Only a business van policy that names tools in transit in its cover list. Carriage of own goods, the class of use tradespeople need, insures the van while it carries your tools, stock and equipment to jobs. It doesn't usually insure the tools. For those you need a policy with tools in transit built in, an add-on that bolts it on, or a separate tools policy.

The quick test is the cover list on the insurer's page or in the policy wording. If tools in transit isn't named there with a limit next to it, assume the tools aren't covered and ask before you buy.

What tools in transit cover protects

Tools in transit cover pays for your own tools and equipment if they're lost, stolen or damaged while they're in the van for your work. The limit is normally a single figure for everything in the van, not a figure per item, and it's usually far lower than the value of a working tradesperson's kit.

Every policy attaches its own conditions. The ones to read for are whether the van has to be locked, whether a theft has to leave signs of forced entry, what happens overnight, and the excess you pay on a tools claim. Zego's guide to van insurance groups covers why undeclared tools kept in the van overnight can void a claim.

Three things to check before you rely on it

1. Add up what's actually in the van. A cordless combi drill, an SDS, a multitool and a set of good hand tools can pass £500 on their own. If the limit is lower than the kit, the policy is a contribution, not a replacement.
2. Read the overnight rule. Policies often limit or exclude theft from a van left on the street at night, or ask for a locked garage or secure yard. The limit means nothing if the condition isn't met.
3. Find the excess and ask about your no claims discount. A tools claim can carry its own excess, and some policies treat it like any other claim at renewal. Ask the insurer how a tools claim is counted.

Tools in transit, goods in transit and personal belongings are different covers

These three get mixed up in the same breath, and they insure different things. Tools in transit covers your own tools and equipment, carried for your own work, and belongs with business van cover.

Goods in transit covers other people's goods you're paid to carry, which is courier work. That needs courier van insurance, a hire and reward policy, and goods in transit is a separate cover on top, not one Zego sells. Zego's guide to the difference between food and parcel delivery insurance explains when couriers need it.

Personal belongings covers the phone, jacket and bag you'd carry in any vehicle, and usually has its own, lower limit.

If you carry your own tools to your own jobs, tools in transit is the one that matters. If you deliver for others, you're on the wrong page and need courier cover.

What Zego's business van insurance includes

Zego's business van insurance is an annual, fully comprehensive policy for people carrying their own goods, with business use, commuting and personal driving on the same policy. Tools in transit cover up to £500 is included as standard, along with personal belongings cover up to £300. You don't add it or pay extra for it.

The rest of the cover list, as published on the policy page:

• Costs for causing damage to other vehicles or property up to £5m
• Loss, damage or theft of your van and its spare parts
• Windscreen cover, with a £25 excess for repairs or £100 for a replacement
• Audio, communication and navigation equipment up to £500
• Key and lock cover up to £300
• Personal accident cover up to £5,000 and motor legal protection up to £100,000
• A courtesy vehicle while yours is repaired by an approved repairer

No claims discount protection and UK breakdown cover are optional extras. The policy runs on Zego's app-based telematics, with no black box to fit, and your renewal price reflects how you drive.

Put the £500 against your own kit. A plumber carrying £3,000 of tools would get up to £500 from the policy after a theft from the van, and would need separate tools insurance for the rest. Any overnight, locked-van or forced-entry conditions on that £500 will be in the policy documents rather than on the product page, so read them before you count on it. That's the honest way to read any tools in transit limit, ours included.

When you need separate tools insurance

A standalone tools policy, or a tools section on a tradesperson's business insurance, earns its keep when the kit is worth more than the van policy's limit, when tools live on site or at home as well as in the van, or when you're responsible for hired-in plant and equipment. Zego's guide to what insurance tradespeople should have covers tools and equipment insurance alongside the other covers a tradesperson needs.

Count what's in the van, compare it with the limit on your policy, and insure the gap. That's the whole job.