Van insurance premiums have fallen across the board in 2026, but the biggest price reductions have gone to drivers of older vehicles. That pattern has direct implications for brokers advising commercial clients on vehicle replacement decisions.
New analysis from Defaqto Market Pricing shows the median of the five most competitive prices for eight-year-old vans fell 8% between December 2025 and August 2026. Prices for five-year-old vans decreased 6.3%, while three-year-old vehicles recorded the smallest reduction at 5.2%. Across all van profiles monitored, prices fell 6.8% over the first eight months of 2026.
The year-on-year comparison is more pronounced. The typical premium fell 16.6%, from £723 in August 2025 to £603 in August 2026. The Defaqto findings were published as new "76" plate vans entered the market in September, a point at which fleets, small businesses, and self-employed drivers typically review vehicle replacement decisions.
The age-premium relationship in van insurance is less straightforward than it might appear. “There is no simple rule that a newer van will cost more or less to insure," said Stephen Kennedy, director at Defaqto Market Pricing. "Newer vehicles may benefit from improved safety and security, but their higher value and more sophisticated components can increase theft, repair and replacement costs. Age is also only one part of the risk alongside the precise model, driver, occupation, mileage and use, and therefore assumptions based on age alone could prove misleading.”
Age is also only one variable alongside the vehicle model, driver profile, occupation, mileage, and declared use. The practical point for brokers is that clients assuming a newer van will attract a lower premium may be working from an incomplete picture. The price gap between an eight-year-old and a three-year-old van was just 2.8 percentage points in 2026, and the calculus can shift significantly depending on the specific vehicle and its use class.
The Defaqto data sits within a broader market correction that has outpaced the equivalent movement in private motor. Earlier Defaqto figures showed van pricing down 10% year-on-year, compared with just 2% for private motor over the same period.
The van segment also softened at a faster rate than private motor throughout 2025 and into 2026, according to data published by Pearson Ham Group, whose market pricing business was acquired by Defaqto in January 2026.
That divergence is happening against a deteriorating profitability backdrop. EY's July 2026 analysis forecast the UK motor market would post a net combined ratio of 108% for the year, with net claims expected to rise 4% in 2026, driven by higher average costs per claim rather than increased claims volumes. EY maintained that 2026 would be the most difficult year of the current soft cycle.
Brokers placing commercial van business are operating in a window where premiums remain materially below their 2024 peak, but the direction of travel is shifting. EY has forecast motor premium rate increases of 4% in 2026 and a further 12% in 2027. The August 2026 Defaqto data suggests the van market has not yet moved sharply in that direction, but the pace of falls has slowed relative to earlier in the year.
The data suggests age alone is a poor guide to insurance cost for clients reviewing their fleet ahead of the September plate change. Use class, driver profile, and the specific model remain more decisive. Brokers who present renewal options across vehicle age brackets, with accurate quotes across those variables, are better placed to demonstrate value than those relying on assumptions the current market does not support.
