Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Shiners Express Ltd. on April 17, 2012, 05:26:30 pm

Title: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Shiners Express Ltd. on April 17, 2012, 05:26:30 pm
What's the best van insurance company you've used or are using?

As i've already mentioned in a previous thread, we used to use Aviva for all vehicles, however, they're underwriters are now refusing to insure window cleaners vans (something to do with the system being fitted to the van). 

Have used Alexander Swann (Supposed WC specialists) they are not willing to play ball at all after we tried to get the price down!!!

Contacted A-Plan Insurance (again, supposed WC specialists) 229% dearer!

Am waiting for a quote back from another firm (i'll let you know the results).

So who's the best???
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Flash.. on April 17, 2012, 06:09:01 pm
Not being funny but ...........Are you sure its not you they dont want to insure? Have you got a bad claims history? 
Aviva were happy to insure my van with a self fit 650L system in it but A Plan were about £80 cheaper and lower excess so went with them.  I have two non fault claims in the last 5 years, I also put the wife on the policy which brings the price down.   Have you spoken to Dan at A Plan he can juggle things around and offer a discount if you mention my name ;) Flash Window Cleaning
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Shiners Express Ltd. on April 17, 2012, 07:23:50 pm
Dan was the chap I spoke to today, came up with a price of around £850 !!!

All drivers over 30, no claims, no points.
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Window Washers on April 17, 2012, 07:32:30 pm
Dan was the chap I spoke to today, came up with a price of around £850 !!!

All drivers over 30, no claims, no points.
how many people are driving the van ?

I have used A plan for a couple of years others are not getting near the price, maybe cheaper if you only have a few people using the van to name them, another tip is to add your wife, don't ask why this makes a difference sometimes but it can ;)
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Mike #1 on April 17, 2012, 08:29:25 pm
£850:00. Wished my insurance was that cheap A plan got me the cover i needed plus a fully fitted wfp courtesy van in event of accident . And it was £300 cheaper than previous insurer. Mike
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: EandM on April 17, 2012, 10:21:17 pm
£440 through Adrian Flux, I'm 43, have good history and they covered the 400 litre tank with no questions asked.
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Shiners Express Ltd. on April 17, 2012, 10:35:30 pm
Myself and three other drivers.

Will give Adrian Flux a try and add the wife!, see what happens.
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: George P on April 17, 2012, 10:41:40 pm
Try steve at GT Insurance, over 20yrs experiance
01159 394747,
Hope that helps
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: KS Cleaning on April 18, 2012, 12:10:01 am
Lots of people seem to have been told contradictory info by insurers on getting vans with tanks insured,I got insured by Aviva no problem,the cheapest and best policy I could find by a long shot,but it seems others have been refused cover..strange ???
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Rogue Trader on April 18, 2012, 09:34:56 am
I too have been refused by Aviva , i had a policy with them then i renewed via gladiator and was called to say policy needs to be cancelled cos underwriters said so , i think the isuue is that a lot of brokers that use Aviva dont know the rules of forget to mention that van has wfp tank fitted. After exploring this for some time if it is the fault of the broker not communicating properly with Aviva and you made it clear to your broker that you have a tank fitted then it is down to them and if making a claim it is their responsibility to cover it. Most calls to decent brokers are recorded.
I now use AXA who are very good on a mini fleet policy 4 vans for any driver over 25 at £3k
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Jackal on April 18, 2012, 09:42:23 am
why is it costing so much more with van system,im trad but have a vauxhall combo van costs me £299 that was through compared the market but when my current insurer (swinton) gave me a quote last week it was £507 told them i had a cheaper quote and they matched the £299 so very cheap for me plus they doing an offer of 3 months break down cover for me not just my van then 6.99 a month after so roughly £64 for 12 months breakdown cover BARGAIN!!!
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: AuRavelling79 on April 18, 2012, 05:02:33 pm
Try steve at GT Insurance, over 20yrs experiance
01159 394747,
Hope that helps


George always recommends GT - no one else on here does and nor would I.
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Shiners Express Ltd. on April 18, 2012, 05:45:08 pm
Update :

Best so far £550 from Academy Insurance.

Will try and call more tomorrow.
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: George P on April 18, 2012, 08:58:41 pm
Try steve at GT Insurance, over 20yrs experiance
01159 394747,
Hope that helps


George always recommends GT - no one else on here does and nor would I.

always recomend them because i got a good deal and always have, he knows about the water systems and always very helpful on advice, interesting to know why you wouldnt recomend them
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: KS Cleaning on April 18, 2012, 11:43:46 pm
I too have been refused by Aviva , i had a policy with them then i renewed via gladiator and was called to say policy needs to be cancelled cos underwriters said so , i think the isuue is that a lot of brokers that use Aviva dont know the rules of forget to mention that van has wfp tank fitted. After exploring this for some time if it is the fault of the broker not communicating properly with Aviva and you made it clear to your broker that you have a tank fitted then it is down to them and if making a claim it is their responsibility to cover it. Most calls to decent brokers are recorded.
I now use AXA who are very good on a mini fleet policy 4 vans for any driver over 25 at £3k
I phoned Aviva direct,no broker involved. Aviva underwrite their own policies,my insurance certificate clearly states I have had a modification to my van-water tank.
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Shiners Express Ltd. on April 18, 2012, 11:57:26 pm
Just wait until renewal comes round! They are insuring my vehicles at the mo but as and when the policies expire, there is a "manual stop" on their system for each one! >:(

Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: KS Cleaning on April 19, 2012, 12:12:15 am
Just wait until renewal comes round! They are insuring my vehicles at the mo but as and when the policies expire, there is a "manual stop" on their system for each one! >:(


Just renewed about 5 weeks ago ???
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: AuRavelling79 on April 19, 2012, 03:44:04 pm
Try steve at GT Insurance, over 20yrs experiance
01159 394747,
Hope that helps


George always recommends GT - no one else on here does and nor would I.

always recomend them because i got a good deal and always have, he knows about the water systems and always very helpful on advice, interesting to know why you wouldnt recomend them

2K quote for a fitted tank for three drivers over 25 is why George - when A plan came in at £850 and my previous insurer wanted a grand.
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: George P on April 19, 2012, 05:14:35 pm
Try steve at GT Insurance, over 20yrs experiance
01159 394747,
Hope that helps


George always recommends GT - no one else on here does and nor would I.

always recomend them because i got a good deal and always have, he knows about the water systems and always very helpful on advice, interesting to know why you wouldnt recomend them

2K quote for a fitted tank for three drivers over 25 is why George - when A plan came in at £850 and my previous insurer wanted a grand.

that would explain it then, seems alot, we pay around 700 - 800 a van although only 2 drivers,
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Shiners Express Ltd. on May 03, 2012, 06:18:55 pm
I promised i'd let you all know the outcome of this saga . . .

Finally . . . . .

Got comprehensive, protected no-claims discount, for three drivers. All in for £600

Cover from Academy Insurance. If interested call Gary Winchester on 0118 958 6777.

He knew about the issues with window cleaners insurance policies and was very helpful . . . which makes a nice change for an insurance company!!!!
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Paul Coleman on May 03, 2012, 07:12:23 pm
I promised i'd let you all know the outcome of this saga . . .

Finally . . . . .

Got comprehensive, protected no-claims discount, for three drivers. All in for £600

Cover from Academy Insurance. If interested call Gary Winchester on 0118 958 6777.

He knew about the issues with window cleaners insurance policies and was very helpful . . . which makes a nice change for an insurance company!!!!

That sounds OK depending which van it is.
I paid something like that for mine (Renault Trafic - sole trader - good history).  I think mine was about £650 but there were extras in there.
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Halfadaylee on May 03, 2012, 09:03:44 pm
Try steve at GT Insurance, over 20yrs experiance
01159 394747,


He has never been any good for me either.
But you never know without making the call

Hope that helps


George always recommends GT - no one else on here does and nor would I.

always recomend them because i got a good deal and always have, he knows about the water systems and always very helpful on advice, interesting to know why you wouldnt recomend them

2K quote for a fitted tank for three drivers over 25 is why George - when A plan came in at £850 and my previous insurer wanted a grand.

that would explain it then, seems alot, we pay around 700 - 800 a van although only 2 drivers,
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Shiners Express Ltd. on May 03, 2012, 11:47:11 pm
It's for a trafic 08 LL29 Three drivers from 30 - 60.

I'm relieved just to get insurance at all at a good price, so many companies refused to cover at any price, it's worrying!!!

Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Tom White on May 03, 2012, 11:52:17 pm
I'll bookmark this page, my insurance went up from £50 a month to £70 a month; just me driving; with A-Plan.

I was too lazy to shop around at the time, so I just went 'Yeh, no problems', but I'll shop around next year.

I've got one year no claims too (where as last year I had 'nil' no claims, though they took 12 years of no claims on my car into consideration).
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Roy Cauldery on May 04, 2012, 09:14:47 am
I'll bookmark this page, my insurance went up from £50 a month to £70 a month; just me driving; with A-Plan.

I was too lazy to shop around at the time, so I just went 'Yeh, no problems', but I'll shop around next year.

I've got one year no claims too (where as last year I had 'nil' no claims, though they took 12 years of no claims on my car into consideration).

Hi Tosh,most companies are putting up their prices across the board (to cover uninsured driver accidents etc..) and increases are to be expected(we all do it after all)
In defence of A Plan,you have to look at the fine detail of what level of cover your getting.We switched to them recentley and found that Dan had a good knowledge of our vehicles and systems in them and the fact we get a replacement wfp van if anything untoward happens
Sometimes ,its not always about the money but the peace of mind-after all a £20 increase per month,1 new customer would cover that surely?

Regards
Roy
Title: Re: WC Van Insurance
Post by: Paul Coleman on May 04, 2012, 09:21:32 am
I'll bookmark this page, my insurance went up from £50 a month to £70 a month; just me driving; with A-Plan.

I was too lazy to shop around at the time, so I just went 'Yeh, no problems', but I'll shop around next year.

I've got one year no claims too (where as last year I had 'nil' no claims, though they took 12 years of no claims on my car into consideration).

It's often better to change companies each year.  A lot of them sucker you in with a reasonable rate (new customer rate) and jack it up for year two.  Getting the new customer rate every year is better.  Indeed, maybe try to get a quotation from your existing company but don't let on you are already their custometr.  If you get a much lower quote for being "new" then tell them what you've done and ask them to honour their lower quote.