Data from Defaqto’s latest quarterly van insurance price index shows that premiums fell by 4.5% in the three months to August this year. Premiums fell by 1.8% in June, 1.9% in July and 0.9% in August and are now down by 11% on an annualised basis.

Defaqto says there is significant variance in the pricing deployed by insurers. Across a sample of 10 providers, it says price movements during the quarter ranged from a reduction of 11.1% to an increase of 4.7%.

Samuel Pompilis, market insights consultant at Defaqto, said: “Van insurance prices have resumed their downward movement after a flat spring quarter. Reductions in June, July and August have taken competitive quoted prices to 11% below last year’s level, showing that the pause in price cutting was short-lived.

“The variation between providers is just as significant as the headline fall. In our sample, one insurer increased prices by almost 5%, while another reduced them by more than 11%. Insurers are taking different approaches, and the market average alone cannot capture those decisions.”