Young driver van insurance - can anyone explain.....?

BASHED

Six months ago my son traded in his car for a van and, once I'd got over the initial shock of insurance for a 19 year old to drive a van for hire and reward, off he went, finding a job he genuinely loved getting up for.  He's been doing it for 6 months but the van he bought was old and it's been off the road a few times but parts are obsolete or hugely difficult to source.  So, his 20th birthday arrived and we hoped insurance premiums might start to ease and he decided to look for a newer van (around a 2011 plate).  
However, when going on comparison sites, he was receiving quotes two and three times greater than his current one.  I am devastated for him because there's no sign of sorting his current van and no prospect of insuring a new one.  He has made no claims and has no points on his licence.  In trying to find solutions - specialist young van driver companies, an insurance broker etc we've been told it could be because of his age, because of too many comparison site searches/changes which has made insurers jumpy, it's because he needs 2 years driving experience etc but I am bamboozled by the fact he found affordable insurance as a 19 year old and now it's all £850+ per month as a 20 year old. Can anyone explain what we might be doing wrong?  Or suggest a company that would be prepared to look at him being covered, please? Any solution/help at all would be gratefully received. 

CSI_Yorkshire

Renewal prices have gone up significantly since last year - this might not be you doing anything wrong at all.

BASHED

Thank you. I’ve followed Martin for years and his help navigating the weird market that is insurance has been invaluable. I still don’t understand how for 6 months this year it was ok and now it’s exploded on us making a job he loves, and has invested so much in to get up and running, no longer viable. 

Aretnap

6 months ago was it a case of one company being very much cheaper than most of the others? If so then it may just be a case of that one company changing it's underwriting criteria or realising that they were out of step with the rest of the market for young ban drivers etc. That plus the general increase in insurance prices would add up to a big rise. Basically you can sometimes get lucky with a very good deal - which won't always be available next year.

BASHED

That’s useful to know. Thank you. 

chalkybar

Glad your son has found a job he loves to do, unfortunately it does seem unfair that once again the younger driver’s are being hit with this….my son too. Both our sons sound like sensible drivers but they’re victims of all the other young idiots that aren’t.
not an ideal solution but does he have to actually have a van, or commercial type vehicle? Maybe a larger car, people carrier type, may prove a bit cheaper if he needs to carry equipment? I know where I work the company van insurers always put a loading on any named under 25 year olds. 

chrisw

If he can afford a newer van, why can't he afford to fix his current van? If it gave him an extra year or two it might give a chance for his premiums to come down a bit.

BASHED

Hi. Thanks chalkybar and chrisw for your posts. His current van is old and parts are obsolete or take weeks to source so he’s been losing money being off the road. Hence looked for a new van with the hope of parts being more readily available etc but that’s when we discovered how much premiums have soared this year.