Insurance

[Southy1]

Hi Everyone

I hope everyone has got off to a happy and cheerful start to the season.

My van insurance is due to run out in three days time and I am just about to renew.

I am currently with the Camping and Caravanning Club and have a 2012 Bailey Bologna, twin axle

CCC Club care are requesting £383.37 which sounds a lot to me!! Thoughts anyone?

Best regards

Southy

 

[Hutch]

Hi Southy, I am with the CCc for insurance, a bit less than that £327 for a 2013 Coachman 560 VIP. CC quoted 50 more, and the others I would not look at because of the cover, there is another thread about this somewhere about two months ago.
Hutch.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi.Southy.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, and sadly year on year most insurances do creep up. But there is nothing wrong with shopping around to see if there is a better quote, BUT look very carefully at what the policy covers before you decide to change, In past threads on the forum, the general consensus has been that whilst you can almost certainly find a cheaper quote from other providers, the cover is not as good as the clubs, and their specialist nature is tuned into what most caravanners really want.

Sometimes reapplying as if you are a new customer to your current insurer can bring a better quote, so dont be afraid to haggle a bit. If you tell them your considering changing insurers they will sometimes try a bit harder to keep you.

Another tactic which the consumer magazine Which? reported on was see if your occupation can legally be described slightly differently that can sometimes affect premiums, Just a note though and it shouldn't need to said, dont tell them lies.

Good luck

 

[saint-spoon]

I have got to agree with Prof, whilst it is easy enough to find cheaper insurance the two main clubs do seem to offer the most comprehensive insurance cover for caravans. I'm currently with CC but may switch as the insuracne premiums innevitably creep up.

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Southy.
Bear in mind your postcode will affect the premium as will where you store your caravan.
Hence maybe you and Hutch come up with different figures.
For me it has to be one the two Clubs schemes.

 

[DavenGill1]

Our van is insured with Caravan Guard and they were cheaper than both clubs, however you only find out how good the company is until you have to use them.

 

[Hutch]

What the Prof is saying about haggling is true, my premium had come down bu £5 from the previous year, and when I called the CCC, they quoted me another £5 less again. As Dusty D states as well, areas, type of van etc all effects the quotes.
Think it would always be one of the clubs for me.

 

[Raywood]

I agree with the Prof. The two clubs do have very comprehensive policies and give better cover and service than a lot so I would tend to pay a bit more for peace of mind.
Caravan guard use RSA who are also very good so would not avoid them. NFU and SAGA also have good reputations.

 

[Thingy]

Caravan Club for me. It is more expensive than some of the other companies, but I concur about peace of mind.

 

[caravannerkev]

CC appear a little out of touch when it comes to premiums at the moment. There are loads of insurers out there offering comparable cover for much less. I think Practical Caravan ran a price comparison last year and there were a number cheaper Mobile Homes Insurance Service came out cheapest, perhaps give them a try?

 

[Dustydog]

CC appear a little out of touch when it comes to premiums at the moment. There are loads of insurers out there offering comparable cover for much less. I think Practical Caravan ran a price comparison last year and there were a number cheaper Mobile Homes Insurance Service came out cheapest, perhaps give them a try?

And I don't suppose you work for them hmy:

 

[ProfJohnL]

CC appear a little out of touch when it comes to premiums at the moment. There are loads of insurers out there offering comparable cover for much less. I think Practical Caravan ran a price comparison last year and there were a number cheaper Mobile Homes Insurance Service came out cheapest, perhaps give them a try?

Hello Kev,
No one is doubting you can get a cheaper quote then either of the two clubs, but a I hope I made it clear you must look at the policy details about what is or isn't covered. Often the fine contains things like the maximum size or weight of caravan they will recover, They may not cover all types types of damage, or the its not covered if its not locked in a particular way. The policy may claim to be new for old , but then the limits of the age of the caravan may be different.
Only the seeker can decide which policy is best on the balance of the cover provided.

 

[RayS]

I agree with much of what has been said about the Clubs insurance schemes. You should also carefully compare what you are getting. CC have moved from 3 to 5 years 'new for old' as standard recently I think.
The one and only time I had to claim it was settled quickly, without aggravation and above all fairly. So now on maximum NCD.

Having said this, I wonder sometimes why it costs me as much to insure my caravan as it does my house - give or take)

 

[Raywood]

I* am afraid there is no real comparison between house and caravan insurance, they are completely different things. It is rather like comparing a cooker with a fridge, Both can be electric but that is all.
Caravan insurance is very competitive but caravans are high risk with costly repair bills if damage and a high theft rate and the claims record dictates the price.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Have you ever seen a caravan thief towing a house!!!!

 

[DrZhivago]

caravans are high risk with costly repair bills if damage and a high theft rate

So are cars, but the quote at the start of this thread is higher than for my car (a relatively expensive model). Which is ridiculous, especially as it only does a fraction of the car's milage.

As caravan insurance is not a legal requirement, you have to consider whether it is worth insuring at all. Or putting it another way, seeing that insurance companies expect to make a profit, insure it with yourself and the chances are you will keep the profit yourself.

Then, if it is damaged or stolen, you repair it youself, or pay for the repairs yourself, or buy another (saving up first if necessary), or do without it, as the case may be. They are not essential like car might be to get to work. It depends on your van, circumstances, outlook, and lifestyle. Even if my van was not stored behind my house invisible to potential thieves from any outside angle, it is such an old banger that I cannot imagine anyone stealing it, and if they did I would just buy another similar.

 

[ProfJohnL]

caravans are high risk with costly repair bills if damage and a high theft rate

So are cars, but the quote at the start of this thread is higher than for my car (a relatively expensive model). Which is ridiculous, especially as it only does a fraction of the car's milage.

As caravan insurance is not a legal requirement, you have to consider whether it is worth insuring at all. Or putting it another way, seeing that insurance companies expect to make a profit, insure it with yourself and the chances are you will keep the profit yourself.

Then, if it is damaged or stolen, you repair it youself, or pay for the repairs yourself, or buy another (saving up first if necessary), or do without it, as the case may be. They are not essential like car might be to get to work. It depends on your van, circumstances, outlook, and lifestyle. Even if my van was not stored behind my house invisible to potential thieves from any outside angle, it is such an old banger that I cannot imagine anyone stealing it, and if they did I would just buy another similar.

To large extent I agree with your thread, except for one crucial point. If by some means your caravan is the cause of someone else's loss, for example if your caravan goes on fire, and the fire spreads to another caravan, then you could be held personally liable, fro loss and damages caused to the other party.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

To large extent I agree with your thread, except for one crucial point. If by some means your caravan is the cause of someone else's loss, for example if your caravan goes on fire, and the fire spreads to another caravan, then you could be held personally liable, fro loss and damages caused to the other party.

this reminds me of a conversation I had years ago about insurance. I Complained to a broker about the cost of renewal.
stating that NCB was only accredited up to 8years and I had never had a claim in 40 years. it was about time someone gave me free insurance, for all the money I had paid.

he replied it doesn't matter what happened for the last 40 years, ONLY what may happen next year.
of course he was right, buying the cheapest insurance just because your claim free will not help if you have to claim then all the terms and conditions of the new policy apply.

you only find out how good it is when making a claim and could find out that a cheap quote can be very costly.
of course you may not make a claim and so save money, it's all on the roll of the dice, and whether you feel lucky.

 

[Woodentop]

CC insurance used to be handled by Frizzell who are now part of LV=. If you have any other insurance with LV you get discount as well.

I have never used them for a claim but otherwise dealing with them is easy - their call centre is in Bournemouth.

On an earlier point, ever since I have had a caravan I have used CaravanGuard and won't say a harsh word against them either. If you have Tracker you get a significant discount.

 

[Raywood]

I am afraid in my experience old caravans do get stolen as I have been involved in a few claims for them. They are less of a target than newer ones but look at motorway building sites and the like and see what many of the staff are using. I am not saying they are all stolen but there is a market for these caravans.
The theft statistic for caravans is frightening though. Last year if I remember correctly the number was something over six hundred. The sales have varied over the years but you are looking at probably about 25,000 sold in a year on average. That would be a theft rate of possibly over one fiftieth of the number sold, far higher than cars. This means that a fairly high proportion of your premium goes to cover this far more than on your car.