Mmm interesting.....as my van insurance too has rocketed this year, i had to make a small claim the year before when someone hit it and drove off but i didn't expect my insurance to nearly triple lol!
Cheapest i got this year was just under £800 on an 06 connect.....when i spoke to one guy i asked why it was so expensive and he said commercial insurance has gone up massively this year so he may have been right by the sound of it
I ended up going with the people who insure my focur rs, Sky insurance.