Jacobus5566 Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 I own a Benimar Eurable motorhome (a make of vehicle specifically designed by its manufacturers to be wheelchair accessible and friendly), Fiat Ducato base, year of manufacture 2006, maximum weight 3500kg, engine 2.8 diesel. I am the registered keeper of this vehicle, although I am unable to drive. Therefore I need other people to be able to drive my vehicle for me (with myself as passenger), namely members of my care and support team, family, friends, etc. My issue is with obtaining vehicle insurance for my motorhome. Given that I may need up to 6 different people of varying ages to drive me (allowing for the rotation and turnover of carers, etc.) can anybody out there advise and/or recommend the type of insurers and policy I should be looking at? As you can probably tell, I am very new to this and a complete novice in the world of motorhome insurance! I hope that somebody reading this might be able to guide and assist me in becoming more worldly... any help in this regard would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Jo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Welcome to the Out&AboutLive forums, Jo. I can imagine the potential difficulties that might arise regarding obtaining insurance for your Benimar motorhome. You might try contacting these insurance brokers for advice https://www.lifesure.co.uk/articles/adapting-your-caravan-or-motorhome-to-cater-for-disabilities https://www.fishinsurance.co.uk/ppc/disabled-car-insurance-ppc/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkv3Kn-Xp6AIVAuDtCh08IwkQEAAYAiAAEgJ2QPD_BwE and this specialist company might also be able to help. https://www.coachbuiltgb.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamRienza Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Look for the term ‘Open Drive’ with brokers. My van has this option with Dolmen insurance which is with the company AXA. However this is a policy only available to people in N. Ireland or the Republic of Ireland and is a specialist scheme, Perhaps worth talking to AXA Uk to see if they can offer similar. Davy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 The term normally used (at least in England) is ‘any driver’ insurance, and it’s explained here https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/any-driver-car-insurance/?SRC=DE92&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8tCiiLXq6AIVgs13Ch3CKwdFEAAYAiAAEgJ-yvD_BwE https://www.confused.com/car-insurance/guides/any-driver-car-insurance (I fear that Jo not being able to drive (although being the motorhome’s registered keeper) may complicate obtaining insurance in the first place, never mind adding ‘any driver’ cover to the policy.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacobus5566 Posted April 15, 2020 Author Share Posted April 15, 2020 Hello Derek and Davy, Thank you so much for your input and advice. I will explore the avenues you have suggested and "travel hopefully" ! Derek Uzzell - 2020-04-15 1:30 PM (I fear that Jo not being able to drive (although being the motorhome’s registered keeper) may complicate obtaining insurance in the first place, never mind adding ‘any driver’ cover to the policy.) From the research I have carried out so far, the above does appear to be the major sticking point with insurers. It seems that my being the registered keeper of a vehicle without being able to drive (i.e. not having a driving licence) automatically scuppers my chances of getting vehicle insurance with many of the mainstream insurers? I can't see any obvious solution to this dilemma... although I am open to suggestions. In an ideal situation, "any driver" cover does sound like the best option given my circumstances . Please - if you have any further thoughts or ideas regarding this thorny problem, I'd be very glad to hear them. Thank you very much for the kind and friendly welcome to the forum, sincerely Jo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamRienza Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 I wonder if any disability support group would be in a position to give guidance. It would strike me that scenarios such as your own must be reasonably commonplace. I accept that if such policies exist they will almost certainly be tailored to a car, but perhaps if you can get a few names from such a group it might help target an approach to brokers and companies, especially if your van was to be your only means of transport. Out of the box thinking (hate that sentence reminds me of work in the past) how about talking to the motability people. I assume grants, tax, insurance etc from them are for new vehicles, but asking costs nothing. I never cease to be amazed at the decisions and discounts to be gained simply by asking. My granny taught me well. Good luck. Davy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceM Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 I’d reinforce the advice given and in particular the need to talk to insurance brokers. They don’t add much value to standard motor insurance but add a lot of value when someone has a non standard requirement. Once they understand your requirement they are likely to chat directly to their regular underwriters to see if they can come up with a package for you. The key thing is to be clear about your requirement – ie you are disabled and you have a vehicle (motorhome) that will have to be driven by your carer(s) and you want to insure the vehicle and the carers to drive it. To keep the cost of insurance manageable you may have to have ‘named’ carers if that is possible otherwise you are insuring the vehicle for ‘any driver’ possibly with caveats (eg over 25, min 5 years driving experience, full clean licence). The smaller specialist brokers may be the best bet as the larger ones will be operating call centres whose staff just work off a screen. As Derek pointed out Fish Insurance are worth a conversation with. It might also be worth trying Adrian Flux https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/disabled/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Hi Jacobus Give Motorbility a ring, if unable to offer insurance themselves the may be able to point you in the right direction. I'm not sure of the current situation but they do insure the vehicles within their scheme, including where the disabled person is the registered owner, but not the driver & family or carer's do the driving. I'm sure you will find a Motorhome is a great benefit for disabled. Mine was adapted for my wife's disability & it gave us so much more freedom, before she passed away. Best wishes finding suitable insurance, it's not something that hasn't been achieved in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petra Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 Hi Jo Our motorhome is in my name and I am the registered keeper although I don't drive it as I too am disabled and use a wheelchair. We have had no problem getting insurance for it but the policy is in my husbands name and he is listed as a named driver. I am listed on the policy but shown as unable to drive. Perhaps your main carer could do this with others listed as named drivers. We have been insured with Caravan Guard, Comfort Insurance and Saga over the years. Comfort has been the easiest. Hope you can sort this out as a motorhome really is a great way to travel and gives you complete freedom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacobus5566 Posted April 20, 2020 Author Share Posted April 20, 2020 Many thanks to everybody who posted responses to my question, I am very grateful to you all for the suggestions and the guidance you've given me. I too am hopeful that a solution is out there to be discovered, particularly after reading the postings from Flicka and Petra :-D :-D Thank you also for such a friendly welcome to the forum, may you all travel safely in these strangest of strange times... Sincerely, Jo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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