Just saying

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Parksy

Moderator
Nov 12, 2009
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The cost of an insurance policy might be important but cost shouldn't be the only consideration.
It's no good buying a cheap insurance policy if they fail to pay out if things go wrong.
You're better off paying a little extra to ensure that you're covered no matter what.
 

Mel

Moderator
Mar 17, 2007
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Hi Darren. I just did a quick Google of tower gate. From what I can see, you can choose to have a “permanently sited” cover, that doesn’t cover you while towing. If you are going to tow it, then don’t choose that sort of cover. Towergate and loads of others do offer towing cover.
Have you looked at Lifesure? They are quite competitive in my experience.
Mel
 
Jul 1, 2019
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Hi Mel thank you I choose the one where I can tow and not permanently sited but I will ring them today to find out thank you for every one help glad I came across this site
 
Feb 23, 2018
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I'm with Towergate . They have been the cheapest of the 'known' brand insurances companies for me. Both clubs and the major insurance companies (that did caravans) were all more expensive. I am in only my second year of tourer insurance, but I saw an increase of about £150 this year. This was put down to a number of leisure vehicle claims (probably all the storage centre fires) and risk increasing.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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CustardAvenger said:
I'm with Towergate . They have been the cheapest of the 'known' brand insurances companies for me. Both clubs and the major insurance companies (that did caravans) were all more expensive. I am in only my second year of tourer insurance, but I saw an increase of about £150 this year. This was put down to a number of leisure vehicle claims (probably all the storage centre fires) and risk increasing.

That seems quite a disproportionate increase which if spread across all touring vans would raise millions. Are you sure that your first year premium wasn’t a new customer inducement.
Ive always been with one or other of the two clubs as I find their conditions less restrictive, their premiums reasonable but not the cheapest. But they do have a really good record when things go wrong. And that’s when you need the service. In summer 2018 I had to cancel an overseas trip at very short notice. The CMHC were brilliant even offering to reschedule. However I couldn’t reschedule and got the vast majority of my payments and premiums refunded. A bit later I was having to deal with an attempted break in at my fathers empty apartment. It was a nightmare dealing with Towergate.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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As others have said, going for the cheapest insurance might save money at the outset, bits how the insurance deals with claims that can be more telling. Do look at how their customers rate them for handling claims. There are some insurers who have a very good track record, and in particular the two club policies are usually highly praised, as is the NFU, and I'm sure there are others, but usually these insurers are not the cheapest in the first place.

As for the need for insurance, Mel summed it up well,

Site owners can require each caravan to be insured by its owner, and if you don't have cover, the cost of settling a claim against you can easily grow, if for example your caravan starts a fire that damages other caravans.
 
May 7, 2012
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Pond01 said:
Hi thank well best price I could get was with tower gate but says I am not covered while towing

Policies should cover damage when toeing. I checked the Towergate website and it does cover it. The web site information is below. It does not say that they have DEFAQTO five star cover though so the policy might be short elsewhere. The rating is the level of cover. The FEEFO rating is service but is generally how easy it is to set up the policy which is common to most insurers. They make it easy for you to pay them, but the best cover and getting them to pay you is what counts.

Accidents happen to all of us. You may have been caravanning for years but even the most experienced towers make mistakes when parking on a pitch, that’s why we include Accidental Damage whilst towing as standard. You can also extend your Accidental Damage to cover you for mishaps while you’re on site such as damaged awnings. Unfortunately, we can’t cover damage while the caravan is not in use unless it is kept at your home or at a storage address you have told us about.

The cheapest i s very rarely the best. To get the premium down you need to cut something somewhere unless, the company have badly underestimated the risk. Personally I would go with either of the two clubs,Safeguard, SAGA, and NFU although there are a few more that would work. I think you will find that CAMH are the most expensive but they are generally the most generous in settlement.
 
Feb 23, 2018
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otherclive said:
CustardAvenger said:
I'm with Towergate . They have been the cheapest of the 'known' brand insurances companies for me. Both clubs and the major insurance companies (that did caravans) were all more expensive. I am in only my second year of tourer insurance, but I saw an increase of about £150 this year. This was put down to a number of leisure vehicle claims (probably all the storage centre fires) and risk increasing.

That seems quite a disproportionate increase which if spread across all touring vans would raise millions. Are you sure that your first year premium wasn’t a new customer inducement.
Ive always been with one or other of the two clubs as I find their conditions less restrictive, their premiums reasonable but not the cheapest. But they do have a really good record when things go wrong. And that’s when you need the service. In summer 2017 I had to cancel an overseas trip at very short notice. The CMHC were brilliant even offering to reschedule. However I couldn’t reschedule and got the vast majority of my payments and premiums refunded. A bit later I was having to deal with an attempted break in at my fathers empty apartment. It was a nightmare dealing with Towergate.

I think there was an introductory discount, but there were some changes too: I adjusted the sums covered for accessories after listing the cost/value of items onboard (all hail the spreadsheet) also the New-For-Old cover states the price of the equivalent new caravan, which had been increased in 2019 - If the 2020 Sprites have another price hike, I may leave the caravan value static, and will probably go with Caravan Club if prices are ball-park.

We have had issues with a nautical themed insurer. During a recent claim for accidental damage, we were told that we did not have any insurance! This was problematic, as both our cars and house/contents were on the same policy. They stated my MiL was the policy holder and wife's Grandfather was on the policy. (GDPR anyone?) That was a fun day, but it was down to their crappy system having linked the policies for referral discount. All sorted in the end; but i think the person you deal with is very much a factor.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Raywood said:
Pond01 said:
Hi thank well best price I could get was with tower gate but says I am not covered while towing

Policies should cover damage when toeing. I checked the Towergate website and it does cover it. The web site information is below. It does not say that they have DEFAQTO five star cover though so the policy might be short elsewhere. The rating is the level of cover. The FEEFO rating is service but is generally how easy it is to set up the policy which is common to most insurers. They make it easy for you to pay them, but the best cover and getting them to pay you is what counts.

Accidents happen to all of us. You may have been caravanning for years but even the most experienced towers make mistakes when parking on a pitch, that’s why we include Accidental Damage whilst towing as standard. You can also extend your Accidental Damage to cover you for mishaps while you’re on site such as damaged awnings. Unfortunately, we can’t cover damage while the caravan is not in use unless it is kept at your home or at a storage address you have told us about.

The cheapest i s very rarely the best. To get the premium down you need to cut something somewhere unless, the company have badly underestimated the risk. Personally I would go with either of the two clubs,Safeguard, SAGA, and NFU although there are a few more that would work. I think you will find that CAMH are the most expensive but they are generally the most generous in settlement.

Yes it’s important for buyers to recognise that DEFAQTO are rating the product only. It does not cov,er the provider of that product. It was featured in the financial pages a short while back that the review site rating of insurers only cover the setting up of the policy and its very difficult to find honest reviews of how well they deal with a claim. Travel insurance being a notoriously bad case.
 
May 7, 2012
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If you want to check on the insurer go to the FSA website and check the complaints pages. Ignore the number of complaints though, as that is skewed by the size of the company and check the percentage of complaints found in favour of the policyholder.. The lower that is the better.
 
Jul 1, 2019
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Hi all checked insurance yes he is covered to tow went and saw him today he doing fine.update on the toilet waste tank there was a white bit and a back arm had come off inside that operates the shutter. Had know idea how it all goes back together so we have ordered a new complete shutter with new seal .the only other thing is there is a slider on the toilet inside the van that will open and close the shutter once the holding tank is in place but I don’t no what position the slider is in at the moment. Where should it be to right or left when I install the waste tank many thanks Darren
 

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