New analysis has revealed that van insurance price rises are going into reverse, with annual premiums dropping 1.7% in a year to an average £1,240, according to Consumer Intelligence.

However, the insurance market company also found that drivers using vans for work are not feeling the full benefit of the price cuts, with average annual bills falling 0.9% in the year, while drivers who use vans as a substitute for a car have seen prices drop by 5.5% in the year to July.

Average annual premiums for ‘carriage of own goods’ policies taken out by business users are £1,254 compared with £1,183 for customers who insure under “social, domestic and pleasure”, the research found.

After years of premiums heading higher, average annual bills are still 35.2% higher than they were in April 2014 when Consumer Intelligence first started collecting the data.

John Blevins, Pricing Expert at Consumer Intelligence, said: “Insurers are able to reduce prices as there are no major issues driving premiums currently and it’s simply the cost and frequency of claims that is having an impact.

“Drivers using vans for work are more likely to make bigger claims as it’s not just damage to bodywork but lost business and damaged equipment they will be claiming for. There are also some minor issues of fraudulent claims across the market, which potentially has more impact on business users.”