Insurance buyer beware

[Past_it]

Just had my yearly quote and thought it was reasonable for 'new for old' So decided to ring around for a better quote (as you do).
I was elated when I was quoted a price £50 cheaper.
I phoned my original insurer to see if they could honour or beat the price, unfortunately they couldn't but they said make sure it is actually 'new for old'.
My new van is priced at £22000 and they were only willing to pay £13000 ...New for Old. Needless to say I went with my original insurer.
Had I not checked my insured value it was only about half the value of a replacement van.
Buyer Beware.

 

[Raywood]

Always remember the saying "If it looks too good to be true it probably is". Most of us do not buy the cheapest caravan or car but many think the cheapest insurance will do because all companies are the same. They only find out that this is not true when they have a claim. If you get a cheaper quote check the policy carefully. We use the caravan club policy for the caravan which is certainly not the cheapest but as anyone who has had a claim will tell you is almost certainly the best when it comes to the crunch.

 

[NickinFrance]

the best when it comes to the crunch.

Shouldn't that be after the crunch?

 

[JonnyG]

I was insured with the C&C, when my caravan was stolen from the place i store [hey parsky told you you are more likely to have your van stolen from its storage site than a m/way s/station lol] ,A week later another caravan was stolen from the same place. C&C arent the cheapest but i can assure you it was no pleasure dealing with their assessors, and the other caravan owner
who's caravan was 18 months old would say the same thing he took a £1100 loss regardless of their so called new for old!
I aggree one should check the small print and ask many question but to assume dearer insurance is better,please first hand experience
tells me thats not the case be it caravans, cars or bikes.

 

[otherclive]

The current financial climate has led to significant increase in complaints to the Insurance Ombudsman, of which the majority (80%) are upheld. Most insurers use independent companies for loss adjustment and claim settlements, and the profits of such companies are directly linked to their sucess in forcing down, or even rejecting claims. You only have to read in the weekend financial pages the weasly way that they will try and bounce a claim. hence the increase in complaints to the Ombudsman. The worrying thing is that it is across the spectrum of insurance providers, and big names are just as guilty as the lesser known providers.

 

[Raywood]

The complaints are not spread evenly accross the market and it is very difficult to work out who is the most complained about because some firms are far larger than others and this means the larger ones inevitably have more complaints. Some companies have a very low proportion of complaints upheld, the best I saw the last time | saw the figures was below 20%. All companies are not the same but I accept that it is very difficult for most people to work out which is which.

 

[Dustydog]

Since July 2011 all Insurers have to openly declare the number of complaints made against them .

See this link for more info:-
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/library/other_publications/commentary/firm_spec

 

[FrintonMike]

Had the renewal for our Sedona in this week at £643 with AXA. Just done it with a local broker for £307 through Aviva
Having had my own insurance brokerage until I retired I have made sure that the cover is as good, in fact the excess is £150 against £300 with AXA so better cover
Just shows you have to shop around

 

[Raywood]

It is very difficult to interpret this information as some firms are many times larger than others so the number of complaints can only be judged by adjusting for the size of the company but even then you have to allow for the fact that larger companies will have large companies on the books who have no right of complaint. Probably the best way of judging a company is to look at the percentage of complaints upheld by the Ombudsman as this should indicate how fair they treat their customers.

Since July 2011 all Insurers have to openly declare the number of complaints made against them .

See this link for more info:-
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/library/other_publications/commentary/firm_spec
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[Dustydog]

That's the problem with general statistics Ray.
I think it has to be used as a guide and certainly as you point out it would be better if they also quoted the number of policies underwritten. Maybe that info will be included in the future .

 

[CruckleyCaravan]

Working in the industry, this kind of behaviour is becoming all to common. It seems a lot of the brokers are just out to make a quick buck, sell you any old cr*p and hope you don't bother to read the small print (who does) - it's only when its time to make a claim that they weasel out of it.

 

[Raywood]

This is one of the reasons I would suggest anyone who does not understand the policy cover insure with one of the clubs as although they may not be the cheapest they will make sure that you have a suitable policy with a reliable insurer.

Working in the industry, this kind of behaviour is becoming all to common. It seems a lot of the brokers are just out to make a quick buck, sell you any old cr*p and hope you don't bother to read the small print (who does) - it's only when its time to make a claim that they weasel out of it.
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[mealsonwheels]

Very wise words Raywood. That's why we insure our caravan through the Caravan Club.

 

[Beachball]

We are still with the Camping and Caravan CLub they give excellent value for money and very reasonable price ...

 

[Abbey540]

This is a very good point.
I've just renewed my insurance - which I thought was 'New For Old'. Ha!
It seems that to replace my van (with something similar) would cost £22K in today's market.
My van was insured at the price we paid for it - £12,800.
The insurance company said if we were written off, we would only receive the market value - ie £7,200.
The original renewal quote was for £235 - which I thought quite reasonable. The new 'New For Old' quote was £388! Bit of a hike, don't you think!?
So I asked - what would my quote be if I just wanted to insure for Market Value?
£175 came the reply.
So if I hadn't enquired about 'New For Old' - I'd have been charged £224.00, but would only have received £7,200 if I wrote my van off.
Ergo - I would have been charged approx £50 more than I should have.
For peace of mind, I've gone with the 'New For Old' quote.

Just check yours next time it's up for renewal.

 

[Damian]

It has always been the case that when insuring New for Old that the policy holder is responsible to ensure that the value insured is sufficient to purchase a similar van as that insured, and therefore must increase the insured value to give the correct value of a "New" van.
The Caravan Club do in fact increase the value to the relevant level, or if there is a doubt, they contact the owner and get them to provide a figure of an equivalent van to the insured van.

 

[Surfer]

It has always been the case that when insuring New for Old that the policy holder is responsible to ensure that the value insured is sufficient to purchase a similar van as that insured, and therefore must increase the insured value to give the correct value of a "New" van.
The Caravan Club do in fact increase the value to the relevant level, or if there is a doubt, they contact the owner and get them to provide a figure of an equivalent van to the insured van.

As above I think that the CC do it automatically on renewal if the previous year was new for old. I wonder at what point, it is better to move across to market value?
On our previous caravan the so called " market value" was about £8500, but we had no issue selling it at £9950 and dealers were selling the same caravan at about £12000! Why was the insurance market value so low?

 

[ProfJohnL]

......On our previous caravan the so called " market value" was about £8500, but we had no issue selling it at £9950 and dealers were selling the same caravan at about £12000! Why was the insurance market value so low?

There is always a problem with defining the "market value" of a product Ther are variable criteria which affect the value. The automotive industry has a system based on the Glasses guide, but the 'value' of the same car is different depending on whether you are buying or selling, and whether its a dealer or a private sale. So which price is the market value? - is itwhat yours is worth, or how much it would cost to replace it with exactly the same models and age etc but that depends on where you get it......
There is no substitute to reading and understanding the T&Cs

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Prof John

Looking at my CC super 5 policy it clearly defines what they mean by "Market value".
Would you believe they say the value based on "Glasses Guide"

A call to my dealer reveals that Glasses Guide do a caravan version.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Dusty

That does not surprise me at all, but the question still remains, Which of the three or more values in the guide for each product is used as the 'market value'?
Dealer purchase/PX Lowest value
Private sale
Dealer sale - Highest value
And then you have moderate the valuations by miliage or some other wear and tear factors
The difference between lowest and highest can be over 25%

 

[Dustydog]

Hi John
I guess a lot of it will come down to negotiation. However as you quite rightly point out there are a number of variations .
Interestingly enough the CC also say they may "pay cash", repair or replace the caravan if they so choose.
Generally whilst Market Value is perhaps a variable term in the guides I do believe the Courts and Financial Ombudsman will refer to the basic principle of Indemnity.
The claimant must be placed in the same financial position they were in immediately prior to the loss.
Any Insurer who tried to tell us guys that MV is the trade value in a guide would no doubt be shot to pieces

 

[Raywood]

The insurers use Glasses Guide to assess the value of caravans written off although if you have one that goes back further than those quoted then it does become difficult but the same applies to cars.
The premium is based on Insured value so a replacement as new polcy will always cost far more than market value on an older caravan but if it comes to the worst then you get far more. The CC always quote you the replacement cost on their renewal notice to enable you to keep the policy up to date and have confirmed to me that if the replacement cost increases during the insurance period then they will pay the extra.
The club sell the policy on service and if an assessor is unreasonably difficult then complain to the club.