J9withdogs Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Just out of interest, I just ran the Comfort Insurance online quote again, adding an extra year NCB (just incase I was going to miss out if I didn't accrue another year's NCB). Guess what? Not a penny difference whether I've got 3 years or 4 years NCB. Phew! Oh, and another thing that I've learnt this week: Legal Expenses Cover varies from company to company. The policy with SureTerm covers my car as well as my van, so I won't have to pay extra for that when I insure the car. Comfort Insurance Legal Expenses Cover only covers the motorhome. My head hurts now :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Tracker - 2008-01-25 5:39 PM Fair comment Brian - it was only a joke! And I'm sure that was how it was taken, Rich. However, I thought someone ought to stick up for them - just in case!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stantheman Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Reply to Wills Breakdown cover maybe but I don't think Caravan Guard include full European insurance cover as basic? I've been with them for a couple of years and discovered last year, to my horror, that I had unknowingly toured Holland with the bare minimum of cover ('to comply with legal requirements'). Fine for the third party you bump into but useless if your rig is nicked! I think you'll find fully comp. overseas cover is extra. They don't make this very plain in their literature, a fact which I challenged them on last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike P Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 stantheman - 2008-02-06 5:55 PM Reply to Wills Breakdown cover maybe but I don't think Caravan Guard include full European insurance cover as basic? I've been with them for a couple of years and discovered last year, to my horror, that I had unknowingly toured Holland with the bare minimum of cover ('to comply with legal requirements'). Fine for the third party you bump into but useless if your rig is nicked! I think you'll find fully comp. overseas cover is extra. They don't make this very plain in their literature, a fact which I challenged them on last year. I'm with Caravanguard at the moment and found we needed extra cover to be comfortable in Europe. Also, we're changing vans next month and they are now adding a requirement of a fitted tracker device for vehicles over £35000. If you count the annual cost of the tracker in with their premium they become much less competitive. Mike P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 I have just renewed my motorhome insurance and eventually decided on Caravan Guard. I will be 70 this year so my choices are beginning to become limited. Last year I was with Shield (they will only accept under 70s for new business) but with them I could only go abroad for up to 90 days at a time (despite buying the extension) and had to notify them each time I travelled. I found this a tie so this year looked for longer cover. I have used Comfort in the past (good but very expensive) but as my car is with Saga I tried getting a quote on the internet only to find that the quote could not be saved so that I could review it again, nor could I alter important details online e.g. where the motorhome was kept, how long I had held a full licence (I passed my test in 1960 but it recorded it as one year only!), security fittings etc. Several other assumptions were also made incorrectly. I then tried speaking to them only to be told that they would phone back within 48 hours! So I returned to the website, in case I had missed the opportunity to change the incorrect details, only to find that the quote had now gone up by about £16. When I eventually spoke to an operator I was told that if they altered anything at all I would lose the web discount of 20% plus they would have to now charge for credit so the quote would be even higher! So I went to Caravan Guard who were much, much cheaper anyway even when paying the extra premiums for 8 months European comprehensive insurance and breakdown, protected bonus and with the same levels of excess. They were also very polite, answered all my queries competently and patiently, emailed the very comprehensive proposal form for me to correct if necessary and I could download PDFs so that I could read the small print before committing. Very efficient and a pleasant experience. As a further observation I was also initially pleased to know that I could reduce the insurance on my car with Saga whilst abroad (no need for it to be garaged) but be careful! After further investigation I realised that the insurance cover would only be for fire and theft, accidental damage not included, so if a tree fell on it (which would be just my luck!) I would not be covered. As it ia a new car this is not worth the risk. However, I have a car in France and I am able to reduce the premium considerably when I am not using it. I can also drive anywhere in Europe, with full breakdown cover and without any problems, and anyone in my family are also able to drive it. Why don't our insurers offer the same benefits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Mike P CaravanGuard "requirement of a fitted tracker device for vehicles over £35000. If you count the annual cost of the tracker " Wasted 5 minutes with CG providing details for quote when the above quesion was answered resulting in the converation terminating. I suggested that if the value question was asked initially, with the tracker requirement, then I would not have wasted my time. Currently with SAGA who on the same information provided me with a quote showing an increase of 26%. If renewal notice lives up to this figure, then Im off. Comfort have shown a competitive quote, although having requested quotes on two different days, have a price difference of £43.00???? between them. Am in no hurry at moment and will follow the posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Hi This thread is very useful as i am due to change in next couple of weeks. I have never had to claim on my M/Home insurance but, 4 years ago, had to claim on my SAGA travel insurance as my wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer a week before we were due to fly to New Zealand. What a nightmare; the travel agents were great , really helpful, fast and efficient ,but SAGA travel insurance were slow and quibbled over the final amount. The travel agent finally refunded the last few hundred pounds to us as a gesture of good will after i had returned to them numerous times to provide confirmations to SAGA. The last thing you need in that situation. Still a happy ending - Maggie is 4 years on and no sign of recurrence and we have travelled through OZ; South Africa, Morroco; and round Europe. So thats our story - the moral is find out how the insurers respond when the chips are down; - are there any recent positive stories on how insurers have responded when you are in a crisis situation? These are the companies i want the hear about - its not just about the premium but about do they do they walk the talk. Come on tell us your stories and let us judge. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 I found Europ Assistance brilliant for breakdowns (had to use them more than once over many years) but when my husband suffered a stroke in France that was another matter. They did help with his repatriation but would not cover the medical expenses. Despite letters from English consultants confirming he had never previously experienced a TIA (it was only a suspected one several years earlier) they refused to pay the claim. They also said that a change in my husband's medication had not been notified. This was untrue as on renewal they had told me specifically that it was not necessary to put the change in writing as "all calls are recorded". However, despite giving them the date and time of my renewal call, surprise, surprise, it could not be found! After months of pleading his case I had to give up as he was too ill and the strain was too much. Moral: always put health changes and information in writing and insist on a receipt - the strain and worry of a failed claim is the last thing you want when someone is seriously ill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterjl Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Many thanks Patricia Thats the sort of "heads up" i need to make a decision. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wills Wagon Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Re comment on the use of a tracking device over motorhome value £35k. I wouldn't be without our Phantom system whether or not it was an insurance requirement and I for one wouldn't consider it an added cost. It is a peace of "peace of mind" item. Our Phantom Plus cost £499 to install plus £299 for a five year contract. We are changing our van shortly and it can be transferred to the new van for £99. They provide an excellent service and we have had a few false alarms when I have opened a locker without disarming, when the van was in for a service and not disarmed properly and when parked up in a severe gale. But it is money well spent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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