Coverage
A cargo van doing delivery work needs a commercial auto policy. Personal auto excludes business use, and that exclusion is exactly where claims die.
Commercial cargo van insurance covers the liability your van creates on the road, and can add physical damage for the van itself, cargo coverage for what it carries, and hired and non-owned auto for the days you flex capacity with a rented or borrowed vehicle.
Sprinter vans, step vans, and high-roof cargo vans each rate differently, and what you haul matters: parcels, medical supplies, and furniture carry different cargo exposures. I price against your actual vehicle list and manifest, one van or forty.
The most common gap I see: an owner-operator running a contract on personal auto with a delivery endorsement that stopped being enough two contracts ago. If a shipper is asking you for a certificate, you're past the personal-auto stage.
Questions
Price is driven by the van's value, your operating radius, your driving record, what you haul, and the liability limits your contracts require. A single clean-record van costs far less to insure than fleet operators fear, and quoting your actual VIN takes minutes.
Generally no. Personal policies exclude business use, and delivering goods for pay is business use. Some carriers offer limited delivery endorsements, but contract work that requires a certificate of insurance needs a commercial policy.
Commercial auto liability at your contract's required limit is the core. Most sprinter operators add physical damage on the van, cargo coverage for the goods, and hired and non-owned auto if other vehicles ever do the work. General liability is often required alongside.
One van is fine. Commercial auto policies scale from a single vehicle to a full fleet, and adding vans mid-term as you grow is routine. Starting with the right policy makes each added van a phone call, not a remarket.
The intake takes about five minutes. I quote against your actual vehicle and driver list, not a generic profile.
TISKIY