Caravan insurance companies

[Beachball]

I question whether Defaqto is truly a reliable guide to the final result, the claim!
BB you said you had no claim but please let us know what “service” you had?

There‘s no such thing as a free lunch. My £3000 claim last year was handled beyond my expectation by CAMC, their claims staff, their inspecting engineer and approved repairers MJ Lovell. It really was brilliant painless and professional. But I accept CAMC are not the cheapest. So I can speak with authority , hands on experience , which is not what Defaqto say🤪. Who are their experts? I’m an expert with first hand experience and never been asked😎

This one only claim happen when we first started to us we brought a luxury caravan it came with hot /cold water , and a cassette toilet well we put it in a CaSSoa caravan storage .we got a phone call some caravans had some bits stolen when we got there the Carver Cascade 2 water heater and the cassette toilet had gone so we got in touch with the CAMC they ask us to get a estimate and someone inspected and it was approved we stayed with them for a few years there service was second to none .

 

[jodie w]

I checked their website and it does not show a DEFAQTO rating for their policies. Without this I would not use the company as that is your guarantee of the best policies. It does not mean theirs is a problem but you cannot be sure.
The Trust Pilot best reviews are shown, but not any others, which is not what I want to see. Trust Pilot though generally shows only how easily they setup the policy and they all do that easily. You need to check the claims reviews to be sure that is good.
I have not used this company so have no personal experience of them.

Hi Ray, as a broker, dealing with many insurers, they cannot “promote” one product over the other as they provide an advisory service. In some cases where they only use “one” scheme or underwriter then they can mention the insurers Defaqto rating.

 

[Buckman]

Hi Ray, as a broker, dealing with many insurers, they cannot “promote” one product over the other as they provide an advisory service. In some cases where they only use “one” scheme or underwriter then they can mention the insurers Defaqto rating.

Just a guess, but do you work for Howdens?

 

[otherclive]

Just a guess, but do you work for Howdens?

The Op is after insurance not a new kitchen

 

[Buckman]

The Op is after insurance not a new kitchen

Howdens is the new name for A Plan insurance!

 

[Raywood]

I accept that DEFAQTO is not fool proof as it does not rate claims service but it does show that the cover is very good. If the company has not got this then you cannot be sure if something is missing and very few of us can read the policy and be sure. It does also show the policies written by those concerned about quality having gone to the trouble of getting the rating. If they are doing this right, then they are more likely to do the claims right as well.
I appreciate that a broker may not be able to show the rating if they are selling policies from various companies but this is very unusual these days. Having said that, it seems to me that to best protect their clints they should be using companies who do have the rating.

 

[RogerL]

I accept that DEFAQTO is not fool proof as it does not rate claims service but it does show that the cover is very good. If the company has not got this then you cannot be sure if something is missing and very few of us can read the policy and be sure. It does also show the policies written by those concerned about quality having gone to the trouble of getting the rating. If they are doing this right, then they are more likely to do the claims right as well.
I appreciate that a broker may not be able to show the rating if they are selling policies from various companies but this is very unusual these days. Having said that, it seems to me that to best protect their clints they should be using companies who do have the rating.

"Good" cover isn't always best - if it includes features that aren't needed then it can be a waste of money - eg, car insurance that includes foreign travel and business use would probably be poor value for me since I don't need them - so seems to me that DEFAQTO serves no real purpose for most consumers.

 

[Dustydog]

I checked out Defaqto at Companies House. Wow! Weird!
Will someone tell me in three letter words and pictures who and what Defaqto are??Dare I ask how they get their income🤪🤪

 

[Buckman]

I checked out Defaqto at Companies House. Wow! Weird!
Will someone tell me in three letter words and pictures who and what Defaqto are??Dare I ask how they get their income🤪🤪

I must admit I have never taken much notice of Defaqto preferring to read reviews on Trustpilot and elsewhere about claims and not the service when joining. One needs to read between the lines when reading about claims that have been rejected.

 

[jodie w]

Just a guess, but do you work for Howde

Just a guess, but do you work for Howdens?

Hehe, no, not Howdens!

 

[Buckman]

Hehe, no, not Howdens!

Oops sorry Howden. Howdens is the joinery place in Worcester.

 

[Raywood]

DECFAQTO is an independent organisation that checks and rates insurance policies. The operation is paid for by those with the rating but they will not give a rating unless it meets their strict criteria. It is the only thing available to the public to show the quality of the cover. It does not mean it has cover you do not need but that what you get is worthwhile. Ignore it at your peril.

 

[RogerL]

DECFAQTO is an independent organisation that checks and rates insurance policies. The operation is paid for by those with the rating but they will not give a rating unless it meets their strict criteria. It is the only thing available to the public to show the quality of the cover. It does not mean it has cover you do not need but that what you get is worthwhile. Ignore it at your peril.

Extra cover is only worthwhile if you need the extra features - as an example in the context of caravan insurance, adding continental cover and getting a higher Defaqto rating isn't any help to those who only caravan in the UK.

Since Defaqto don't list the features that contribute to each star rating it's simply not helpful - buyers still need to examine insurance policies to check if they're getting the features they need.

 

[Dustydog]

I’m surprised!
CAMC renewal says same premium as last year £251.00. That’s after a £3k claim but did have protected no claims bonus.

 

[otherclive]

I’m surprised!
CAMC renewal says same premium as last year £251.00. That’s after a £3k claim but did have protected no claims bonus.

Cannot complain about that as often the NCB is retained but the premium goes up. Possibly keeping you on side after losing your data

 

[Dustydog]

Cannot complain about that as often the NCB is retained but the premium goes up. Possibly keeping you on side after losing your data

Aha. Forgot about data loss😁Mums the word😉

 

[Hutch]

Aha. Forgot about data loss😁Mums the word😉

My renewal is £268, so Just £6 more than last year. Pleased with that. So sticking with CAMC.

 

[Raywood]

You should look at the current value. If it s insured at market value you might make a small saving by reducing it to allow for a bit more depreciation.

 

[Raywood]

Just got my renewal from Caravanguard. It is down about £4, not complaining though as I had expected it to rise.

 

[Buckman]

Just got my renewal from Caravanguard. It is down about £4, not complaining though as I had expected it to rise.

This year our caravan will be 6 years old so if we went for the New for Old premium it will probably rocket sky high!

 

[Raywood]

Ours is replacement value and is six years old. The only possible problem is the replacement price will have gone up so that may add a few pounds although given the age of the caravan, I do wonder if I should just go for market value.

 

[Buckman]

Ours is replacement value and is six years old. The only possible problem is the replacement price will have gone up so that may add a few pounds although given the age of the caravan, I do wonder if I should just go for market value.

Taking into consideration the cost of replacing the caravan, if under £100 increase on current year, we might go along with the increase otherwise market value.

 

[Cons]

Hi, I went about getting caravan insurance today and was suggested to try get it added to my house insurance. Unfortunately the insure don’t offer this anymore with house ins. Would this be the way people tend to insure caravans in general. I was quoted €177 for ins for a caravan worth €12500. Is this a good figure would people know.
Also Is there any pitfalls with certain insurance to watch out for. My car ins have confirmed I’m covered to tow.

 

[Buckman]

We have never ever added caravan insurance onto a house insurance.

 

[otherclive]

Hi, I went about getting caravan insurance today and was suggested to try get it added to my house insurance. Unfortunately the insure don’t offer this anymore with house ins. Would this be the way people tend to insure caravans in general. I was quoted €177 for ins for a caravan worth €12500. Is this a good figure would people know.
Also Is there any pitfalls with certain insurance to watch out for. My car ins have confirmed I’m covered to tow.

I always used the insurance offered by the CMHC and C&CC as both have an excellent reputation in resolving claims should accidents happen. They may not be the cheapest and it's hard to compare quotes such as your €177 (???) as the T&Cs will influence the price as well as what cover you are looking for, also what other items you want included such as awnings, equipment not bolted to the caravan such as Aquamaster, TVs, chairs etc. Excess will also affect the premium as will market value or new for old. Other factors affecting the price will be were is the caravan stored and security devices.

You need to set out what you want covered and what its estimated value is, then seek quotations trying to keep some commonalty. Also be aware that when you see an insurer with good 4-5 star reviews they general relate to the ease of purchasing the policy. What you don't get sight of is how good they are if things go wrong. Hence my conservative approach to using the two clubs insurance.

Your car insurance will cover you when towing, but it will not cover damage to the caravan in the event of an accident. Third party claim damage only.