Ice Cream Van Insurance

Cheap ice cream van insurance quotes from UK-based insurance providers

If you own an ice cream business there’s a good chance your van will be the cornerstone of your business operations – but unfortunately insuring your ice cream van can often be one of your largest recurring overheads (beyond the cost of ice cream mix, chocolate flakes and fuel for your van, of course).

That’s why we always recommend that ice cream van owners use Quotezone.co.uk’s unbiased price comparison service when they’re ready to insure their ice cream van, which could help them find a cheaper quote in just a few minutes.

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Insuring an ice cream van: a no-nonsense guide

Are ice cream vans expensive to insure?

A lot will depend on the van’s age, its engine size, its insurance group and its mileage on the clock, while a range of factors about the driver will also play a role in the premium calculation, so it’s difficult to predict ahead of time how much ice cream van insurance is likely to cost.

However, since ice cream vans are likely to spend most of their time on the road and clock up a huge number of miles in that time it’s fair to assume your ice cream van insurance isn’t likely to come cheap.

Does insurance for an ice cream van automatically cover anyone to drive the van?

It depends on the option you choose when you’re taking out the policy.

Most ice cream van insurance providers will give you the option to choose between:

• A policy that only insures yourself to drive the van
• A policy that insures yourself and one or more named drivers
• A policy that insures any licenced driver to drive the van (sometimes known as “Any Driver Insurance”)

Needless to say, an Any Driver Ice Cream Van Insurance policy is very likely to cost a bit more than if you’re only insuring yourself to drive the vehicle, while insuring yourself and one or two named drivers will probably fall somewhere in between.

It’s also worth pointing out that if you are considering Any Driver Van Insurance because you’re planning to hire employees to drive the ice cream van you will also need to take out Employers’ Liability Insurance.

Does insurance for an ice cream van usually cover the van’s fixtures and fittings too?

Unlike many other commercial vans, not to mention vans insured for private use, the fixtures and fittings in an ice cream van are critical to the business’s operations. Fortunately, many ice cream van insurance policies cover those fixtures and fittings as standard – and if your own provider doesn’t you should be able to add this cover as an optional extra.

Do ice cream van businesses also need public liability insurance?

Yes, all mobile catering businesses, including ice cream vans, need to have public liability insurance in place before they begin trading.

Your insurance provider may give you the option to buy this additional insurance when you’re taking out ice cream van insurance, but if not there are a number of catering insurance providers that should be able to help.

Should I opt for Third Party Only cover in order to reduce the cost?

If the quotes you’re offered for fully-comprehensive ice cream van insurance are prohibitively expensive (because you’re a younger driver, for instance) you might be tempted to opt for third party insurance, but it’s important to bear in mind that it sometimes isn’t much cheaper than fully-comp.

Third party insurance policies are often favoured by drivers with worse risk profiles, and to offset that risk some insurance companies have started hiking the premiums for this level of cover, which means it’s sometimes just as cheap to take out fully-comp insurance.

That’s why we always recommend that ice cream men compare quotes for all three levels of cover and then opt for the policy that offers the most comprehensive cover at the most competitive price.