Unfortunately not everyone can get insured on a short term van insurance policy. The acceptance criteria is generally stricter compared to a traditional longer term annual policy. Although the specific qualifications will vary slightly between insurers the criteria will go over will give you an idea as to whether or not you could qualify for temporary van insurance.
As will all insurance you will need to hold a full and valid UK or EU driving licence. The licence should have been held for at least a year so if you have just passed your test you will not be able to get insured. The age criteria tends to be set at a minimum of 21 years of age however under certain circumstances for some types of vehicle the minimum age limit may be set higher. So those looking for temp van insurance under 25 years of age should be able to get cover.
As you are already probably aware that without a clean licence the cost of getting insured is going to be more expensive. You should not have had more than two fault claims or had any disqualifications in the last 3 years. If you have had a motoring offence involving reckless, careless or dangerous driving or been convicted of theft of unauthorised taking in the last 3 years you cannot get insured. Having more than 8 points on your licence will also preclude you as will in the last 5 years being convicted of any of the following offences including handling stolen goods, robbery, theft, fraud or have a pending prosecution or police enquiry.
There are certain criteria the van you want to insure needs to meet. The van needs to be UK registered and have a value of less than £75,000 compared to a value of £50,000 for a car. You cannot insure a vehicle that has been imported whether it is a personal import or a grey import such as a Mazda Xedos. The vehicle must not have a gross vehicle weight of more than 3.5 tonnes or have been modified other than factory modifications at the time the vehicle was manufactured.
Under certain circumstances a van cannot be insured under a temporary van insurance policy. You cannot insure a van with more than 8 seats or use the van to carry passengers for any kind of reward. It is also not allowed under this type of policy to carry dangerous or hazardous materials or drive in a dangerous or hazardous location. Whilst you can use the policy to cover a courtesy vehicle you cannot use the policy to insure a hired van or one owned by a hire van company.
Although this is not an exhaustive list of the conditions of getting temporary van insurance it does cover the major factors affecting coverage. If you are a young driver you may find that coverage is not available for younger drivers particularly if you are trying to get temporary van insurance under 21 years of age.