URGENT importing a new motorhome

[McLouis]

Hi out there, This is my first ever forum posting so please bear with me. I am committed to collecting a new motorhome in two weeks from Belgium and my insurance company "The C C Club" have misled me and let me down and will only cover me from when I get back to the UK, and not before even though they initially inplied it would be ok that to collect it and stay for a week, to get things sorted should anything not go quite right. I would be eternally grateful if somebody could point me in the correct direction. I have tried most of the usual companies and they all come up with the same answers, they will cover me when I get back to UK and I can go back to Europe as many times as I want afterwards and nobody will cover me from collection then to stay for a week then come home, to me this is crazy as I am buying a LHD because we intend doing most of our holidaying across the water

[Globetrotter]

Not a situation I have been in, but I do sympathise-we have a LHD for the same reason!! Have you spoken to the dealer? It may be that they could set up insurance there for your stay and then swap to your own when you get across the channel. I would suspect that they may have come across this before if they sell many vans to UK buyers. Good luck !

[Mel E]

This is a common problem for personal importers (do a forum archive search with 'importing' and you'll see why). It is alleged that Caravan Guard will provide cover, though will not give it in writing which rather defeats the objective. I'm afraid that UK insurance companies cannot legally provide Third Party cover in Continental Europe for vans registered there. Such cover MUST be bought in the country of registration. This means that UK insurers also refuse to give comprehensive cover and, on the continent, local insurers will not give comprehensive cover for very short periods. You have two options: 1. Drive the vehicle straight to the ferry port on Third Party only - this is what most personal importers do, or, 2. Get the dealer to deliver it to the port for you - they cannot be that far from Ostende or Dunkirque. It is hoped that this problem will be resolved by about the middle of next year when a new EU ruling is expected to enable cross-border Third Party cover, so UK insurers will again be able to cover you fully. I know it doesn't help to say this now, but if you'd asked for a copy of my MMM Fact Sheet on Importing, you'd have known about this problem ages ago!

[McLouis]

Hi folks Yes it is me back from my travels and generally unscathed in my new motorhome all done legally. Thanks for all you ideas, I eventually made the vehicle legal in Belgium by purchasing temporary transportation plates which included "full insurance" (their words) god knows what cover it actually was but I drove very carefully so as not to have to find out. In effect the plates and the insurance covers you to drive anywhere in Europe including the UK and on the ferry home for one month at a cost of 245 Euros (about £173), I know it sounds dear for one months insurance but it made my wife and I feel a lot safer in the knowledge that we were covered for all events whilst we enjoyed our new toy for a week or so. It appeared to me that the insurance companies also deal with registration of vehicles and the provision of the tempory plates. They seem to have small provincial offices within an hours drive to Brussels and you have to be at the office by 09:15 so they can go to do the legal paperwork and return later with your official documents and then they actually make the plates in their office on a primatve manual press type machine. The hardest part was finding the office it was on a 14k stretch of straight road which (we found out afterwards) had four different names but nobody told the sat nav software people.

[Mel E]

Glad it worked! The insurance cover you had was Third Party Only.