Ice cream van insurance from £3.19 per month
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Insurance for ice cream van businesses – what’s important?
From set-up in the park to travelling between stops – wherever demand takes you, your business faces specific risks. A professional ice cream van insurance quote usually starts with public and product liability, providing cover for third party injuries, illness, and property damage. You can add protection for your stock, plus employers’ liability and personal accident cover.
- ice cream van insurance online, from quote to claim
- rated 4.7/5 based on 39K+ public liability customer reviews
- optional personal accident cover, in case an injury stops you working
What does ice cream insurance cover?
Your ice cream van insurance quote will start with public and product liability insurance – a popular cover for mobile food businesses. It’s designed to protect you against claims for illness or injuries your business has caused, or third party property damage. You can choose to add other cover options, from employers’ liability to stock and equipment insurance, depending on your business set-up.
Public liability insurance ice cream vans
In case your ice cream business causes an injury or property damage.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.
Business and office equipment insurance
In case something happens to equipment like your laptop or phone.
Stock insurance
In case something happens to your stored ingredients, products and materials.
Legal expenses insurance
In case you face legal costs in connection with your ice cream van business.
Personal accident insurance
In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or elsewhere.
Public liability insurance ice cream vans
In case your ice cream business causes an injury or property damage.
What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- damage to someone’s property, caused by your ice cream business
- an injury or illness caused by your business activities and products
- accidental damage or injuries caused by your employees
For example:
- a customer sues you for selling ice cream which hasn’t been stored at the correct temperature, after her child falls ill
- your van causes damage to a school client’s playground, while booked at the school fair
Read more about public liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance
In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.
What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- an injury or illness that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)
**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**
For example:
- your employee injures their lower back while loading stock into your van, and raises a claim
- a temp you’ve hired for the busy summer season burns their hand on your van’s hot water unit, and needs hospital treatment
Business and office equipment insurance
In case something happens to equipment like your laptop or phone.
What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?
- accidental damage to the equipment you use to run your ice cream business, like your laptop or phone
- theft, flood, and fire damage
For example:
- an overnight flash flood damages the laptop you use for work
- you drop your phone onto a concrete floor, damaging it beyond repair
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Stock insurance
In case something happens to your stored ingredients, products and materials.
What’s typically covered by stock insurance?
- loss, damage, or theft of things like prepared food items, sellable products, and other materials you use to stock your ice cream van
For example:
- a flood damages all the ice cream stock you keep in your freezer at home
- you’re parked at a funfair and a power malfunction damages the contents of your van ahead of a busy trading day
Read more about stock insurance
Legal expenses insurance
In case you face legal costs in connection with your ice cream van business.
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- legal costs attributed to your ice cream business
- property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
- tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
- access to expert advice – including a tax advice phone line, confidential 24/7 legal phone line, and crisis PR support to help you protect your professional reputation
For example:
- you incur legal costs when a resident in the street you’re parked on raises a nuisance claim against you
- you need to pay for legal representation while appealing an HSE decision against your business
Read more about legal expenses insurance
Personal accident insurance
In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or elsewhere.
What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?
- accidental injury or death at or outside of work, for anyone covered on the policy
- lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit
For example:
- you’re in a minor road accident while cycling, and can’t work for two weeks
- your employee traps their finger in your ice cream van door, and needs three weeks off work
Read more about personal accident insurance
This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions
How much does ice cream van insurance cost?
Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.
Prices start from £3.19 per month
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10% of our customers paid up to £38.32 a year for a public liability insurance policy between 1st April 2023 - 30th June 2023. Equivalent to £3.19 per month based on a monthly cost when paying for the policy in one annual payment. Paying monthly is usually more expensive as you'll pay interest. Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.
Example ice cream van insurance quotes, real prices
£13.82 /month
£118.24 /month
A small ice cream van working mainly in local park car parks
- 2-3 years' experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Derby
Public liability
£1,000,000
Employers’ liability
Not included
Stock
Not included
£31.5 /month
£279.96 /month
A ice cream van business who offer vans for hire at functions and venues nationwide
- 5+ years' experience
- Limited company
- 2 employees
- Based in York
Public liability
£2,000,000
Employers’ liability
£10,000,000
Stock
£2,500
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 16/08/2021). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.
What kind of excess should I expect?
An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.
Insurance cover | Lowest excess | Highest excess |
|---|---|---|
Public liability | £100 | £2500 |
Employers' liability | No excess | No excess |
Tools | £60 | £500 |
Stock | £100 | £500 |
Business and office equipment | £50 | £750 |
The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.
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How do I choose insurance?
Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.
Which type of workers do I need insurance for?
Does ice cream van insurance cover my work correctly?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
Which type of workers do I need insurance for?
Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.
If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.
Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.
Does ice cream van insurance cover my work correctly?
Make sure you're picking the right cover to protect you properly. It's important to know that if you have another trade or job, you'll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider catering van insurance or market traders insurance?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:
Other types of insurance
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.
Talk to an expert
Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am - 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am - 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am - 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am - 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am - 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am - 02.00pm
Call our team
How do claims work?
Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive. The figure below is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.
£39 million in claims paid out in 2022
Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022
Example claim
Having ice cream van insurance through Simply Business has saved UK companies thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.
Lisa saved more than £700
Lisa (not her real name) went into her garage to start loading for the weekend, but found her entire ice cream stock had spoiled, after she’d made some repairs to her van. The stock cover in her ice cream van insurance policy covered Lisa’s last-minute replacement costs.
Insurance payout
£797.83
Covering the cost of accidental damage
Lisa’s costs
£100
The excess amount stated in Lisa’s policy terms
Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords
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Ice cream van insurance FAQs
Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about ice cream van insurance cost, set-up, and other aspects of our cover. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
This depends on your business, and which insurer is providing your cover. Prices start from £4.61 a month for insurance for our UK ice cream van insurance policies – we work this out by taking the highest price from the bottom 10 per cent of all our customers paying in monthly instalments (based on data from 1 September 2021 - 28th February 2022). Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.
Public and product liability insurance is often an important cover for mobile food businesses and ice cream vans – it’s designed to protect you if someone is injured or gets sick, or their property is damaged, because of your business.
Do you employ any staff? If so, you’re usually required by law to take out employer’s liability insurance, even if it’s for a contractor team member, or casual and seasonal staff. You’ll face fines of up to £2,500 a day for anyone you haven’t covered correctly.
From there, you can pick and choose from other specific protection for your ice cream van’s stock and equipment like your phone or laptop, plus legal expenses for things like employee disputes and personal accident cover for the slip-ups that can hold up contracts and business as usual. Our professional ice cream insurance policies are flexible – you can bundle everything into one policy or go for just one or two covers, depending on what you need.
Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.
If you change your business legal structure from sole trader to limited company mid-way through your policy, give us a call straight away on 0333 043 8527. It’ll only take us a few minutes to cancel your existing policy and replace it with one that correctly covers your new legal structure. It’s worth bearing in mind that your insurer and premium amount may need to change.
This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.
If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.
There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.
We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions
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