Insurance for van with rear seats

[TwoTone]

Hi,
I have just bought a triple seat for the back of my Transit and also windows for the rear doors and for1 side panel each side. I have rung a few insurance companies to get quotes as a 6 seater minibus, the cheapest being £570!!
Is there a cheaper way of doing it, do I just call it a van or must I declare the windows to be legal, and does that therefore make it a minibus?
Also what do I call the changes on my logbook? Any ideas?
Can anyone suggest some insurance companies to try?

[SLIPPY]

I had a van once which originally was a 15 seater minibus , then most of the seats were removed to make it a 6 seater , I got it insurerd as a "normal" van no probs , something like this...

[jolly olly]

£570 sounds cheap to me, as i was quoted £1260 with full NCB (fully comp) and that was with no mention of any windows.

[redthunder]

I've just looked into this and the trusty farmers union at branch level rather than the normal number main switch can help and it wasn't to crazy price wise although i do live in the sticks!

[SLIPPY]

£570 sounds cheap to me, as i was quoted £1260 with full NCB (fully comp) and that was with no mention of any windows.

I can double check , but that minibus picture above had a 3L petrol Boa Cosworth engine fitted + I had my Heather as a named driver who is only 29 but i am sure it was well under £570 fully comp !
I am sure it was in the late £300 's or early £400 's

as i say i can double check , but why not try budget insurance as thats who insured my cossie

[Carpetcone]

Don't forget though, if you tell the insurer a few lies or near truths to get cheaper cover, they may not payout at all in the event of a claim that you make.

If you fit extra seats the insurer will almost certainly want to know. Presumably this is because you could be carrying more passengers than the basic van and that equates to more claims if you have a crash.
If the van is a 3 seat Transit yet on the claim form you say it was carrying 7 people, then either you have overloaded it or told lies on the proposal form.
In the end its down to you. In my opinion, I can't see the point in buying insurance and then possibly making it invalid?!

Steve

[Lee J]

maybe a bit late now but here's what I learnt from it...

I needed a van to carry some tools/equipment and maximum of 4 people. I got a quote for a minibus with the seats taken out and the insurance told me it still had to be insured as a minibus because the capability is always there for me to replace the seats and carry 16 people. So I bought a MK6 and fit 2 coach seats in the back. these had built in full seat belts and both were fitted using strengthening plates under the floor and tungsten bolts. The log book and the insurance now have it down as a 4 seater transit van.

it pays to be above board with them really.