If you need to insure your own van when you don’t have an annual policy or you need to borrow one, temporary van insurance is a great solution. You can get fully comprehensive van insurance in hourly, daily or weekly periods up to 28 days.
It’s faster than being added as a named driver, or adding a van to your existing annual van insurance. It takes 5 minutes to sign up on your phone. Plus, the driver or van owner’s No Claims Discount is protected.
The price of temporary van insurance depends on a lot of different factors to work out your price, like your age, job title, the van you drive, and where you're working. So your price will be unique to you.
But we know it can be helpful to get a ballpark figure. So here are what you could expect to pay for various short-term van insurance durations.*
| Hourly van insurance | Daily van insurance | Weekly van insurance |
|---------------------- |-------------------- |---------------------- |
| 1 hour from £11.94 | 1 day from £17.29 | 1 week from £44.71 |
| 2 hours from £12.49 | 2 days from £21.99 | 2 weeks from £64.91 |
| 3 hours from £12.50 | 3 days from £26.21 | 3 weeks from £123.45 |
| 6 hours from £13.67 | 4 days from £30.96 | 28 days from £123.46 |
Here’s what is and isn’t eligible with temporary van insurance. If you’re still not sure, just try and get a quote via the app - it only takes a few minutes to check.
Small, short wheelbase vans - for example, a Citroen Berlingo
Medium panel vans - for example, a Ford Transit
Large vans - for example, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
Vans not covered
Vans valued over £40,000
Campervans or motorhomes
Impounded or scrapped vans
Vans used for motor trading, hire and reward use (like food delivery), recovery or learning to drive
Courier-branded vans
Who we cover
To use Cuvva's van insurance for the first time, you'll usually need:
To be at least 21, and under 65
A GB licence (issued in England, Wales, or Scotland) or a full license from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, or Spain
Our van insurance comes with 'carriage of own goods use' and class 1 business use. That means you're covered for commuting, driving to different sites, and carrying your own equipment or goods.
When temporary van insurance is useful
Productivity made easy with temp van cover
Moving home
Let’s be honest, moving home is a massive faff. The paperwork, the stress, the cost - and that’s before you get to the actual, well, moving. Hourly van cover is perfect for making that big trip from A to B a little more simple.
Commuting
Cuvva’s temporary van cover can be used for travelling to your workplace, or between sites. Our policies include Business 1 insurance, which means it can be used for transport to, from and between places of work or clients.
Transporting equipment
You’re covered for moving your equipment, goods and tools around in your van with our policy. However, keep in mind the equipment, goods and tools aren’t actually covered themselves.
Road trip
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Temp van cover isn’t just for work - you can use it for social trips, too. Head out to the coast or deep into one of Britain’s amazing areas of outstanding beauty. You’ll have loads of storage for those essential holiday snacks and goodies.
Helping a mate
It’s nice to be nice - and with temporary van insurance, there will be plenty of opportunities to get in your friends’ good books. Got a mate who’s moving house, picking up some furniture, or taking some stuff to the dump? Get some brownie points and lend them a hand.
Running a small business
Whether you’re an artist getting your paintings to and from the art fair, a football coach bringing the balls and nets to practice, or a cupcake maker with a massive (and delicious!) order, you can use your van to help you run your small business. Feel free to send any tasty samples to Cuvva HQ.
Flexible cover
Our temp van insurance policies start instantly, don't require an underlying policy, and cover vans up to insurance group 20.
A brief look at the pros and cons of temporary van insurance
Advantages
If you are in-between annual van insurance policies, it can fill the gap without having to go through all the admin.
If you’ve bought a new van, cover can be sorted in a flash - you can drive within 5 minutes, get small increments of 1 hour and extend it if you need longer.
If someone is borrowing a van, you don’t need to call up an insurer and try to get added as a named driver - you can do it all on the app.
Disadvantages
Temporary van insurance comes with carriage of goods cover and class 1 business use. But if you need to deliver items, want a roster of staff driving your van, or you sell door-to-door, you won't be covered.
If you definitely know you’ll need cover for 12 months, it may work out cheaper signing up for an annual van insurance policy.
It's all in the details
The small things that have a big impact.
Notification reminders
Know when your policy is ending
Apple Pay and Google Pay support
For fast, secure payments
Licence scanner
Set your account up at the speed of camera
Temporary van insurance FAQs
Can I get temporary van insurance?
Yes. You can get short term van insurance starting from 1 hour, all the way up to 28 days. With a temporary van insurance policy, you can drive your own van or borrow someone else’s. An alternative is for the van owner to add the driver temporarily to their policy as a ‘named driver’. Unlike with temporary van insurance, though, this doesn’t protect the owner’s No Claims Discount if the named driver has an accident.
How much is one day’s van insurance?
The price can vary based on a load of things, including your age, the insurance group of your van and its the engine size. But to give you a ballpark idea, the average 35 to 39-year-old driving a Ford Transit pays £21.92 for 12 hours of fully comprehensive, carriage of own goods insurance. If it’s just an hour that was needed, the average price for the same age group and van is £11.55.
Can I drive a van on my car insurance?
Probably not. Driving Other Cars (DOC) cover used to be more common but is now very rare in the UK. There's a bit of a misconception that a 'comprehensive' car or van insurance policy means you can drive any vehicle, but that's not true. You’ll most likely need to sort specific insurance for the van.
Does the van need to be insured even when it's parked up?
Yes - vans, like cars, need to be insured at all times, even if they're parked up on the road, your driveway or a garage. If you borrow a van, it'll need to have an underlying insurance policy sorted by the owner which kicks in when your policy ends. If it's your own van, you can't let the temporary insurance expire without sorting longer cover (or extending your temp cover). The only exception is if you SORN your vehicle. This is due to the Continuous Insurance Enforcement law.
Can I insure multiple drivers on my van temporarily?
Sure. If it’s just for a few hours, days or weeks, temporary van insurance may be your best bet for speed and protection. Additional drivers can get their own policy in under 5 minutes, whilst the van owner’s No Claims Discount is protected.
Another option is to call your insurer and get them added to your policy as a named driver. Bear in mind if they have an accident, your insurance will be affected, and will likely become more expensive when renewing the following year.
When getting temp van insurance, are my van contents covered?
It’s important to check what classification of use your temporary van insurance has. If you have ‘business use’ or ‘carriage of own goods’ use, that usually doesn’t cover items you’re moving, deliveries, tools or other contents.
I'm using a van to move home. Are my possessions covered by temporary van insurance?
Luckily many home insurance policies include cover for contents while moving home - so check with your insurer.
I'm a tradesperson. Are my tools covered by van insurance?
Sadly not. Our £100 personal belongings coverage is only for that: personal belongings, not tools.
Am I allowed to use temporary van insurance as part of my job?
Our van insurance policies include class 1 business insurance, plus Carriage of Own Goods cover. This means you can use the vehicle to travel between sites or clients.
What can't I use temporary van insurance for?
You can’t use our policies for motor trading, camper van conversions, door-to-door sales, or hire-and-reward use.
Our van policies sadly don’t cover recovery vehicles, flat-bed vehicles or refrigerated vehicles.
Looking for an alternative type of temporary insurance?
Learner driver insurance
Hourly cover for learners with a provisional licence
Up to 3 hours per day with a supervisor
For practising in someone else’s car or your own
Owner’s NCB protected
Usually cheaper than being added to your parent's insurance
Adam Kent, Cuvva's Senior Underwriting Lead and Insurance Expert, said: ‘There are a few things to keep in mind when getting temporary van insurance. Make sure that the policy covers you for the type of vehicle you'll be driving. Some policies only cover cars, while others will also cover vans and other types of vehicles. Also make sure you have the correct form of van cover for what you plan to do. For example, if you're only going to use it for business purposes, you'll need a policy that covers you for business use. ‘Carriage of own goods use’ means you're covered for commuting, driving to different sites, and carrying your own equipment or goods.’