Van insurance premiums in the UK continued their downward trajectory in early 2026, falling 2.3% over the three months to February, according to the latest Quarterly Van Insurance Price Index from Pearson Ham Group's Market Pricing Business.
Average top-five quoted prices have now dropped 6.7% over six months and nearly 14% year on year, with the cumulative reduction from the October 2024 market peak standing at approximately 25%.
The figures follow a December 2025 index that already showed insurance premiums falling 4.4% over the three months to November, with London posting the steepest regional decline at 21% and the North East recording the smallest at roughly 17%.
Following a flat December, competitive activity resumed in January and February with prices continuing to edge lower. The van insurance segment has softened at a faster rate than private motor over the past 12 months.
The scale of the decline reflects several overlapping forces. Lower inflation has eased repair and energy costs, while improved parts supply chains have reduced average claim values after a sharp run-up in 2022–23.
Insurers, with better visibility on claims costs, have competed more aggressively – Consumer Intelligence data shows new business prices on comparison sites fell roughly 3.5% between January and November 2025.
Structural reforms have also played a role. The UK government's Whiplash Reform Programme has significantly reduced claims volumes.
Data obtained by the Association of Consumer Support Organisations showed motor claims fell 14% to 282,428 in 2025, while research from law firm Clyde & Co found road traffic claims made to compensators had dropped around 50% compared with pre-pandemic levels – to roughly 360,000 cases in 2023/24.
Yet the sustainability of the current pricing cycle is far from assured. The Association of British Insurers reported that the industry paid out a record £3.2 billion in motor claims in the first quarter of 2025, with repair costs accounting for 64% of the total at £1.9 billion.
The FCA's own motor claims analysis, published in July 2025, found that average claim costs had risen 37% between 2019 and 2023, from £2,410 to £3,293.
EY's December 2025 motor insurance analysis warned that for every £1 earned in consumer premiums in 2025, the sector is forecast to pay out £1.01 in claims and expenses, rising to £1.11 in 2026. EY UK insurance partner Dan Beard cautioned that the "outlook has deteriorated further than expected."
Beneath the headline figures, Pearson Ham data shows year-on-year pricing changes among major insurers ranging from 7% to as much as 34%, with one provider recording back-to-back monthly increases.
Stephen Kennedy (pictured above), director at Pearson Ham Group, called the correction "a fundamental repricing of the market," while market insights consultant Sam Pompilis said the headline numbers obscure meaningful differences by driver age, with under-26s seeing the steepest falls at roughly 17%.
"Insurers and brokers need to understand not just that the market is falling, but how quickly, where, and for whom," Pompilis said.
