Insurance ? ? ?

[H13STV]

Being New to this Caravanning and with expecting delivery of my first Caravan I have turned my attention to looking for Insurance. So far the best price I have is from a company called Towergate. Who are you all with and how do you rate your company? have any of you had to make a claim and if so was it nice and simple?

Thanks in advance

 

[DaveA1]

Hi
I'm with the Caravan Club 5Cs insurance. Been lucky so far never had to make a claim.
Looked at other insurers, 5Cs conditions are easier to live with.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

With regard to insurance the detail is in the small print and the cheapest is not always the best. I use the Caravan Club insurance which, of course, is specifically tailored to caravans.

 

[Raywood]

Towergate are a reputable national broker but I do not know which company they put their caravan business with. The two clubs are not the cheapest but the cover is better than any others I have seen and the service is first class. If you are not a member NFU have a very good reputation and so do SAGA if you are old enough. With brokers you need to know who the insurer actually is to rate them but beware the very cheap ones you only get what you pay for.
As Woodlands Camper says club policies are specifically for touring caravans, you will find some but not all other offerings are aimed at statics as well and the cover may be compromised.

 

[Dustydog]

Older Forumites will recall the times when a a certain Insurer was so bad they banned us and the PCv from ever mentioning their name again. Suffice to say their claims service was sadly lacking.

As WC and Raywood say cheapest is not the best .

There is one so called Caravan Specialist Insurer come Broker who offer the earth . Behind the smoke screen their small print doesn't cover you for theft if you leave your caravan outside your house even for one minute with all security attached. No thank you.
Hence although I know I pay a bit more premium the broad cover with The Caravan Club gives me peace of mind. The C&CC scheme is comparable. They both use Insurers and Brokers who are long time served experts in caravan Insurance . Dare I say it , tongue in cheek, their approach to claims is very sensible with a view to finding a way to pay a claim rather than finding a reason for rejection.

 

[saint-spoon]

All very helpful stuff chaps. I have been looking at the CC for my insurance; I pick my caravan up from the dealership on the 18th of this month. Initially it will be stowed at a secure compound with the normal CCTV surveillance and so on (that isn’t cheap either is it???), does that make much difference to your insurance premiums?

 

[Damian]

All very helpful stuff chaps. I have been looking at the CC for my insurance; I pick my caravan up from the dealership on the 18th of this month. Initially it will be stowed at a secure compound with the normal CCTV surveillance and so on (that isn’t cheap either is it???), does that make much difference to your insurance premiums?

No it does not make much difference, but can be one of the conditions of many Insurers.
However, do not get lulled into a false sense of security as regardless of a storage being "secure", in reality none of them are truly "Secure" and they all have get out clauses in the event of vans being stolen or broken into.

It makes sense to regularly check your van, preferably weekly, and take sensible security precautions.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Some insurers may offer a discount if you use an company approved storage , usually a Casoa accredited facility. The insurance discount is unlikely to offset the additional cost of using a Casoa site.

You will have to get the quotes and costs to work it out your self, but I personally did not use a Casoa site because they did not offer anything I couldn't do cheaper elsewhere, but that will not necessarily be the same over the whole of the country.

There have been several threads about storage sites and in particular 'security', a feature apparently that Casoa do not use to sell their servicesl???

Do your home work, and don't be bambozeled by the advertising hype.

 

[H13STV]

Thanks for all the info. for some reason I`m being drawn to the cc insurance even though it is more expensive but im just in two minds whether its worth joining the cc to get the insurance or not thankfully I still have a few days to keep looking around and decide before picking up my van.

 

[Woodentop]

I contacted Towergate recently and was not very impressed with their customer facing attitude.

I have for years been with CaravanGuard who are based in Halifax. They are a joy to deal with, they are open in the way they deal with you, and are flexible. They give a good discount if you have Tracker.

If you have any insurance with LV get a quote from them - for travel and breakdown insurance as well - as you get discount for multiple insurance. For the record the CC insurance connection was always in the past Frizzel - who were taken over by LV some years ago.

 

[Dustydog]

I contacted Towergate recently and was not very impressed with their customer facing attitude.

I have for years been with CaravanGuard who are based in Halifax. They are a joy to deal with, they are open in the way they deal with you, and are flexible. They give a good discount if you have Tracker.

If you have any insurance with LV get a quote from them - for travel and breakdown insurance as well - as you get discount for multiple insurance. For the record the CC insurance connection was always in the past Frizzel - who were taken over by LV some years ago.

Wooden top According to all my papers I think you maybe wrong. Frizz ell and LV have never been involved with CC. As far back as I remember 1978 there has been a very successful joint venture between CC and Devitt Insurance Brokers supported by a panel of 3 or 4 main stream Insurers.

 

[Gagakev]

I'm with the C+CC, have both the insurance and there RAC Arival recovery, Touch wood never used either of them

 

[Gabsgrandad]

Frizzel used to run the credit card scheme for cc for a few years. Used to be big sponsors of the national rally.

 

[Raywood]

Caravan Guard put their business with RSA who are reliable, but look about to be taken over, probably by Zurich. If that happens things might change so personally I would be a little wary there in the short term.
Not sure if it is worth joining the CC just for the insurance but they give you an extensive site network of well maintained sites although on most you will not find swimming pools and bars if that is what you want. You do get a very good foreign touring service and cheap breakdown insurance amongst other things. The Mayday breakdown service is far better than the commercial offerings as it does cover the caravan and give cover if you have left the caravan on site and broken down while out for the day and cover to a site and back if you break down on the way. This cover is not available outside the two clubs as far as I know and is probably one way of justifying membership.

 

[H13STV]

Thanks to all for all the helpful info its much appreciated