Van cover for a full 24 hours

One Day Van Insurance

A comprehensive policy that runs for a whole day, for a house move, a tip run, a van you are trying out or a colleague’s van for the day, with the owner’s no claims discount left alone.

A full 24 hours, start to suit
Vans up to 3.5 tonnes
Comprehensive as standard
Owner’s no claims untouched

In partnership with GoShorty

FCA-regulated cover

Every policy is arranged by an authorised UK insurance broker
1 day

A full 24 hours from the start time you choose
Certificate emailed to you

Your policy number and documents, minutes after paying
MID updated four times a day

So a roadside check shows the vehicle as insured

What Is One Day Van Insurance?

One day van insurance is a comprehensive policy for a van up to 3.5 tonnes that runs for a full 24 hours from the start time you choose, then ends on its own.

It is the one-day length of temporary van insurance, the product that runs from one hour to 28 days on a single policy. The policy has its own certificate and policy number, and it sits alongside whatever annual insurance the van already carries. Business class 1 use is included as standard, and carriage of your own goods can be added.

It is also the van counterpart of temporary car insurance, bought by the day and not the year. A van job is rarely as short as it looks, and a day gives the whole job room: loading, the drive, the unloading, the wait outside the tip, and the return trip. Because the policy is separate from the owner’s own insurance, a claim on it does not touch their no claims discount, which is why owners are comfortable lending a van and borrowers are comfortable asking.

How Do You Get One Day Van Insurance?

Enter the registration, say who is driving and when cover should start, choose one day and the use, then check the quote and the policy wording before you pay.

1
Enter the registration

The number plate pulls up the make, model, weight and value, which is most of what the quote is priced on. The van must have a valid MOT, must not be SORN or seized, must not be a hire or rental van, and must not be a converted campervan.
2
Say who is driving and when

Your licence details, your address and the start time. Cover can start within minutes of paying, or you can set it for the hour you collect the van. One driver is named on each policy, so a second driver needs a policy of their own.
3
Choose one day and the use

Pick one day. Business class 1 use, such as driving to sites and meetings, is included. Add carriage of your own goods if you are moving your own belongings or carrying your own tools. If you will carry other people’s goods for payment, that is hire and reward, which is a different product.
4
Check it, then buy

Read what is covered, what is excluded and what the optional extras add. The certificate lands in your inbox as soon as you pay, and that certificate, not the quote, is the proof of cover. Cover exists only once the policy is issued and the certificate is in hand.

When Does the Day Start and End?

A one day policy runs for 24 hours from the start time you choose, so the end time is the start time on the following day.

The start time is your choice. It can be within minutes of paying, which suits a van you are collecting now, or it can be set for later, which suits a van you are collecting at a fixed time tomorrow. Set it for the moment you take the keys and not the moment you buy, so that none of the 24 hours is spent with the van still on the drive.

The policy stops at the time printed on the certificate. It does not stop when the job does, and it does not carry on when the job overruns. That is the practical argument for buying a day and not an hour: the hour ends sharply, and a day leaves slack for the queue at the tip, the late handover and the sofa that would not fit through the door.

What you choose	What happens
Start within minutes of paying	The 24 hours run from that start time, and the end time is the same time tomorrow.
Start at the hour you collect the van	The van is covered from the moment you take it, and cover ends 24 hours later.
Start the evening before a 7am job	The evening hours are spent before you need them, so the cover ends before the job is finished.
The job finishes early	The policy still runs to the printed end time, so there is nothing to cancel at the end of the job.

Ready when you are

See what a day in the van would cost.

Just the registration to begin. Fully comprehensive, 1 day.

Get Quotes

When Is One Day Van Cover the Right Choice?

One day cover suits any job that fills a good part of a day or whose finish time you cannot fix: a house move, a tip run, a van you are trying out, or someone else’s van for the day.

Moving house

The commonest reason. You borrow a friend’s van, or take one from a relative, and need it for the day. Their policy almost never covers you as a driver, and being added to it for a day is slow and risks their discount. A one day policy with carriage of your own goods leaves their policy alone, and the 24 hours take in packing, driving and the second trip nobody planned.

A tip run or a flat-pack collection

Clearing a garage, taking a load of rubble to the tip, collecting a sofa or a wardrobe from a shop or a seller. These jobs have no clean end time: the shop’s loading bay is busy, the seller is late, and the tip has a queue.

A van you are trying out or have just bought

Test driving a van before buying, or driving one home after the sale. A van from a private seller is not on your annual policy yet, and the drive home is the part people forget to insure. The van still has to meet the criteria on weight, value and MOT, and the quote shows whether it is accepted. For cars the same idea is covered by drive away insurance and test drive insurance.

Someone else’s van, or a drive to an MOT

Covering a colleague’s van while theirs is in the garage, or a friend’s van for the day. The policy is in your name and has its own certificate, so the owner’s no claims discount is untouched. A drive to a pre-booked MOT is a journey like any other, but the criteria for this product ask for a valid MOT, so check the quote for the registration before you rely on it.

What Does One Day Van Insurance Cover?

It covers the van and your liability to other people, comprehensively, with business class 1 use included, but it does not cover tools, cargo or goods in transit.

What is covered

Third party liability for injury and damage to others, which every UK motor policy must carry. Accidental and malicious damage to the van itself, fire and theft, subject to the excess shown on the schedule. Business class 1 use is included as standard, which means driving to sites, meetings and suppliers. Carriage of your own goods is an option that can be added.

What is not covered

Tools, cargo and goods in transit are outside the policy. If a thief takes your toolkit from the back of the van, or you damage a customer’s furniture, the van policy pays for the van and not for the contents. Wear and tear and breakdown are outside it too. Carrying goods for someone else for payment is hire and reward, which is a separate product: see temporary courier insurance.

Optional extras

Excess protection and legal cover can be added, and they are priced in the quote. Carriage of your own goods is the extra most people need on a van job. The detail is set by the broker and the insurer that takes the risk, and it is in the policy wording and the insurance product information document rather than here. Read both before you pay.

How Much Does One Day Van Insurance Cost?

From £15.36 for one day. Your own quote depends on the van, the driver and the use.

What moves the price is the same as on any motor policy, and the four things that matter most are below. A week was published from £51.82 and two weeks from £62.64, and no 28 day price is published.

What sets your price

1 The van Value, weight and the type of body.
2 The driver Age, how long the licence has been held, claims and convictions.
3 The use Carriage of your own goods adds to the price; hire and reward is a separate product.
4 The start time Cover starting in the small hours is priced differently from a daytime policy.

Starting prices on this page are GoShorty’s published from-prices, based on quotes from December 2025 to May 2026. A starting price is the lowest sold to anyone, not a typical price, and every quote is individual. Source: GoShorty’s published prices.

Who Can Get One Day Van Insurance?

Drivers aged 19 to 74 with a full UK licence, driving a van up to 3.5 tonnes with a valid MOT. Age limits, the licence types accepted and the value band vary by insurer.

The driver

Aged 19 to 74, with the limits varying by insurer, a full licence and not a provisional one, and a permanent UK address. Points and motoring convictions are declared on the form within each insurer’s limits. The standard criteria for temporary van cover also ask that you have never had insurance refused, cancelled or voided, and that you have no unspent criminal conviction or prosecution pending. One driver is covered on each policy.

The van

Up to 3.5 tonnes, which a category B car licence covers; GOV.UK sets out the licence categories, and anything heavier needs a different category of licence. The van must be worth between £500 and £65,000, with each insurer setting its own band, have a valid MOT, not be SORN, not be seized, not be a hire or rental van and not be a converted campervan, which needs temporary motorhome insurance.

Who cannot

Drivers under 19 cannot get van cover on the panel. Learners on a provisional licence need temporary learner driver insurance on a car, and a driver carrying goods for payment needs temporary courier insurance. Anyone driving a hire or rental van is outside this product, and the rental company normally includes insurance in the hire price, so ask what that covers.

One Day Compared With an Hour and a Week

Hourly, one-day and weekly cover are the same policy at different lengths. The table sets the three side by side.

All the published prices are the lowest sold between December 2025 and May 2026. The three lengths are the same policy for a different period, so the cover is identical and the only question is how long you will have the van. Weekly van insurance and monthly van insurance explain the longer lengths.

	One hour	One day	One week
Runs for	By the hour	A full 24 hours from the start time you choose	A week at a time
Published starting price	£21.44	£15.36	£51.82
Typical use	One short run with a fixed end	A move, a tip run, a collection, a van for the day	A job, a fit-out, a van on loan while yours is repaired

What Happens If You Drive the Van Without the Right Cover?

Driving without insurance is a fixed penalty of £300 and 6 penalty points, or an unlimited fine and possible disqualification at court, and the van can be seized.

GOV.UK sets out the penalties for driving without insurance, including the fixed penalty, the points and the power of the police to seize the vehicle. The owner’s own policy does not cover a borrower unless the borrower is named on it, and a driving other cars extension on a car policy does not stretch to a van. Driving on the wrong use leaves a claim unpaid, which is the same loss by a slower route.

The police and insurers check the Motor Insurance Database through askMID, which is updated four times a day, so a new policy can take a few hours to appear. Keep the emailed certificate on your phone in case the database has not caught up when you are stopped. A policy cannot be bought after the event, so a day that ends at 3pm does not cover a collision at 3.10pm.

Questions

One Day Van Insurance: FAQs

What time does a one day van policy start and end?

It starts at the time you choose, which can be within minutes of paying or set for later, and it ends exactly 24 hours afterwards. A policy that starts at 8am on Saturday ends at 8am on Sunday. Check the end time on the quote and the certificate, because the policy stops at that minute and not when the job does.

How much does one day van insurance cost?

From £15.36 for one day, on the broker’s published prices. Your own quote is set by the driver, the van and the use you choose, so treat that as a floor and not a typical price.

Can you insure a van for 3 months?

Not on one temporary policy, which stops at 28 days. Back-to-back policies are possible, but each is a fresh quote with no promise of the same price or the same decision.

What is the lowest-cost way to insure a van for a day?

There is no single lowest-cost insurer. The length and the use set the price, and both are shown on the quote before you pay. A policy that is too short and bought again is two policies, and a policy on the wrong use may not pay a claim.

Can I get one day van insurance under 21?

With some insurers. The minimum age for van cover varies by insurer, and the lowest on the panel is 19, so a driver aged 19 or 20 may be quoted and a younger one will not.

Can I insure someone else’s van for a day?

Yes, and it is the most common use. The owner has to be happy for you to drive it, and the van has to meet the standard criteria on weight, value, MOT and use. The policy has its own certificate and policy number, so a claim on it does not touch the owner’s no claims discount.

Can I insure my own van for one day?

Yes, if the van meets the same criteria as any other. People use it for the days between selling one van and starting an annual policy on the next, or for a single day when their own cover has lapsed. Enter the registration and the quote shows whether the van is accepted.

Can I use one day van insurance for an MOT?

The criteria for this product ask for a valid MOT, so check the quote for your registration before you rely on it for a drive to a test. If the van already has a valid MOT, a day policy covers the round trip to the garage like any other journey. Do not assume a van with an expired MOT will be quoted.

Can I extend it if the job runs over?

No. A policy cannot be stretched, so a job that runs past the end time needs a second policy bought before the first one ends. That is the reason to buy the day and not the hour: a day removes the risk of finishing the job uninsured.

Does one day van insurance cover my tools?

No. The policy covers the van and your liability to other people, but not tools, cargo or goods in transit. Tools and stock need their own insurance, and a thief who empties the back of the van is a loss on that policy and not on this one.

Does it cost anything to get a quote?

No. Getting a quote is free and you are under no obligation to buy. We may be paid a fee by the broker if someone takes out a policy after being introduced by us. It does not change the price you are quoted.

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