AVIVA and Saga Car Insurance

[Dustydog]

Following on from the Saga issue I spoke to Aviva this morning as my policy renews at he end of this month.
They say they will not cover any vehicle which is more than 18 ft long nor any caravan that is greater than 7.6 mtrs. They said a trailer was not a caravan and therefore they do no insure caravans!! After much discussion the lady changed her mind.
There is absolutely nothing in the Aviva policy document that mentions any restrictions on the caravan length or excludes the towing of caravans.
I am extremely disappointed with this attitude from one our biggest Insurers.
I asked exactly what her 7.6mtrs relates to. She says the entire length including the "towbar" Very technically minded eh

Now I need some help. Anyone know which Insurers do cover the likes of the bigger TAs. We are of course only talking about the road risks. I'll try the CC later this morning.

 

[Dustydog]

Following on from the Saga issue I spoke to Aviva this morning as my policy renews at the end of this month.
They say they will not cover any vehicle which is more than 18 ft long nor any caravan that is greater than 7.6 mtrs. They said a trailer was not a caravan and therefore they do not insure caravans!! After much discussion the lady changed her mind.
There is absolutely nothing in the Aviva policy document that mentions any restrictions on the caravan length or excludes the towing of caravans.
I am extremely disappointed with this attitude from one our biggest Insurers.
I asked exactly what her 7.6mtrs relates to. She says the entire length including the "towbar" Very technically minded eh

Now I need some help. Anyone know which Insurers do cover the likes of the bigger TAs. We are of course only talking about the road risks. I'll try the CC later this morning.

 

[mat1]

Dusty,

Liverpool Victoria (LV).
I have been with them for the past two years, and each time looked very carefully at the policy and its wording.
It clearly states caravan, trailer and brokendown vehicle being towed, but nowhere does it make any reference to length.

Mat

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Dusty I am rather intrigued by your posting from a pedantic point of view,
Why are cars measured in feet and caravan in meters?
And is anyone aware of any private car that is 18 feet (5.49M) long?

 

[Surfer]

Hello Dusty I am rather intrigued by your posting from a pedantic point of view,
Why are cars measured in feet and caravan in meters?
And is anyone aware of any private car that is 18 feet (5.49M) long?

I would imagine that a limousine which is private car may exceed 18 feet. I find it difficult to measure using an antiquated and outdated system for feet and inches. Bad enough using mpg instead of km per litre! Why can't the UK adapt the metric system like most of the world?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi Surfer
I can usually work happily with the metric system, but I so often mentaly convert back to imperial units, I grew up during the period where at infants school we used feet and inches, junior school we used Centimeter/Gram/Second and then in secondary school we had to adopt the KgMS and finally at college they settled on the full SI units but we still use gallons and pints and miles.

I discounted Limo's beacuasd most are used for private hire and are therefor not private vehicls - but that is moot point, adn have you ever seen a limo towing a caravan?

And the continentals use what seems an strange way of measuring fuel efficency of liters per 100Km.

 

[SirRogerFFS]

Hello Dusty .
How the devil are you.
Im really not surprised with the outcome from Saga and Aviva.
Me being clever and over 50 ish sorry over 60ish I thought Saga and to be honest they came out £200 dearer than I pay now and as for the other one you mentioned well I personally wouldnt mention them.
I chose to go with Tourer Select and no problem with them at all ,another one I used to be with was Caravan Wise but because ours was a new Van they didnt want to insure it due to the cost but previously I had spent some years with them and no issues with them at all will lookat Caravan Wise again next year when it will be 2 yerars old
I hope this has been some help for you
Sir Roger

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Prof John
The figures are Aviva's not mine.
When the Aviva lady told me they do not cover the road risk for caravans I couldn't believe it. She argued for 5 minutes that a trailer is not a caravan. All they cover is a"trailer" like the ones you can buy in Halfords. Then up pops her weird measurements.So my caravan is too long. Their policy wording says absolutely nothing on lengths!!

Sir Rog my old dog,
Many thanks for the wise words.
I have now replaced the Aviva policy with one from The Caravan Club motor insurers. £35.00 cheaper, and no length limitation on the caravan.
Also they are currently doing a price match less a further discount on any renewal from another insurer.

I hope PC Mag can do a survey of all Insurers and ascertain who is limiting the lengths allowed to be towed.

 

[garyc]

Hi All
Just read my Aviva policy docs and it clearly states any trailer is covered against third party claims. No cover is provided for damage to caravan tho.
gary

 

[Dustydog]

Hi All
Just read my Aviva policy docs and it clearly states any trailer is covered against third party claims. No cover is provided for damage to caravan tho.
gary

Gary
This is the same as my Aviva policy. However the lady was most adamant about the caravan length limitation even though there is nothing about that in the policy wording.

 

[garyc]

Hi All

got this info for legal trailer limits

trailer dimensions

Maximum Trailer Dimensions Towing vehicle up to 3500kg GVW
Length (excluding the coupling and drawbar): 7.0m
Width Maximum: 2.55m (was 2.3m up to 2010)

maybe this is what the lady was on about. This begs the question how long is coupling and drawbar on a caravan? The hitch is easy but where do you measure to? Anyone any ideas?
Gary

 

[ProfJohnL]

It is my understanding that if you take out car insurance, then the insurer is required to cover all legal combinations of vehicles the policy relates to, unless they specify lower limits in the terms and conditions.

Most policies do include terms and conditions that govern how mid term changes to cover and liability should be handled, and invariably it will require a written notice of variation and a time schedule for its introduction.

At no time can an insurance policy be changed subsequent to an insured event such that it will reduce an insurers liability for that event.

Two points to be aware of:

Most policies expire when the certificate expires, and also depending on the T&C's of the policy you may find the policy expires after you make a claim, so the insurers can apply new T&C's after a claim is made.

ALWAYS CHECK YOUR RENEWAL DOCUMENTATION THOROUGHLY

 

[Dustydog]

Aviva's Complaints department lady rang yesterday.
She investigated my complaint and the fact her colleague Donna had told me I'd been towing uninsured for a year!
All rubbish. Aviva proudly confirm there was an error and I am Insured for any trailer or caravan as long as it is fully compliant with the English Road Traffic Act. My Wyoming is fully compliant. Told her it was a bit late in the day because we have moved to the CC who were cheaper anyway.
FIL checked his Hastings Policy. That didn't cover the caravan for road risks because he hadn't told them he was towing. You must specifically tell Hastings who will then activate Endorsement No 13 for a small premium or free.
It is imperative anyone towing a caravan or trailer tells their insurer and gets written confirmation you are covered!!

 

[smiley]

I've read this topic with interest, I never realised that one wasn't covered when towing...

But, just my thoughts I always assumed a trailer be it any size from micro to hgv was a ummmm discription just for putting things in or or and open. and a caravan a caravan so I always thought they were different.. whatever their size!!

 

[Dustydog]

I've read this topic with interest, I never realised that one wasn't covered when towing...

But, just my thoughts I always assumed a trailer be it any size from micro to hgv was a ummmm discription just for putting things in or or and open. and a caravan a caravan so I always thought they were different.. whatever their size!!

Hi Smiley
This thread proves beyond all reasonable doubt the importance of declaring to your motor insurer that you will be towing a caravan and getting their written confirmation.

 

[smiley]

Yes. I certainly shall, I will carry on watching this topic to see if anything else comes to light....

I think these companies know that we all don't read and understand all their words and get fed up of the read tape.

 

[Surfer]

I made sure that I told my car insurer in writing that we are towing.