Leaving van abroad unattended, insurance, anyone done it ? (1 Viewer)

suavecarve

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Thinking this year (Covid permitting) or doing 20 days then flying back with the wife for 20 days before a 28 day holiday so starting 2nd holiday in South of France 4- 5 hours after finishing a night shift.
I normally leave the wife out there but needs must and all that.
I dont believe our van is insured if we are not in the same country as the van and I will check with the Insurance as it is due in December.
On the presumption I am correct, has anyone else insured their van for a period such as this and what were the costs (eg £50 quid a fortnight) in a secure campsite
 

glenn2926

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Thinking this year (Covid permitting) or doing 20 days then flying back with the wife for 20 days before a 28 day holiday so starting 2nd holiday in South of France 4- 5 hours after finishing a night shift.
I normally leave the wife out there but needs must and all that.
I dont believe our van is insured if we are not in the same country as the van and I will check with the Insurance as it is due in December.
On the presumption I am correct, has anyone else insured their van for a period such as this and what were the costs (eg £50 quid a fortnight) in a secure campsite
Using your logic then any other vehicles eg cars motorcycles etc that you leave at home won’t be insured whilst you’re out of the country in your motorhome.
 
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suavecarve

suavecarve

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Using your logic then any other vehicles eg cars motorcycles etc that you leave at home won’t be insured whilst you’re out of the country in your motorhome.
Should have clarified "the van out of the country of residence and the insured not being with it"

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glenn2926

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Should have clarified "the van out of the country of residence and the insured not being with it"
I would have thought it would be insured as we have as we speak a member who returned to I think France to collect his van after a breakdown. I would hope his van was insured whilst it was awaiting repair.
 
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I would have thought it would be insured as we have as we speak a member who returned to I think France to collect his van after a breakdown. I would hope his van was insured whilst it was awaiting repair.
That is different to leaving a van on its own without the owner. I'm sure many have posted before that the insurance lapses if left over 48 hours unattended.
I also recall another post where they asked the insurance company the question & they stated that it wouldn't be & then cancelled the insrance. Asked why the company said that as they had asked they were obviously intent on doing it.
I'm sure mikebeaches hunted down a company that allows him to leave his van unattended in Alicante at Chrisparking when he flies back.
 

TheBig1

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The small print on most vehicle insurance as well as the statement of where the vehicle is kept overnight specifically excludes cover for unattended vehicles. Not just abroad, as a friend had their van broken into when in for repair at a garage. It was left locked up on the public road as the garage waited for parts. Both their insurance and the garage insurance refused the claim outright
 
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I specifically asked C&MC about unattended use, not for 28 days but if we went for a 2/3 day cycle trip and they said no problem.

It is correct that some policies don't allow for more than 36/48 I attended use away from the insured base location unless you phone up to confirm that is ok!!

Needless to say they were rejected.

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In my experience the answer is generally no, but a few Insurers will consider it.

The last time I checked which was about 2 years ago, Comfort Insurance will but they need full details of where the vehicle will be left so they can consider the quality of security etc. You also need to tell them in advance each time you do it. It is also time limited (I think 4 weeks per policy year) and they will charge an extra fee per week.

I also recall mikebeaches obtained cover from a Lloyds underwriter, he will hopefully follow with further details.

I am currently insured with NFU Mutual who will consider it as well but I am not so sure of their criteria.

Hope useful.
 

TM59

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Have left vans unattended for approx 5/7 days on many occasions in Spain/Portugal always on a site. Many people do. My understanding was it was uninsured with the company I was with. It was a chance I was prepared to take, others won’t. Insurance will cover if it’s an emergency and you need to get home. My advice is speak to your insurance company and take your chances after that. We normally arrive on site up to a week before we travel home. Usually find a good neighbour who keeps an eye out. Works for us.
 
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My younger brother once phoned Comfort and told them he had to fly home for our mother’s funeral, they agreed to keep the van insured, but you can only do that once as most of us I’m sure only have one mother. On other occasions because of his hobby he has left his motorhome uninsured at secure airport parking in several countries without issue.

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suavecarve

suavecarve

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Have left vans unattended for approx 5/7 days on many occasions in Spain/Portugal always on a site. Many people do. My understanding was it was uninsured with the company I was with. It was a chance I was prepared to take, others won’t. Insurance will cover if it’s an emergency and you need to get home. My advice is speak to your insurance company and take your chances after that. We normally arrive on site up to a week before we travel home. Usually find a good neighbour who keeps an eye out. Works for us.
A tactic that has also been used, but unfortunately she has since found out about what she sees as a risk and i see as negligible in the right circs
 

jessthedog

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Out of all the people on Motorhomefun, I dont think there is anyone who dosent do their research and risk assesment more than you! So Im surprised you are asking for Funster replies, which will be from dont worry about it! To,you are absolutey crazy to even think about!
You are your own man, do your risk assessment and go for it👍
 
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We wanted to leave our van in Paris while doing a 7 night river cruise. We were able to do so but had to use vetted interior parking with a 24 hour security presence and full CCTV coverage. There was an additional charge as well of course as the cost of the parking.

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JockandRita

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For me, it's all about risk assessment.

Is the MH to remain on EHU to keep the fridge going? If not, is it to remain on gas for running the fridge? Even if the fridge is emptied and closed down, there is still a risk from 12v problems, be it battery or solar, ie, a short causing overheating enough to start a fire. Even if the whole vehicle is closed down and the 12v isolated at the control panel, there is nothing to stop a rodent causing damage to any live 12v feeds required for vehicle security.
What if your MH is affected by another type of hazard, out of your control, and it is clear that it was uninhabited for days before the incident?

Sorry, maybe it's a former occupational hazard thing with me, but there are so many potentials for things to go wrong, including an act of God, that none of us can predict yea or nea.

Insurers will do their utmost to get out of a claim, so for me, I'd rather be up front and pay an extra premium if necessary.

Cheers,

Jock. :)
 
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I wouldn't ask or tell an insurance co anything after taking out the policy..........

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glenn2926

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I have left my van at my sons in Chamonix for a few weeks at a time. Never even thought about the insurance.
 

mikebeaches

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I'm sure mikebeaches hunted down a company that allows him to leave his van unattended in Alicante at Chrisparking when he flies back.
Gus is correct, as is sussexlad - after a huge amount of research, a Wiltshire-based broker - Advance Insurance - sorted me out with an underwriter - Ageas - that would cover our van left secure indoors at Chris Parking, close to Alicante Airport.




For the last two winters we kept the van there for 6 months and flew down on average every couple of weeks to use it. We could come and go as we wanted. Chris Parking offered a concierge service, with pick up and drop-off at the airport 5 minutes' away. And as part of the service they'd plug the hook-up in on request to keep the batteries conditioned. Worked perfectly for us.

Ageas, however, had a maximum vehicle value of £40k, which was just about sufficient for our PVC. And they wanted the details of where the van was being stored, but if I recall they were satisfied with the details on the web-link for Chris Parking.

The insurance was a very reasonable price and the premium has reduced at each subsequent renewal! I think we are paying £290 this year and covered for Chris Parking, but of course we're not keeping the van in Spain this time due to the pandemic.

Finally, just to add, after much arm twisting, I did persuade our previous insurer - Comfort - who we'd been with for 8 years, to agree to a similar arrangement except that I had to do a lot more work providing specific detail about the storage security, they also wanted to know exact dates the van would be left and when we would be using it - which to us meant extra hassle if we wanted or needed to change our plans at short notice - and they required almost £1k for the premium. Ouch!

Spoke to dozens of insurance companies and brokers, including C&MC and C&CC (who were both unfortunately hopeless) - but nobody else interested that I could find. I was starting to think about buying cover from a Spanish insurer, until Advance came up with the goods for us.

They might or might not be suitable for you? But good luck in any case! (y)
 

Minxy

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My younger brother once phoned Comfort and told them he had to fly home for our mother’s funeral, they agreed to keep the van insured, but you can only do that once as most of us I’m sure only have one mother. On other occasions because of his hobby he has left his motorhome uninsured at secure airport parking in several countries without issue.
You haven't watched certain episodes of M*A*S*H then have you where Klinger had lots of mothers, fathers, grand parents etc ... all of whom died unexpectedly so he wanted to go back to the USA. :giggle:

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suavecarve

suavecarve

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Out of all the people on Motorhomefun, I dont think there is anyone who dosent do their research and risk assesment more than you! So Im surprised you are asking for Funster replies, which will be from dont worry about it! To,you are absolutey crazy to even think about!
You are your own man, do your risk assessment and go for it👍
I am most certainly my own man unless my wife tells me otherwise, on this occasion she has.

I just neglected to tell her the full story on previous occasions. I risk assessed the likely outcome of pulling a fast one over her, thought it might be just a verbal words of advice, wasnt expecting a tirade of abuse coupled with female retaliation and psychological warfare, so I reckon i got that assessment slightly wrong in the "Should i tell her" but in terms of the leaving the van for a couple of weeks inside the grounds of a mate's "chateau" in an area where they had just had a spate of *burglaries was a good assessment

*spate of burglaries was newspaper hyperbole. 2 burglaries had occurred, they caught the father and daughter offenders and this doubled the amount of burglaries in the area to 4 in the previous 10 years !
 
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I am most certainly my own man unless my wife tells me otherwise, on this occasion she has.

I just neglected to tell her the full story on previous occasions. I risk assessed the likely outcome of pulling a fast one over her, thought it might be just a verbal words of advice, wasnt expecting a tirade of abuse coupled with female retaliation and psychological warfare, so I reckon i got that assessment slightly wrong in the "Should i tell her" but in terms of the leaving the van for a couple of weeks inside the grounds of a mate's "chateau" in an area where they had just had a spate of *burglaries was a good assessment

*spate of burglaries was newspaper hyperbole. 2 burglaries had occurred, they caught the father and daughter offenders and this doubled the amount of burglaries in the area to 4 in the previous 10 years !

Doubled after they were caught? I suppose M. Flic teased the modus operandi out of them and thought he would try his luck. :LOL:

More seriously has anyone tried to insure the MH as a chattel since there is no liability for road risks? So just insure for fire, theft, water damage etc. just like house contents.

Just asking.

Geoff
 

mikebeaches

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More seriously has anyone tried to insure the MH as a chattel since there is no liability for road risks? So just insure for fire, theft, water damage etc. just like house contents.

Just asking.
Geoff
Interesting question. And presumably you wouldn't be doubling up on insurance cover, if your existing motor insurer says 'your van will not be covered if left unattended abroad'.

I'm doubtful anybody has managed it, but I'd be very happy to be proved wrong... ;) (y)

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Aug 18, 2014
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When in the Uk I leave the van on the nephews drive for a couple of weeks at a time & sleep in the house usually. I will have to check what my insurance says but I doubt if it will say anything?
 

mikebeaches

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When in the Uk I leave the van on the nephews drive for a couple of weeks at a time & sleep in the house usually. I will have to check what my insurance says but I doubt if it will say anything?
We checked similar circumstance when we're first using our van for transport, but actually staying in Holiday Property Bond accommodation. It was Comfort Insurance at the time, who said it would be OK provided we could honestly say the van was checked at least every 36 hours (or maybe it was every 48 hours?). Which of course was easy.

I think the 36/48 (?) hours was the standard maximum time specified in the policy that the van could be left unattended and still be covered.
 
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We checked similar circumstance when we're first using our van for transport, but actually staying in Holiday Property Bond accommodation. It was Comfort Insurance at the time, who said it would be OK provided we could honestly say the van was checked at least every 36 hours (or maybe it was every 48 hours?). Which of course was easy.

I think the 36/48 (?) hours was the standard maximum time specified in the policy that the van could be left unattended and still be covered.

Whether they use the word 'unattended' or similar it is difficult to know whether at home or away it makes any difference as to whether one sleeps in the MH.

I am sleeping in the house here away from home, but the motorhome is nearer than if I am in my street at home(declared address) in a terraced street where it could be parked 100m away, and insurers do not expect you to sleep in it there.

They probably do not know what they mean, so probably better not to ask as the phone answer could be inaccurate.

Geoff

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