Anyone Touring without Insurance ???

[Val & Frank]

Does anyone tour without any Insurance? UK that is, and is it illegal to tow without Van Insurance ?? It's just that my renewal is £493 and I am seriously thinking of taking my Insurance in House. We pay £250 pounds per year to keep the van at a Gold Award secure site (which I think is good value ). We have two al-ko wheel locks and we only stay on CC sites or very secure sites. I now think our risk is Fire or Accidental Damage due to an RTA etc. It would be nice to know other vanners views.

Val & Frank

 

[Del_374232870]

Insurance isnt compulsory for a caravan, but remember insurance doesnt just cover your van it also covers 3rd parties. If your van was to catch fire and you werent insured could you afford to pay for any 3rd party damage, ie if the fire spread to the van next to yours or if anyone was injured. It may sound expensive but the alternative could be a lot more expensive. Insurance is a cost that comes with caravaning.

 

[Parksy]

Hi

The short answer is that its not illegal to tow without caravan insurance in the UK. Obviously your towing vehicle must be insured to comply with the law.

If you feel that you are paying an excessive premium for your caravan insurance I would strongly suggest that you go onto one of those insurance searches online which usually give instant price comparisons and levels of cover.

Carole & myself insured a brand new (2007) Abbey Vogue 495 dealer special on new for old cover for

 

[Janet_5090515]

Hi Val & Frank

Like Steve, we are also insured with Club Care insurance and were very pleased with the price compared to our last insurer.

For our new 2007 Bailey Oklahoma (valued approx

 

[Lutz]

Question, just out of interest:

If, in the UK, third party insurance for the caravan is covered by insurance on the towcar, surely ths coverage only applies as long as the caravan is hitched to the car. What if it causes an accident on its own though, perhaps by rolling down a hill or some similar situation?

 

[Moonstone1]

Hi Steve and Cal

We also lost our van in the recent floods (we are in Hull, where are you?) and were so pleased that we had insured it - just imagine having to replace it outright. As it is we have 'put to' to get a new van, but it was a small price to pay.

We are with the CC insurance, 5c's and pay around

 

[Val & Frank]

Thank's for the replies. Not wanting to sound smug or dismissive of flood damage.We don't live near a flood plain or near a river that could flood. I have checked the storage site and the same applies, never been flooded or liable to be flooded.

I am just trying to get an angle on the risk.

1 Like how many people have seen a van burn to the ground and caused significant collateral damage to third parties ??

2 Anyone got any feel for any third party damage caused, due to a van overturning ??

3 How many vans get stolen in a year from CC sites, or Gold award secure sites ??

Please don't get me wrong my House, Car etc are Fullly Covered. It just seems I am paying for a lot of RISK, that has/is covered elsewhere.

Val & Frank

 

[Rioja]

Lots of the vans that were written off during recent floods were on sites, not at home. I saw pictures on the TV with awnings attatched too.

If you are being asked

 

[Del_374232870]

Whilst van fires are rare they do happen, a caravan fire spreads very quickly and burns very hot, so a van beside a burning van can easily be damaged by the heat. the question is can you afford to pay someone

 

[Parksy]

In reply to Janet & Jason

We are sorry to hear thet you have also lost your caravan in the floods. We were staying just outside Pershore in Worcs when we were flooded. The entire site resembles a war zone at the moment, every static caravan was covered to roof level, some without insurance cover. On the touring side where we were only 3 out of about 22caravans escaped damage, the others all total loss. We are scouring the dealers (again) at the moment, we don't know whether to laugh or cry. It took us ages to decide on our last caravan. Its good to hear that you are now sorted out, Good luck.

Going back to Frank's original point, Perhaps you have been paying for risks that do not apply in your situation Frank, and if you feel overcharged perhaps you should discuss this with your insurance company because you would almost certainly get cheaper cover elswhere if they wont budge.

Only you can say if you are comfortable accepting any sort of risk. When we started caravanning we didn't insure our caravan because it only cost a couple of hundred quid but the consequences (for us) of leaving our last caravan uninsured would have been horrendous.

We dont live near a flood plain and we never in a million years envisaged flooding. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Best wishes Steve

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

val and frank, who are you insured with if you dont mind me asking?.

i pay 30 per month and our van is 2 years old and its insured with contents for

 

[Val & Frank]

Hi Del,

" so a van beside a burning van can easily be damaged by the heat. the question is can you afford to pay someone

 

[Parksy]

You make a very good point Frank, notwithstanding our own experience. At a guess I would say that the greatest risk to any caravan is theft, but of course there are now Alko wheel locks & Phantom trackers, and you are right to wonder if the insurance companies have adjusted their premiums accordingly.

The one thing I must say is that at least with the advent of greater internet access any service offered must now stand instant scrutiny, so perhaps it is more difficult for these companies to rip us off nowadays. I hope so anyway.

 

[Val & Frank]

Hi Steve & Cal

Yes I agree, and Internet Forums such as this one gives us all the chance to discuss our own experiences, and hopefully the opportunity to make informed choices.

I don't mind a gamble, just trying to understand the odds and not jump in blind.

Frank

 

[Rioja]

Frank, you keep ducking the question ! Why are you being asked to pay

 

[Val & Frank]

Lutz,

Again a good point with regards to 3 rd parties, I will look into the question and see what I can come up with.

Frank

 

[Rioja]

Still ducking and diving !

 

[ValA.]

We've had three claims in three years - once when our caravan was damaged by Ann Other (who didn't own up), and twice when we've accidentally damaged it ourselves. (Once on site, when we failed to see a site barrier in torrential rain, and this year when our tyre had a blow out and damaged the wheel arch, wheel cover trim, and internal floor to the van). Every time we've claimed, paid our excess, and the remainder has, each time, been more than the premium we've paid, twice by a significant amount - and we don't pay anything like the amount you pay (less than half, in fact). It hasn't gone up significantly despite our claims - so in our case, at least, the insurance company is not making a fortune from us.

Our friends van was damaged by fire in an arson attack, and because they were insured they were back on the road, with a new van, within three weeks.

As said, you 'gamble' on the premium paid outweighing the possible cost to you of any perceived or actual risk - and the choice is completely up to you. You can just decide not to bother paying any more, and take the risk upon yourself.

To me

 

[Rioja]

I think Frank takes pleasure from winding up a debate.It's a shame people reply trying to give genuine advice.

 

[Val & Frank]

Rioja,

Base premium

 

[Val & Frank]

Rioja,

I think your comment is misplaced, I am looking for genuine replies, to try to understand the costs. I would like to see your insurance costs broken down as well !!!

Frank

 

[Val & Frank]

Rioja,

I am still wondering how you came to this comment

" I think Frank takes pleasure from winding up a debate.It's a shame people reply trying to give genuine advice ".

I think an apologie is due for that.

Frank

 

[LMH]

Hello Frank, long time no speak.

Personally, and this is my own opinion, caravan insurance is essential unless you have funds to go out and buy a replacement, whether that is for a caravan which costs

 

[Rita1]

We insure our caravan as could not afford another if anything happened to this one

there was a

 

[Parksy]

A question for LMH

Going off topic once again, I've got to know ...................... Who is Gaylord?