have a full licence.

Wishbone Ash

I had the same problem a few years ago. I ended up getting a policy via a brokerage up in Dundalk. I can't think of their name now but their office is/was opposite the shopping centre (if any Dundalk boardies can help).

Doc Farrell

I think a broker will be able to help you out, probably by going to Hibernian directly. it'll probably cost you an extra couple of hundred although maybe not. I'm not going to give any free advertising but I have a couple of names if you want them.
can't say for certain what the outcome will be. what kind of dogs do you have. I'd love to get a couple of dogs but I don't have the time or space to take care of them properly.

better to pm me for the broker names as I can't be certain of the outcome and don't want to give false nonsense out in the public forum!

Gillie

Thanks for the advice folks.
I'm gonna head into Hibernian in the morning.
At least I have something to fall back on with Quinn Direct.

On an unrelated note.
I was coming back from viewing the Van yesterday when the exhaust on my car snapped! Sounded like a fúckin twin cam!
I was mortified!

serotonin_sam

So are we saying that insurance on these small vans would be quite a bit more than a private car (same cc)?

Don't mean to take this offtopic, but as an aside, I have one person telling me that I would get a better deal buying these types of vans accross the water - and the other saying the opposite. Which of them is right?

Wishbone Ash

serotonin_sam wrote:

So are we saying that insurance on these small vans would be quite a bit more than a private car (same cc)?

I had a small van 1.8 D. It was taxed privately and the only insurance I could get was through a brokerage with a UK insurer and cost about €1,200 PA (full NCB, Licence, over 30 etc.) The other insurance companies refused to quote me.

Now I have a 3 litre car and the insurance is about €600!

69sparkie69

hi.
i`m insured with the aa,with both my car and van..very competitive,volvo s60 d5,03 reg,€480 fully comp,class 2 car, ball and chain needs it to carry non paying clients,and renault trafic van 04,for €550,open driven for anyone over 28 with full licence..got "cheap" insurance for son`s ford 03 1.8 focus,from fbd,he`s 17, just passed test,as a named driver,for €1250..think it could be cheaper to insure another car,say an estate,than a van,,found that out when trying to insure my son.

Wishbone Ash

69sparkie69 wrote:

hi.
i`m insured with the aa,with both my car and van..very competitive,volvo s60 d5,03 reg,€480 fully comp,class 2 car, ball and chain needs it to carry non paying clients,and renault trafic van 04,for €550,open driven for anyone over 28 with full licence..got "cheap" insurance for son`s ford 03 1.8 focus,from fbd,he`s 17, just passed test,as a named driver,for €1250..think it could be cheaper to insure another car,say an estate,than a van,,found that out when trying to insure my son.

Presumably you are commercially employed. I think the OP is enquiring about those of use who are not commercially employed but drive a van. That was the problem I had. All the 'ordinary' companies won't believe that the van is for private use only.

69sparkie69

thats true,wishbone, but you could always say you are a part-time farmer,and get around it that way..also,if you do manage to get your private insurance,you wont have to go for an commercial mot every year, and just do the nct test every 2 years..

Gillie

Well got sorted with Hibernian in the end and just drove the van home!
Delighted!

Wishbone Ash

Gillie wrote:

Well got sorted with Hibernian in the end and just drove the van home!
Delighted!

Was the price fairly OK or very high?

311

Can you not register the van as Joe blogg T/A bloggser Ltd.
Then either joe blogg or bloggser Ltd are the registered owners ,for both private or commercial use ?

Wishbone Ash

_Brian_ wrote:

Can you not register the van as Joe blogg T/A bloggser Ltd.
Then either joe blogg or bloggser Ltd are the registered owners ,for both private or commercial use ?

I think that they may require a VAT number (?) and some commercial policies have restricted cover for weekends etc.

Apart from that, knowingly giving false info would be illegal and could affect a potential claim!

Gillie

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Was the price fairly OK or very high?

It was less than the quote from my current Insurance Company but still quite high!

I was still quite happy to get it sorted though.

CJhaughey

AFAIK only Hibernian and FBD do these privately owned (no vat number) commercial vehicle policies, Quinn are not the best to deal with IMHO.
Whatever about low initial prices they have terrible customer service and a reputation for sliding out of claims.

julianiven

It is generally more expensive for new van owners to insure their vehicle but some companies offer introductory discounts and sometime allow you to carry your NCB over from car to van.

Commercial Vehicle Direct have been established for years and offer a great level of service and can talk you through how van insurance works. You can find their number on http://www.cvd-insurance.co.uk

Maybe worth a try if you are still struggling?

Insuremyvan

www.insuremyvan.ie

jamhan

Never heard of that crowd, are they Irish? they only insure vans!? you should try www.insure.ie. they seem to be better & around a long time and know what they're doing!! they quote for almost any type of insurance that you require. i.e. car, house travel etc.

this is a very old post so it may have been spam.

Marlow

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I think that they may require a VAT number (?) and some commercial policies have restricted cover for weekends etc.

Apart from that, knowingly giving false info would be illegal and could affect a potential claim!

No, you don't need a VAT number to get commercial insurance and you don't need a Ltd. either. You can be a sole trader, that has no VAT registration as you don't make enough dosh to need VAT number, so anyone can get commercial insurance.

Now, as for the differences normal and commercial insurance:

- If you have have insurance on a car you can drive other cars similar or less powerful than your own on that insurance. Your policy only covers that car and your no-claims applies only to that car. You have to work up no-claims for each individual car you own. Often the insurance company will give you named driver bonus on your second car based on the first one, if you have both with them. If you want to use your car commercially, you'll have to take out Class I insurance and then there still are limits to the use of the car.

- If you have commercial insurance for a van, you can have multiple van's on that for very little extra money, the no-claims applies to all of them. Also, the van can be used for commercial purpose of any kind, as it's commercial insurance. There's various other differences, so you might want to check it out. Your insurance does not transfer to other cars than the ones in your policy.

Quinn will do commercial, but they treat it entirely different from normal car insurance. That's why op would have to cancel the insurance and start a new policy. You also don't get the free recovery with the commercial insurance.

123.ie won't do commercial at all.

Haven't checked others yet.

Hope this helps.

/M

RobbieC

Insure.ie deal with private motor, health, house, travel even pet insurance but as far as i know they dont deal in the commercial side of things! They are however in some way i think related to the Mike Murphy group who specialise in commerical policies. I believe they are 35 years in the business! and wether its van insurance or fleet insurance they cater for all. I found them to have the best rates on the market and very profesional to deal with. if its commerical insruance you are looking for then check them out just by clicking www.mikemurphyinsurance.ie

Wibbler

PM sent.

jamhan

..

IrishBuddha

Could ya tell those two muppets obviously work for the company!

JohnMitchell

I have just been on the www.insuremyvan.ie website and I got a quote that was €300 cheaper than the next best quote. As for whether they are Irish or not, I think the website confirms a DUBLIN number and a DUBLIN postal address. The girl I spoke to was Irish as well.

Can't recommend them enough

JM - Dublin

Cementmixer

IrishBuddha wrote: »

Could ya tell those two muppets obviously work for the company!

lol.

fleetman

Hi all

I work in www.insuremyvan.ie and to answer some of your questions jamhan

Never heard of that crowd, are they Irish?
The company is 100% irish owned and if you took the time to read the homepage you would see the call centre is 100% based in Ireland. This is a new company set up to help reduce the cost of van insurance to van drivers

they only insure vans!?
Did the name www.insuremyvan.ie give it away?
We don't insure your dog or cat but we do offer low cost van insurance, liability insurance and other insurance products suitable for van drivers such as cover for drivers tools and equipment.

Anyway to answer the original poster yes we will insure your van even it is for private use. Through our irish based company creating jobs in the irish economy

fleetman

IrishBuddhaCould ya tell those two muppets obviously work for the company!
CementmixerQuote:
Originally Posted by IrishBuddha
Could ya tell those two muppets obviously work for the company!

lol.


Irishbudda - none of these muppets work for IMV -we couldn't afford their silk shirts and silk ties (the only muppet posting here who works for insuremyvan is me)

Competition is good for consumers

IrishBuddha

what is not good is when people from insurance companies go online and pretend to be normal people to promote their own companies.

fleetman

In my first post i stated where i worked (imv) - none of the others posters online here work for imv. yes they have an agenda and it does not take a genius to figure out what it is :mad:

Hence I say competition is good for consumers but not for charvet suits -IMV proud to be irish

MB74

Good to see competition, shame about the knockers, are they running scared? Web site looks good from a brief view of it.

Anyway don't they say that competition is good! I personally wish people would shop around more.

Maybe this conversation should be continued in the insurance section?

Skuxx

I had a similar problem to the op! I decided to buy a van just for personal use and got an '03 Berlingo! I got a quote from Quinn online for €1400 which I thought was great (I'm 19 so was expectin atleast €2000). Anyway when I rang the office to just double check everything and to pay, I was told that because of my job they would not insure me on a commercial vehicle :0 I'm a trainee aircraft mechanic! I couldn't understand it!
Anyway ended up get insurance from FBD, €1950! I was so pissed after getting a quote of €1400!

fleetman

Good to see competition, shame about the knockers, are they running scared? Web site looks good from a brief view of it.

Anyway don't they say that competition is good! I personally wish people would shop around more.

Maybe this conversation should be continued in the insurance section?


could not agree more - 3 of the posters with comments in relation to this site are are from an established company - its simple competition is good for consumers and some people just don't like that

we won't be knocked we are here to stay and the people who use us to get quotes will be our judge - no one else

Enough said I'm off to the insurance section

Anthony_m

Lads,After looking at this thread last night i decided to see what quote this insuremyvan.ie would give me.They rang me today and gave me a quote that was almost €100 cheaper than the lowest i had previously got.Very happy with the service i recieved.AND no i dont work for them.Im just happy that the days of insurance companys ripping people off have ended.

era030708

I know this thread is a bit old now but for those still inquisitive I thought I'd tell you my recent experience.

I had a policy through a broker that was being renewed for €400. I'm on full Irish licence no penalty points etc. I requested a change in occupation on my proposal documents and was suddenly told policy as being cancelled as company don't cover this occupation (market trader).

I understand high risk etc but I just thought I would have to pay a higher premium.

Anyway after some very frustrating Internet searches I came across www.insuremyvan.ie, filled out an online quote request and got a phone call back within half an hour. Lovely chap on the line, explained there is only 1 company who will insure market traders and got me a quote from them (Kennco). Delighted quote was for €426 and happy days I can start up my stall now. Only downside was I had to pay in full as because it's high risk they don't offer credit facility, so no cash left to buy stock for my stall, but at least I know I'm covered for the next 12 months anyway

colm_mcm

IrishBuddha wrote: »

what is not good is when people from insurance companies go online and pretend to be normal people to promote their own companies.

Thanks for input but resurrected threads never end well so I'll just close it