Motorhome Insurance (1 Viewer)

Molharpen

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Jun 6, 2016
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Hello
My wife & I have taken the plunge and bought ourselves a lovely van conversion which is at the moment being prepared for us to pick up at the end of this month. as MH newbies we were wondering what companies would provide the best insurance cover for us, any suggestions welcome please?

Many thanks
 
May 8, 2016
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Welcome both to the world of motorhome/campers and to this forum

To be honest, we just saw an ad for comfort, who are a specialist broker. They were brilliant, good cost and allowed for extended touring plus extended full replacement cover. Cost less to insure a 6M Chausson than the wife's Seat

http://www.comfort-insurance.co.uk/
 
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Molharpen

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Jun 6, 2016
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Thanks for the quick reply i will check them out.

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Apr 25, 2016
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Consort Oslo
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Another newbie here, just literally insured ours. Had a list of all the usual suspects, but tried my car insurer first, and they beat the lot. We went with LV, it is worth getting a quote from them.
Congratulations on your new purchase, we are off on our first MH trip tomorrow, so now counting the hours!

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Jan 31, 2016
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Newbie here also got a quote recently from online comparison sites, AIB, Caravan Guard, Safeguard and Comfort. ATM its between Caravan Guard and Comfort both circ £100 cheaper than anyone else both with full EU cover and breakdown. Leaning towards Comfort atm as believe a better policy. We pick up our MH in a few weeks so time to sort out.
 
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Jul 29, 2013
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We have been with Safeguard up till now but Comfort gave us a better deal this year by £70
 
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Bobby22

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Dec 15, 2013
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Another newbie here, just literally insured ours. Had a list of all the usual suspects, but tried my car insurer first, and they beat the lot. We went with LV, it is worth getting a quote from them.
Congratulations on your new purchase, we are off on our first MH trip tomorrow, so now counting the hours!
Has LV insured you as a motorhome or just as a chassis. Some car insurers won't insure the habitation side of a vehicle, some won't insure for when in rally fields.
I tried Privilege as they insure my car but would only insure me to be legally on the road.
 
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May 8, 2016
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I am with comfort, and whilst they are good value for money etc I am a little disappointed that they are so rigid with their policies. Why offer 365 days in the EU, and then say you can't leave your van anywhere (not even locked up in an enclosed compound covered by CCTV) unattended for more that 36 hours?

If you're happy with a boiler plate policy only available to low risk folks like us, then fine. As soon as you need something a bit outside of their parameters, they're useless

Any idea for alternatives anyone?
 
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Jan 31, 2016
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I am with comfort, and whilst they are good value for money etc I am a little disappointed that they are so rigid with their policies. Why offer 365 days in the EU, and then say you can't leave your van anywhere (not even locked up in an enclosed compound covered by CCTV) unattended for more that 36 hours?

If you're happy with a boiler plate policy only available to low risk folks like us, then fine. As soon as you need something a bit outside of their parameters, they're useless

Any idea for alternatives anyone?
Are you sure? My quote with them is based on my van being given stored at my parents house and not mine. Only a £20 discount if I used a cossa gold site. IMHO mot worth to £400 site fee rather pay for a growler and non starter. Pays for itself in 3 years and give me better security at home and away.
 
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May 8, 2016
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Problem is we have two houses, UK and Portugal. They are fine with the vehicle being stored in the UK (as it is at the moment), but limit overseas storage to 36 flaming hours, which means that we can't leave it over there between trips. When I asked their staff if it would be OK if we were there, they responded saying "only if you're using the M/H, you are not covered if you are sleeping in the house" - it is right next to the bedroom window!

Bloody inflexible. The house is surrounded by 2.5M high brick walls, locked heavy duty gates connected to the alarm panel, covered by 360 degree CCTV, along with visiting security (twice daily, random times). The "bus" has both Thatcham Cat 1 and Cat 2 alarms, gps tracker, fuel cut off, wheel clamp, crooklock and even independent onboard GSM connected CCTV. I get an email picture if a bird lands on the roof and a text alert if the wind rocks the van

I have been on MOD ordnance sites with far lower security than this. But Comfort tell me that Aviva aren't interested in changing anything, just interested in low risk individuals (which they concede we are) and bog standard policies, so I have to look elsewhere. Didn't make that clear when they took my money, though

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Bailey58

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Jun 23, 2010
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Comfort has always been the popular option on Fun although they may not suit everyone, more recently AIB have taken a lot of members including me but after initially going with the major players like Aviva and LV they have switched to using Markerstudy to underwrite their policies, it did generate a thread recently on some poor online reviews but negative feedback tends to rise to the surface in most areas of opinion. I have three vehicles with AIB but I shall shop around again as they're all due over the next 3 or 4 months. :cautious:
 
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May 8, 2016
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Comfort are certainly cheap, but I have a nagging suspicion that Aviva are not really that interested in the more specialist M/H market, and a cynical legal look at their Ts & Cs didn't offer much by way of reassurance. In any case, they are too restrictive for our lifestyle, and I have no option than to bin them and try to recover a pro rata refund.

It's not just a matter of money, it's a question that my confidence has been lost as a result of their rather flaky response to my questions

Might try AIB and LV, thanks for the heads up
 
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sedge

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Pro- rata refunds are not available on Motor Policies - only a certain proportion of the annual cost is ever recoverable - then it's pro-rata.

Unless things have changed since I retired!

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May 8, 2016
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Ahh, but I suspect that any pursuit of a claim for mis-selling an insurance policy and a subsequent application to the FOS might well elicit a more sympathetic response. In truth I expect to drop some money on the so called "administration" cost, but I didn't like their attitude or their inflexibility - I dread to think what their claims handling process is like
 
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Feb 4, 2016
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Im new to insuring a mh . I went with safeguard . Not the cheapest but unlimited millage and 365 day European cover with breakdown for a 4600 kilo mh . Hopefully all scenarios covered .

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May 8, 2016
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Haven't concluded my enquiries yet, but I have uncovered the fact that Aviva (which Comfort sell) seem to be the subject of a huge number of complaints to the ombudsman.

So far, Gemma of AIB has been incredibly helpful with my (very) specific requirements. Instead of a "tick box" type of policy, they have approached a Lloyds underwriter on my behalf and elicited an offer to cover us for leaving the M/H unattended on our own secure driveway in Portugal for up to 6 months whilst we go backwards and forwards to the UK. All a whole lot more sensible than the Comfort/Aviva policy, which limits time away to a mere 36 hours!

OK, it cost a tad more (well, around £80 a year), but I have taken the plunge and now feeling very much happier
 
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May 8, 2016
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UPDATE: Warning regarding Comfort Insurance

It gets better, when checking the Comfort policy documents regarding cancellation rights and refunds, it states:

if you wish to cancel and the insurance cover has already commenced, you will be entitled to a refund of the premium paid, less a proportionate deduction for the time we have provided cover. There will also be a fee of up to £25.00 (plus Insurance Premium Tax, where applicable) to cover our administrative costs.

Sounds fair enough to me. So I rang Sarah of Comfort, and she tells me that they will also deduct the full annual cost of RAC breakdown cover and legal protection from the refund they will credit to my card. I explain that doesn't sound right, but at least I will have these two benefits for the duration of the original policy period, to which she replied "No, you lose those as you are cancelling the policy".

Their email (just received) confirms this idiotic attempt to rip me off....

We would point out that the Horizon Advantage (RAC) and uninsured loss recovery are annual charges and no refund applies to these portions of the premium paid. All cover, including RAC, ceased with the cancellation of the policy.

Huh? They want me to pay around £100 for services that they are not providing, and especially given that the contractual terms specifically undertake a refund of the whole premium paid (as above).What a complete contrast to the helpful people at AIB, and what a mistake to make with me

I obviously cannot recommend Comfort Insurance to anyone on the basis of my experience. Fortunately suing businesses is pretty much a daily event around here, I can't be ar*sed with their complaints process and so forth, so I will let everyone know how that goes in court
 
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Jan 31, 2016
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Just put a complaint in on the basis they cannot provide cover. Assuming circumstances changed after inception.
I would have thought they should assist and sort out a pro-rata. You are only cancelling as they cannot provide cover.
However if this is a non disclosure circumstances have not changed and just omitted to check. They sorry you don't have a leg to stand on imho. You should always read terms and conditions

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May 8, 2016
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silver coast, portugal
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Boatie for 20 years
I did read terms and conditions, which says that you get a pro rata refund for any unused part of the policy (as per previous post)

On top of making deductions from the refund that are not allowed within the contract, they have still got their sums wrong. All things considered, this is not a nice way to conduct their business

As I said before, watch this space. The easy way to deal with this is to apply to the bank for the chargeback process to apply (I used a Visa debit card to pay) or to take them to court (which is far more fun - but I can't post anything on that until it has been heard). It's more the principle than the money
 
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Bailey58

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Jun 23, 2010
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An update on the OP. Just received my van renewal from AIB and to correct an earlier comment, whilst the other motors are with Markerstudy, the van is with Highway Insurance, part of the LV group. £225 last year, £239 this year with breakdown extra. The increase from 6 to 9.5% in IPT doesn't help but then we're all in it together. :cautious:
 
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May 8, 2016
1,685
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silver coast, portugal
Funster No
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Boatie for 20 years
That's a good price, by the looks of it.

My problem with the original insurer (Comfort) has been compounded by the fact that they won't respond with an explanation as to why they have taken 6 months premium for only 10 weeks cover. As I paid the full premium with a debit card, the problem has already been rectified with the intervention of Visa and the imposition of a chargeback.
 
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