Caravan Insurance!

[Buccaneer88]

Fridge Theft
Earlier this year our 1988 caravan parked on our property was broken into by some 'freeloaders' specifically to steal the fitted Electrolux fridge. The caravan is insured by the CC and we expected to pay an excess but not a so called 'betterment clause' of 50% of the replacement new item to the tune of £273.00 on a fixture and fitting! Is this the norm with caravan insurance or have we been ripped off?

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Buccaneer
Your caravan is 22 years old.
To the best of my knowledge most insurers will only offer full Reinstatement Insurance or New for Old where the caravan is less than 10 years old.
I suspect if you read your policy wording carefully you have what is known as an indemnity value or market value type cover.

In the circumstances imo the CC insurers have been very generous in their offer bearing in mind the age of the fridge / caravan.

 

[Buccaneer88]

Thanks Dusty Dog, just checking that this was the norm. Although 22 yrs old the Cruiser is still in good nick but the value of the aged c/van would not necessarily have increased with the new fitted fridge unit. Could understand it if contents were stolen such as an awning but not fixtures and fittings. 'Betterment Clause' is certainly a new one on me! Time to settle was exccessive requiring assessors for this relatively small claim and these had to further sub out locally for a site visit.

 

[Dustydog]

Buccaneer
Check your policy wording. I'm certain it is only am indemnity one not reinstatement.
Did you ask CC for a new for old policy?
The fridge is seen as an integral fixture of the caravan not as a content.

 

[Philspadders]

many of us are underinsured especially whn it copmes to new for old on your house contents policy.Most insureres wioll rely on a "betterment" clause when paying out.

 

[SUSPENDTom746]

Why oh Why does anyone out there bother with rip off caravan insurance, trying to make a claim?? forget it, after youve paid your excess and haggled you have to be out of pocket..........complete and utter waste of money. We have been caravanning since 1985 and have never ever paid a penny to any insurance company. Our current van is worth approx £13000 before any of you think we have a 30 yr old lunar,,,we don't ,,but I will not succumb to the leeches disguises as insurance companies. Complete waste of money and before you start telling me about 3rd party insurance whilst I,m on site in case my van catches fire and burns yours down, to be honest why should I care about your van?? Do you care about mine?? Thought not !

 

[Dustydog]

Why oh Why does anyone out there bother with rip off caravan insurance, trying to make a claim?? forget it, after youve paid your excess and haggled you have to be out of pocket..........complete and utter waste of money. We have been caravanning since 1985 and have never ever paid a penny to any insurance company. Our current van is worth approx £13000 before any of you think we have a 30 yr old lunar,,,we don't ,,but I will not succumb to the leeches disguises as insurance companies. Complete waste of money and before you start telling me about 3rd party insurance whilst I,m on site in case my van catches fire and burns yours down, to be honest why should I care about your van?? Do you care about mine?? Thought not !

Actually Tom the only reason some people choose to have 3rd party insurance, usually part of the whole package, is to protect themseleves financially against their legal liability for the very scenario you mention. If you are happy to carry that exposure yourself then you are quit entitled to do so.
A lot of caravans out there today are worth between £10-£20k. I'd hate to have pay that kind of sum out of my own pocket never mind any personal injuries my caravan may inadvertantly cause.
So I agree why should you care about my van? BUT I do care about losing my own hard earned cash if I am found negligent and required to pay up by the Court.

 

[Parksy]

Why oh Why does anyone out there bother with rip off caravan insurance, trying to make a claim?? forget it, after youve paid your excess and haggled you have to be out of pocket..........complete and utter waste of money. We have been caravanning since 1985 and have never ever paid a penny to any insurance company. Our current van is worth approx £13000 before any of you think we have a 30 yr old lunar,,,we don't ,,but I will not succumb to the leeches disguises as insurance companies. Complete waste of money and before you start telling me about 3rd party insurance whilst I,m on site in case my van catches fire and burns yours down, to be honest why should I care about your van?? Do you care about mine?? Thought not !

We were not out of pocket when the C&CC new for old insurance policy paid out the full amount plus contents insurance when our 3 month old bought from new Abbey 495 was written off in flooding three years ago. We didn't have to haggle, the insurer paid the full amount by writing a cheque direct to the dealer for a brand new caravan and a cheque to us to cover our contents.
If you think that insurance is a waste of money, fine!
I dont

 

[Soozeeg]

Why oh Why does anyone out there bother with rip off caravan insurance, trying to make a claim?? forget it, after youve paid your excess and haggled you have to be out of pocket..........complete and utter waste of money. We have been caravanning since 1985 and have never ever paid a penny to any insurance company. Our current van is worth approx £13000 before any of you think we have a 30 yr old lunar,,,we don't ,,but I will not succumb to the leeches disguises as insurance companies. Complete waste of money and before you start telling me about 3rd party insurance whilst I,m on site in case my van catches fire and burns yours down, to be honest why should I care about your van?? Do you care about mine?? Thought not !

When our brand new (we'd only had it 8 weeks) 3rd caravan was stolen, and recovered a week later, trashed and with all of the contents and our personal items missing (they weren't recovered), we were extremely glad we had insurance. The insurers paid the hefty (several thousand pounds) repair bill in full, and also paid up in full for replacement of all our contents. And no massive hike in premiums or loss of NCD the following year, either.
Waste of money? NO!

 

[ValA.]

Wow - strong words Tom. We've had just the opposite experience, we've paid our 'dues' every year, and have had several claims, none of which have been any problem to sort out. Most have been damage to the van, often self-inflicted going through narrow gates or when a barrier was hidden in trees, and one for body repairs when we had a tyre blow-out which shredded part of the underside of the van. ALL have been sorted out and paid for by the insurance company. We simply have to get two quotes for repairs - arranged on the same site, so we don't have to drag the van around, they give the go ahead, and the work is done.
Whilst some insurance companies may not offer 'what they say in the policy' ours certainly does, and I would highly recommend them to anyone.

 

[SUSPENDTom746]

Wow - strong words Tom. We've had just the opposite experience, we've paid our 'dues' every year, and have had several claims, none of which have been any problem to sort out. Most have been damage to the van, often self-inflicted going through narrow gates or when a barrier was hidden in trees, and one for body repairs when we had a tyre blow-out which shredded part of the underside of the van. ALL have been sorted out and paid for by the insurance company. We simply have to get two quotes for repairs - arranged on the same site, so we don't have to drag the van around, they give the go ahead, and the work is done.
Whilst some insurance companies may not offer 'what they say in the policy' ours certainly does, and I would highly recommend them to anyone.

Yes they are strong words, not meaning to be personal or offensive but that how I view insurance companies, car insurance is loaded because of irresponsible drivers some old some young and quite a majority not insured so why should I pick up the tab? I own a 2009 VW Transporter van worth £17000 which has third party insurance with a hefty excess to enable me to pay them the minimun amount and have always had TP insurance on all my cars/vans for over 35 years, One day I will tot up hoe much money I have not spent on insurance!! It will be a staggering amount. As previously mention we have been caravanning since the 1980's and never paid a penny in insurance so on an average of £200 per year x 25 years = £5000 plus what I haven't spent on the cars/vans but before anyone says " yes but if your £15000 caravan was stolen then that would all be wiped out!" True,,,, but I WILL NOT pay money to insurance companies That's my choice. If you decide to pay that's yours.

 

[Dustydog]

Wow - strong words Tom. We've had just the opposite experience, we've paid our 'dues' every year, and have had several claims, none of which have been any problem to sort out. Most have been damage to the van, often self-inflicted going through narrow gates or when a barrier was hidden in trees, and one for body repairs when we had a tyre blow-out which shredded part of the underside of the van. ALL have been sorted out and paid for by the insurance company. We simply have to get two quotes for repairs - arranged on the same site, so we don't have to drag the van around, they give the go ahead, and the work is done.
Whilst some insurance companies may not offer 'what they say in the policy' ours certainly does, and I would highly recommend them to anyone.

Yes they are strong words, not meaning to be personal or offensive but that how I view insurance companies, car insurance is loaded because of irresponsible drivers some old some young and quite a majority not insured so why should I pick up the tab? I own a 2009 VW Transporter van worth £17000 which has third party insurance with a hefty excess to enable me to pay them the minimun amount and have always had TP insurance on all my cars/vans for over 35 years, One day I will tot up hoe much money I have not spent on insurance!! It will be a staggering amount. As previously mention we have been caravanning since the 1980's and never paid a penny in insurance so on an average of £200 per year x 25 years = £5000 plus what I haven't spent on the cars/vans but before anyone says " yes but if your £15000 caravan was stolen then that would all be wiped out!" True,,,, but I WILL NOT pay money to insurance companies That's my choice. If you decide to pay that's yours.

Hi Tom
I thought for a moment you were a reincarnation of Gumbo. He too didn't believe in Insurance.

In the immortal words from Dirty Harry," Are you feeling lucky punk"?
Unfortunately not everyone on here can afford to self insure so have no choice but to seek comfort from an ABI recognised Insurer.

Have you thought about setting up a consortium like Gumbo to self insure but spreading the risk?
I agree everyone to their own choice but personally I'd hate to take a risk myself.

 

[Soozeeg]

Well Tom, if you're lucky enough to be able to afford to lose £16,000 worth of caravan, several thousand pounds worth of contents and an awning, and then be able to afford to replace it all......good for you. We weren't. Which is why we had insurance.

 

[DeliDave_]

My insurance is £250 ish with C&CC I.m delighted to throw it away as it means Ive had an easy year,I couldnt live with the stress of thinking next week I could lose my caravan(or house,car etc)
its money well spent to me

 

[SteveW77]

Yes they are strong words, not meaning to be personal or offensive

Just aggressive and confrontational


Steve W