Here’s something which makes van drivers in general stand out from those who drive cars or trucks. A recent survey done by Swinton Commercial has shown that in the case of van drivers, they often prefer to pay for repairs to be done to their vehicle instead of making a claim on their van insurance.
Swinton Commercial is a retailer of inexpensive van insurance and thus their interest in doing the survey. What it amounts to is that most van owners would have no problem footing the bill for repairs to their vehicle. Even more interesting is the fact that 10% of the drivers surveyed stated that they would make minor repairs for themselves.
Perhaps that’s due to the fact that almost a fifth of the van drivers surveyed just aren’t bothered by the outer appearance of their vehicles. They don’t feel the need or compulsion that drivers of cars or trucks do to have their vehicles look perfect. They stated that they wouldn’t have minor dents and scratches repaired if by not doing so they could avoid making a claim on their van insurance.
Those who took part in the survey had numerous reasons for preferring to pay for repairs out of their own pockets instead of filing a claim. Forty-two percent of them stated that they wanted to keep their ‘no claims’ discount while other van drivers simply said they didn’t want to pay the excess on their van insurance policy.
Ten percent of these drivers flat out said that they would not make a claim because they disliked the thought of all the paperwork they would have to go through. This is still a major point even though the trend is now towards making any and all paperwork as little as possible. And then of course, there’s always the wait after filing before the insurance company takes any action, which can be extremely frustrating for people who just want to be done with the whole mess.
Generally it’s perfectly fine for van drivers to pay for repairs to their vehicles on their own so that they can keep their no claims van cover bonus, or if they want to save the cost of the excess or the aggravation of filling out the paperwork that comes with any claim. But van drivers are cautioned that if they are involved in an accident with a fair amount of damage done to the vehicle they would be wise to take the van to a garage and have the professionals there look it over thoroughly, no matter how tempting it may be to attempt to do the repairs themselves. A garage will know where to look for and how to find damage that might not be obviously noticeable to the van owner.
Overlooking something of even minor importance to avoid a claim on your post office van insurance can lead to serious problems at a later date. Regardless of how reluctant you may be, it’s advisable to be absolutely certain that the van is safe to drive and will not be a safety hazard to yourself or others on the road.
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