So i was always under the impression that when you passed an HGV test you were considered and advanced driver and it would therefore reduce your car insurance.
I’ve just been told by my insurer that being an HGV driver or a Courier is no different.
Anyone found insurers that take into consideration the HGV licence?
Perversely, having a HGV licence often increases your premium, due to a perceived increased risk. There really is very little that actually decreases your premium. As for HGV licence holders being considered Advanced motorists, why would that be? You have managed to prove that you are competent enough to pass the HGV test, nothing more.
strangely enough the asda insurance website does not list hgv drivers as professional drivers in it’s description for the question are you a professional driver.
taxi drivers, van drivers, chauffeurs, driving instructors etc. but not lorry drivers, truck drivers, lgv or hgv drivers.
strange that really.
i find the best thing to do is to visit one of those search insurance sites, you put in your details and it searches the insurance companies for you and within minutes you have 20 to 50 insurance quotes to choose from.
ive just saved over £100 by shopping around, quote for the pt cruiser was £276, now moved to rac at a cost of £158.
As for HGV licence holders being considered Advanced motorists, why would that be? You have managed to prove that you are competent enough to pass the HGV test, nothing more.
You could also say the same for anyone who’s passed an IAM course…
dennisw1:
You could also say the same for anyone who’s passed an IAM course…
Not really. The IAM course is additional training above and beyond the basic requirement, and therfore recognised as an advanced motoring qualification, whereas the HGV licence is entry level standard for the vehicles in question.
I don’t know if there is such a thing as an IAM HGV course, but if there was, anyone holding that qualification would be deemed an Advanced HGV Driver.
There is one big mis-conception when Drivers see the word professional when looking at Motor Insurance.
The Question is asked to establish if the risk of insuring you will be increased due to your occupation, I.E A Taxi Driver would spend more time driving in town centres increasing the risk of an accident, the information supplied also establishes whether the vehicle could be used for commercial purposes.
LGV Drivers are treat the same way as Bus Drivers, there is less chance of them being involved in an accident in their own vehicle as they mainly drive company vehicles during the week.
Tramper:
I don’t know if there is such a thing as an IAM HGV course, but if there was, anyone holding that qualification would be deemed an Advanced HGV Driver.
AFAIK there is, if you pass you get a blue IAM badge.
Davey Driver:
LGV Drivers are treat the same way as Bus Drivers, there is less chance of them being involved in an accident in their own vehicle as they mainly drive company vehicles during the week.
Although they may be considered to be a higher risk since they’re likely to be driving home after a long shift of 8/9/10 hours on the road and therefore (potentially) more likely to have an accident due to fatigue.
dennisw1:
So i was always under the impression that when you passed an HGV test you were considered and advanced driver and it would therefore reduce your car insurance.I’ve just been told by my insurer that being an HGV driver or a Courier is no different.
Anyone found insurers that take into consideration the HGV licence?
Use www.confused.com
Decent ones do. I’ve got quotes putting in different job titles and HGV has always returned the cheapest.
I once asked why my quote was so expensive at one renewal. THe reply was that as I was a HGV driver, I was more likely to be driving other cars on my other vehicle extension. In other words, they assumed I was a car transporter because I had a HGV licence. I pointed out that the number of car transporters is around 1/10th of 1 percent of all lorries, that it’s specialist and I’d never driven one. THe person on the other end of the phone sounded genuinely amazed.
In the end, my quote dropped over £150.
dennis w1 , my ins went up 120 pound this year so rang round and cheapest was asda [140 pounds cheaper] so rang churchill back and quoted asda price and after droping 30 pounds at a time 
i finally got it for the asda price. so if your happy with the company your with but not the price this may work.
It can be a lot cheaper to have 2 drivers on one policy too check this out.
Add a second person
Rather than increasing the price adding a second driver with a good record, even if they won’t use the car, sometimes reduces the premium as it smooths out the average risk. It won’t always work, but it is worth playing with quotes.
Seen here → moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bi … 16780,9140,
My car is group 10 and fully comp protected for me wasa £230 thats the best i could get that also includes FULL AA cover.
If I tell the truth I think that after a hard week I am a poor car driver on my way home in the car. Tired and it feels weird so maybe the ins co’s think this too
Only reason i ask is i was listed on the insurance as a ‘courier’ although as i now spend 2/3 of my time in a lorry i had it changed to HGV driver. Which made no differnce.
My ‘car’ insurance for my classic Mini is one of the cheapest going as it’s a specialist policy at £445 full comp with all mods listed and agreed value of £6500.
I’ve just bought a Vauxhall combo van though to comute in and move my model boat about in, i got a quote of £310 TPF&T with a 50% introductory offer! Expensive i thought, initially they were worried that i was using it for courier work, hence i changed my main policy to HGV driver.
Being a van has caused problems as for some reason most places wont quote on vans, if i’d just got a Corsa it would have been easier!
I’m down with my insurance company as being a Forklift driver who holds an HGV licence. That way I seem to get the benefits of having the vocational licence without the perceived risk from using it… 
A couple of years ago a friend of mine got talking to guy who worked as an insurance risk assessor. He reckoned that, at the time, the cheapest combination was to be a Landscape Gardener living in Oxford. Totally useless information I know (and probably out of date now), but still food for thought… 
It depends on the insurance company, my renewal came through a few weeks back for £860.00, went on a few websites (everyone should go on confused.com & moneysupermarket.com)
Prices were £490.00 to £1780.00
few phone calls later I got a quote for £450.00 and they did say I got that because Im a professional driver.
You should never ever just except your renewal quote, your just giving money to the insurance company. 
Remember insurance companies only goal is to make money 
My insurance is a nightmare .
My landy started life as a hard sided "commercial " vehicle .
Now been converted to having seats and windows in the back plus all the rest of the offroad protection and other such gubbins added to it .
I have to use specialist insurance the usual insurance companies wont touch it . £300 fully comp with only half NCB .
Its often worth getting in touch with specialist insurance , they can quote very cheap , cheaper than the main stream insurers by a long shot .
Many dont want modified vehicles as it creates more paper work for them.
Confused.com are great, but dont do private vans…
paul@midway:
My insurance is a nightmare .
My landy started life as a hard sided "commercial " vehicle .
Now been converted to having seats and windows in the back plus all the rest of the offroad protection and other such gubbins added to it .
I have to use specialist insurance the usual insurance companies wont touch it . £300 fully comp with only half NCB .
Its often worth getting in touch with specialist insurance , they can quote very cheap , cheaper than the main stream insurers by a long shot .
NFU are good with landy’s, they were the only ones who would touch a range rover I had once - it was “modified” according to most - it had an izuzu diesel engine in it making it much slower than the standard v8
oh, and for insurance purposes I’m a farmer with a HGV licence 
have just got a quote from direct line on an 06 renault megane 225,with my missus on it i have no no claims due to company vans before hgv job and it came out at 335 quid which i think is bloody great 
it had to be good picking it up on wednesday ordered it before checking on insurance(got carried away) 