If your business relies in some way on your van, whether you're a sole trader or responsible for a whole fleet of vehicles, it's important to make sure you get the right insurance.

It's an unfortunate fact that insurance is on the rise for all road users. There are two main reasons behind this. One is the government's decision to cut the discount (Ogden) rate from 2.5% to 0.75%. What this means is that insurers now have to pay more compensation to victims of serious road accidents than previously, and higher value compensation claims mean higher premiums.

The second is the rise in insurance premium tax (IPT). IPT has been on a steady climb recently, doubling from 6% to 12% since 2015. These two factors combined have meant car insurance has hit a record high, rising 11% over the past year, as has been confirmed by the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

However, what's bad news for car users is even worse for van drivers. Consumer Intelligence has released its latest quarterly van insurance index, which has shown that the government's recent changes have led to a staggering 29.5% rise in annual premiums – that's two and a half times more than the average for car drivers, making the average premium for a van driver £1,636.

As John Blevins, the pricing expert from Consumer Intelligence explains, "before the Odgen rules came into effect in March, prices were rising by around 1% a month and then rocketed by 11.4% in April with the Insurance Premium Tax rise in June adding another 2%".

But why is this? Well, according to Consumer Intelligence, premiums are more expensive for vans than they are for cars because the costs of claims tend to be a lot higher. Payouts involving vans will usually have to cover any lost business the driver has experienced because they haven't been able to use their vehicle. And, vans tend to be more technologically advanced than cars so they're more expensive to fix.

But despite the rising costs of insurance, making sure your business is equipped with the right form of cover is an essential step. Choosing a lower level of cover that doesn't protect you adequately in order to save a small amount of money can be a false economy, because if an unfortunate event does happen and you don't have the appropriate insurance it could end up costing you a lot more.

There is also an upside, news that should help tradesmen feel a little bit better; drivers who have "carriage of own goods" policies, which are usually held by those who use their van for work, will generally have lower premiums than those who use it for a hobby or as a domestic vehicle. This is because, as their livelihood partly depends on their vehicle, drivers using a van for business are more likely to take care of it and are therefore seen as less of a risk. That's why if you only use your van strictly for work, you must make sure you choose the right form of cover – you could save yourself some cash.

Of course, with motor insurance set to hit a record high, any help finding cheap van insurance quotes is likely to be welcomed by all van drivers. iVan wants to help all van drivers find the best value quotes available without minimising on quality.

By getting a quote with iVan, you can be sure that you'll be getting comprehensive cover at the best possible price. Some of our customers have saved as much as 30% on the cost of their cover.