StuartO Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Just completed the annual chore of shopping around for the best deal so I thought I would pass on what I learned. Fiat-based Hymer, 2006, various accessories (including,sat aerial, solar panels, towbar and engine re-mapping) declared, current value £35,000, two additional drivers named, all drivers oldish and low risk. Premium £271, including protected NCB, 180 days per year abroad, £350 excess, £125 excess on windscreen claim. Last year I was with the Caravan Club scheme but as anticipated their renewal premium had gone up to over £350 (by about 15%) and when I rang them (and told them about an on line quote of £270) they wouldn't shift. I had gone on to GoCompare and after a laborious process of entring info got a quote of £268. So I rang LV, with whom I also have car policies and they do discounts for multiple policies. Until recently they didn't do motorhomes but now they do. The phone call was efficiently handled, helped by th fact they already had stuff on thier system. The basic quote was £231 and I paid extra for protected NCB and foreign cover - the latter being only £18 for 180 days per year. They also pay up to £500 for alternative transport if you have an accident abroad, so you would have the flexibility to hire a van to come home and carry all your stuff rather than squeeze into a courtesy car. I name two friends as drivers these days, purely because we're getting old and its nice to have them insured to come and rescue us if necessary - and naming them as contingency drivers doesn't seem to add to the cost of insurance significanty. Nor did having the engine remapped. I didn't ask about cover for Morroco or Turkey because we have no interest in going anywhere outside Western Europe. It seems to important to list all the accessories you've fitted since you bought the vehicle otherwise, certainly in LV's case, they would be excluded from any claim. Insurers all have their little peculiarities of the way they expect you to declare or the procedure they will apply so you have to make the effort to be completely open with them to ensure that cover will apply. If in doubt ask. I am nervous about insuring with just anyone because if you have a claim insurers can turn into mean arseholes, so you have to pick one you think you will be able to trust to play fair. My sister got cancer last year and Aviva refused her claim for holiday cancellation on a mean technicality so I now won't insure anything with them ever again. So I approach on line comparative quotes with caution too. I don't want to end up insured with some outfit based in Gibraltar or Timbuktoo. I used to value insuring via CC because I thought they would stand up to the insurer for me, as a Member, if necessary but I completely lost faith in that, so I no longer regard CC as particularly trustworthy or attractive. Like any insurer LV will look at claims carefully in case of fraud and that's perfectly OK but I have no reason to think of them as potentially unfair. We have several policies with them and I'm in CSMA, which has a special link with LV, so that might count for something. It's a solid an insurance prospect as I'm likely to be able to get. I've done what I can to declare everything honestly, so I'm as confident as I can be that I'm properly insured and at a reasonable price. I rang their 0800 number on my mobile because we don't have a landline these days but I used a free App which rerouted the call to a cost-free number, so it was a genuinely free call. It's a pity you have to go through all this performance every year but there doesn't seem to be any other safe way. Good luck when it's your turn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Stuart Thanks for the tip about LV for motorhome insurance. I will give them a ring on renewal. We have two cars and the house with them because we get CSMA [Civil Service Motoring Association] discounted rates. We also use Britannia Rescue on CSMA discounted rate. BR is really good on the Wirral. Never needed it elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebeaches Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 StuartO - 2015-02-11 11:16 AM Just completed the annual chore of shopping around for the best deal so I thought I would pass on what I learned. Fiat-based Hymer, 2006, various accessories (including,sat aerial, solar panels, towbar and engine re-mapping) declared, current value £35,000, two additional drivers named, all drivers oldish and low risk. Premium £271, including protected NCB, 180 days per year abroad, £350 excess, £125 excess on windscreen claim. Last year I was with the Caravan Club scheme but as anticipated their renewal premium had gone up to over £350 (by about 15%) and when I rang them (and told them about an on line quote of £270) they wouldn't shift. I had gone on to GoCompare and after a laborious process of entring info got a quote of £268. So I rang LV, with whom I also have car policies and they do discounts for multiple policies. Until recently they didn't do motorhomes but now they do. The phone call was efficiently handled, helped by th fact they already had stuff on thier system. The basic quote was £231 and I paid extra for protected NCB and foreign cover - the latter being only £18 for 180 days per year. They also pay up to £500 for alternative transport if you have an accident abroad, so you would have the flexibility to hire a van to come home and carry all your stuff rather than squeeze into a courtesy car. I name two friends as drivers these days, purely because we're getting old and its nice to have them insured to come and rescue us if necessary - and naming them as contingency drivers doesn't seem to add to the cost of insurance significanty. Nor did having the engine remapped. I didn't ask about cover for Morroco or Turkey because we have no interest in going anywhere outside Western Europe. It seems to important to list all the accessories you've fitted since you bought the vehicle otherwise, certainly in LV's case, they would be excluded from any claim. Insurers all have their little peculiarities of the way they expect you to declare or the procedure they will apply so you have to make the effort to be completely open with them to ensure that cover will apply. If in doubt ask. I am nervous about insuring with just anyone because if you have a claim insurers can turn into mean arseholes, so you have to pick one you think you will be able to trust to play fair. My sister got cancer last year and Aviva refused her claim for holiday cancellation on a mean technicality so I now won't insure anything with them ever again. So I approach on line comparative quotes with caution too. I don't want to end up insured with some outfit based in Gibraltar or Timbuktoo. I used to value insuring via CC because I thought they would stand up to the insurer for me, as a Member, if necessary but I completely lost faith in that, so I no longer regard CC as particularly trustworthy or attractive. Like any insurer LV will look at claims carefully in case of fraud and that's perfectly OK but I have no reason to think of them as potentially unfair. We have several policies with them and I'm in CSMA, which has a special link with LV, so that might count for something. It's a solid an insurance prospect as I'm likely to be able to get. I've done what I can to declare everything honestly, so I'm as confident as I can be that I'm properly insured and at a reasonable price. I rang their 0800 number on my mobile because we don't have a landline these days but I used a free App which rerouted the call to a cost-free number, so it was a genuinely free call. It's a pity you have to go through all this performance every year but there doesn't seem to be any other safe way. Good luck when it's your turn! Thanks for the info in your post - I'm about to go through similar rigmarole to renew our van insurance. One question - does your insurance cost, as described, include full breakdown and rescue cover (UK & abroad)? I think I paid about £330 inc breakdown with Comfort for the 12 months up to the end of this month. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 I was offered breakdown cover as one of the optional extras available with the LV policy (incidentally they own Brittania Rescue, having bought it from CSMA) but I already have that cover with Brittantia Rescue, so I didn't pursue it - nor ask the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Just going through our cover due 1/3/15 Tried Caravan Guard who have been with before Quote was over £200 more than with current insurer (safeguard) CG insure up to 80 years old (new customer) but OK if with them before 80. Just to say any one approaching 80th birthday be aware of this., if thinking of changing. I know not many of you are this old YET, but we are getting close, so will need to stick with an insurer from now on. (me thinks) Looks like will be staying with Safeguard God luck to all of you looking to renew ins. It appears to be a bit of a minefield out there! PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 PJay - 2015-02-11 3:43 PM ...CG insure up to 80 years old (new customer) but OK if with them before 80. Just to say any one approaching 80th birthday be aware of this. Good point, LV knew my birthday but any age trigger level they might have didn't come up in conversation, so I don't know whether they will dump me in a few years time, leaving me to search for insurers who will take new customers of advanced age. All insurers seem to have their own little variations on eligibility criteria or exclusions and they are not published, so you might find them out the hard way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanS Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Stuart I tried to insure our motorhome with LV in 2013 as I have always had 2 cars insured with them. Although they would insure our motorhome at that time they wouldn't cover the contents. Have they changed their policy on this then ? We are with the Caravan Club insurance and wouldn't mind going with LV for the motorhome. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 AlanS - 2015-02-11 5:59 PM Stuart I tried to insure our motorhome with LV in 2013 as I have always had 2 cars insured with them. Although they would insure our motorhome at that time they wouldn't cover the contents. Have they changed their policy on this then ? We are with the Caravan Club insurance and wouldn't mind going with LV for the motorhome. Alan I didn't ask. They insure fitted accessories, presumably providing you have declared them. There is a point of dimishing returns if you try to cover absolutely everything in your motorhome because it might make the insurer more wary (because there is an increased chance of a claim, and they don't want to have to deal with trivia, so there is a compulsory excess of a minimum of £100, maybe more) and you could easily end up paying for something that really isn't worth paying for twice. For example some of your stuff, like your camera or your OH's jewellry, might already be insured under your house policy, even when it's not in the house. So I don't bother trying to include anything which is not directly connected with my MH and the loose stuff (like chocks and BBQ) probably isn't worth all that much. For example would you claim for stolen folding chairs - and would the insurer reject that claim if they were stolen when you left them outside the MH? I don't even insure my car transporter trailer; I lock it up and take the risk myself instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanS Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 StuartO - 2015-02-11 6:50 PM AlanS - 2015-02-11 5:59 PM Stuart I tried to insure our motorhome with LV in 2013 as I have always had 2 cars insured with them. Although they would insure our motorhome at that time they wouldn't cover the contents. Have they changed their policy on this then ? We are with the Caravan Club insurance and wouldn't mind going with LV for the motorhome. Alan I didn't ask. They insure fitted accessories, presumably providing you have declared them. There is a point of dimishing returns if you try to cover absolutely everything in your motorhome because it might make the insurer more wary (because there is an increased chance of a claim, and they don't want to have to deal with trivia, so there is a compulsory excess of a minimum of £100, maybe more) and you could easily end up paying for something that really isn't worth paying for twice. For example some of your stuff, like your camera or your OH's jewellry, might already be insured under your house policy, even when it's not in the house. So I don't bother trying to include anything which is not directly connected with my MH and the loose stuff (like chocks and BBQ) probably isn't worth all that much. For example would you claim for stolen folding chairs - and would the insurer reject that claim if they were stolen when you left them outside the MH? I don't even insure my car transporter trailer; I lock it up and take the risk myself instead. Understood but if you had a total loss, i.e. fire or stolen, then it could be different. If you did an inventory of everything you have in the motorhome you will be surprised how much it adds up to - the wife's' clothing and pampering products are enough in themselves ! Just a few :- Gas cylinders, Silver Screen, chairs, ramps, etc I know you can insure your cameras and laptops/tablets via your home insurance but would they pay put in an unattended motorhome ? When we had a caravan we tallied it up once and were so surprised at what it came to. . Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muswell Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Mine was stolen. I did an inventory and it came quite a lot. The CC gave us about £1000 which was pretty good. Mind you, for some time after we kept missing things we had forgotten about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HymerVan Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Stuart as regards named drivers on your policy there is an issue which I misunderstood (you may not have made the error that I did). My wife has always been on our M/H policy in case she needed to move the vehicle in an extreme emergency but does not actually drive it. In 2013 when I was in Hungary 1850 miles from home I became ill and needed emergency hospital treatment. I drove home in three days to allow my treatment to be continued. When home and on checking about repatriation of my vehicle (an academic exercise in this case) I was told that the presence of my wife on the policy as a driver and since she was with me meant that they would NOT have offered repatriation. So additional drivers are a mixed blessing and may explain why they sometimes don't put premiums up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Laurence, For exactly that reason I took my wife OFF our policy last renewal. As a direct result the policy went up 10% as the insurer said their risk was now increased, ie they may have to repatriate our MH if the worst where to happen. I did this as I had heard of a couple in Morocco (?) who BOTH flew home when he was taken seriously ill expecting their insurance to repatriate their MH. Wife was on insurance but had NEVER driven it. The first question they where asked was "Was your wife insured to drive it". Obviously answer was "Yes". Insurance said "No Claim" In other words she should have driven it home on her own! End of! Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 HymerVan - 2015-02-13 10:23 AM Stuart as regards named drivers on your policy there is an issue which I misunderstood (you may not have made the error that I did). My wife has always been on our M/H policy in case she needed to move the vehicle in an extreme emergency but does not actually drive it. In 2013 when I was in Hungary 1850 miles from home I became ill and needed emergency hospital treatment. I drove home in three days to allow my treatment to be continued. When home and on checking about repatriation of my vehicle (an academic exercise in this case) I was told that the presence of my wife on the policy as a driver and since she was with me meant that they would NOT have offered repatriation. So additional drivers are a mixed blessing and may explain why they sometimes don't put premiums up. It makes you wonder whether you can trust any insurance company to deal with you fairly when they pull tricks like that doesnlt it? Fancy expecting a wife to drive home across Europe unaided with a sick hsuband when she has enough problems on her hands? You make sensible contingency arrangements and they use them against you, to save themselves paying out. I suggest the only way we can defend oursleves against this sort of meanness is to publucise it when it arises and let the named insurance compnay suffer the damage to their reputation which this behaviour warrants. My sister suffered at the hands of Aviva when they refused holiday cancelation when she got cancer - because she didn't tell them until after she'd been seen at the hospital and got a diagnosis. The GP who referred her hadn't mentioned anything about a possibility of cancer. It seems Aviva expect you to ring them every time absolutely anything health-wise happens, in case they might want to advise you not to make the next stage payment for your holiday. I will no longer take out any sort of insurance involving Aviva because of this attitude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peter James Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 mikebeaches - 2015-02-11 1:15 PM I'm about to go through similar rigmarole to renew our van insurance. Mike Do you mean motorhome insurance or van insurance? If its van insurance I suggest Churchill Online. Some of the others don't seem to accept the concept of a van being used non commercially, and so charge a lot more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joe90 Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 StuartO - 2015-02-13 11:56 AM HymerVan - 2015-02-13 10:23 AM Stuart as regards named drivers on your policy there is an issue which I misunderstood (you may not have made the error that I did). My wife has always been on our M/H policy in case she needed to move the vehicle in an extreme emergency but does not actually drive it. In 2013 when I was in Hungary 1850 miles from home I became ill and needed emergency hospital treatment. I drove home in three days to allow my treatment to be continued. When home and on checking about repatriation of my vehicle (an academic exercise in this case) I was told that the presence of my wife on the policy as a driver and since she was with me meant that they would NOT have offered repatriation. So additional drivers are a mixed blessing and may explain why they sometimes don't put premiums up. It makes you wonder whether you can trust any insurance company to deal with you fairly when they pull tricks like that doesnlt it? Fancy expecting a wife to drive home across Europe unaided with a sick hsuband when she has enough problems on her hands? You make sensible contingency arrangements and they use them against you, to save themselves paying out. I suggest the only way we can defend oursleves against this sort of meanness is to publucise it when it arises and let the named insurance compnay suffer the damage to their reputation which this behaviour warrants. My sister suffered at the hands of Aviva when they refused holiday cancelation when she got cancer - because she didn't tell them until after she'd been seen at the hospital and got a diagnosis. The GP who referred her hadn't mentioned anything about a possibility of cancer. It seems Aviva expect you to ring them every time absolutely anything health-wise happens, in case they might want to advise you not to make the next stage payment for your holiday. I will no longer take out any sort of insurance involving Aviva because of this attitude. The standard exclusion for cover applies to all medical conditions unless declared, and with all Insurance companies regardless of whether the policyholder's doctor has identified the cause of the problem. VERY important to flag up any consultation you have with your GP, and any ongoing issues fully declared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 I appreciate that you have to tell them about any pre-existing conditions at the time the travel policy starts, that's understandable, but every time you got to the GP, even if no diagnosis is made? "I'll send you for a test" says the GP, without further explanation and no hint of concern. You have no idea that you might have cancer. What Aviva dug their heels in about was that my sister paid up the holiday shortly after seeing the GP, before getting the hospital appointment, simply because that was the due date for the payment. She had paid the deposit ages before and thought she was obliged to pay and had no idea she had an option to duck out at that stage if she wanted to. Did she have an option to duck out or, having booked the holiday and paid a deposit, wasn't she obliged to pay the rst of the holidy cost anyway? Never occured to her to tell the travel insurer. If she had rung them before paying, they say they would have told her not to pay. Simply because she was waiting for an unspecified test? "I'm waiting for a test" she might have told them. "What sort of test?". "Don't know, he didn't say". They would refund the deposit she had paid but not the rest. I call that mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted February 13, 2015 Author Share Posted February 13, 2015 I booked a holiday in January. At a routine GP appointment afterwards I decided it was time to mention a lump on my arm I'd had for ages; I was referred to have it cut out. Some time later I was ringing LV about upating our travel policy, to make sure we had declared everything because I was on some new pills. First thing LV said was because I had had the lump on my arm and not mentioned it to them previously, if I had to cancel our holiday because of it, they wouldn't pay. Not likely to happen so I didn't argue. But they charged me an extra £6 odd premium, because of the lump, because I'd had it at the time the policy was taken out but hadn;t mentioned it to them. I knew I had it, but I'd had it for years and hadn;t been bothered by it. It seems you have to mention absolutely everything these days, even if you've never thought it worthy of even mentioning to your GP. I suspect that if you make a claim on any travel policy they will immediately get hold of a copy of your GP's records and crawl though them for stuff you've not mentioned, in the hope of finding something that they can say you've failed to declare. If you refuse consent for them to see your ecords, they will of course refuse to pay anyway. I think we need a bit more consumer protection built into travel insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joe90 Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Hey I'm not defending them, and I'm sorry to hear about your sister, but the default position it seems with any insurance company is to avoid paying out if at all possible. :-( If your sister had taken out her insurance prior to her GP visit, it would seem an open and shut case that her claim should have been upheld, perhaps a case for the Insurance ombudsman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike 202 Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Hi we are with Caravan guard and they have informed me that if I was ill then regardless whether the wife was named or not they or their recovery agent would expect my wife to drive the Motorhome home if she had a valid licence. They would find it a lot cheaper to add her to my policy rather than repatriate the Motorhome. My insurance is due for renewal in the next two weeks and a quote from Comfort £90 less than Caravan guard, the sales guy mentioned the problem of wife driving if she was on the policy and said I might be better off not having her as a named driver on their policy and then this difficult situation would not arise. I was told that the policy was underwritten by AVIVA, anyone on the forum having used Comfort I would welcome their comment both good and bad. Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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