Commercial Vehicle Insurance

The cost of insuring vans and trucks has increased significantly in the last two years due to the escalating cost of claims. The motor insurance market in the UK lost a collective £1.6bn in 1998 and with Law Commission reforms and the recovery of NHS charges, premiums will need to rise still further.

The market for motor insurance has become much smaller in the last five years with the number of Lloyd's syndicates halving and the big composite insurers merging. This has enabled premiums to rise faster than might otherwise have been the case. Whilst this is bad news now, it does mean that the losses should turn into profits for this current year, with the expectation that premiums will rise only moderately in 2001 and may even start to fall again!

Does shopping around for your motor insurance pay off? Most certainly!
With rating increases imposed by various insurers at different times of the year it is always possible to switch to another insurer and save money. However, your new insurer may leapfrog your old one in the course of the year and you may end up having to change again. Saving £50 a year for ten years may seem like a good deal but loyalty to one insurer over that period will certainly count in the event of a claim. And don't forget to cost in your time for seeking alternatives and for all the form filling.