Look Closely At Motorhome Insurance Policy Small Print - Some Surprising Facts

Shopping around for motorhome insurance gave Mr Wombles a lot more work than expected recently as so many policy variations on small details that could make all the difference or even invalidate insurance in the event of a claim. We drew up a hit list which was a mixture of Which? Best Buy car insurance insurers, those reviewed on this forum, a few wild cards from Facebook group & friends recommendations & he also checked motorhome insurance comparison websites. Some were 50% dearer than others but level of cover was more important to us (when it comes to insurance) than cost although it still has to be good value for that money.
What is the best policy really is a personal choice depending on your circumstances so what is best for one won't be for another. For our criteria Saga was overall the best cover for us & it's reassuring that their policies are Defaqto 5 Star & Saga are a Which? Best Buy rated insurer too. LV, Comfort, Adrian Flux & C&MC (if already a member) were close contenders. Our criteria is "New For Old" plus a good level of Personal Accident cover as well as a fair comprehensive policy overall so if you have a motorhome over 3 years old or already have life insurance or another policy that gives Personal Accident cover then other insurers may be a better choice for you.
Surprising Facts:
If you buy a "new" motorhome that has been used as a demonstrator then for some insurers "New For Old" (NFO) terms will not apply in event of a claim - Comfort is one such insurer. Considering how many buy motorhomes off the dealers forecourt where all there are demo models that clause is concerning for new owners if they are not aware. Can see the insurance company point too though as they could end up replacing an ex demo which may already be 2-3 years on the forecourt (sounds a lot but know it happens) before being bought as "new" with a new factory order otherwise. Our first motorhome was just 5 days as a demo at a NEC Show after being taken there direct from the factory by transporter & we thought we had NFO cover but maybe we didn't then - luckily no claims so never had to find out!
Another foible of NFO is that if an insurer offers it for one year then it is only up until that motorhome is one year old so if like us it has taken two months to register it then it only has that cover for 10 of the 12 months. One insurer stated that it would be for the full year with them but when we got them to double check this was not the case! Knowing this made us choose a provider with 2 years NFO for our first year rather than LV who like others could only offer (less than) a year.
Personal Accident ranged from just £5,000 (AIB with no increase possible) to £100,000 (LV as an affordable optional add on) - we settled for 50,000 when choosing Saga.
Policy documents emailed with quotes to customers aren't always correct - Comfort had Personal Accident cover as £15,000 on their website but just £2,500 on the policy information document that it emails to customers - although we didn't choose them this time we did point this out to them & they confirmed it is an error & should be £15,000 so it will be amended especially as this error may have lost them customers.
Insurers aren't obligated to use genuine parts in event of a claim - Saga do for the period that a motorhome is under warranty but may not after that.
EU cover varies from 60-365 days.
All insurers we contacted were happy to insure LHD motorhomes - we thought we would get at least one that would refuse or charge more but none did.
Caravan Guard who otherwise have a good level of policy don't insure self imports (although they do insure LHD ) - every other insurer we contacted had no problem or premium loading for self imports so long as UK registered once imported.
One last one that we found previously - although all insurers are allowed to provide VIN insurance for 365 days most only offer 30 days if at all even though it normally takes around two months to go through the whole registration process - crazy but true!

If in doubt about anything or unclear if you are answering a question correctly for an online quote ring the insurer (noting day, time & name of who you spoke to as calls are normally recorded) & check or you may find your insurance is invalid if you have to make a claim. We had a couple of instances this time where that could have been the case if we hadn't rung the insurer for clarification

What this has shown us is that don't just go for the insurer that a friend says is good or has a good reputation - it is essential to check the small print & make sure it meets your needs especially as many keep changing their terms to stay competitive price wise. We will be checking all policies much more thoroughly in future even though it is tedious & time consuming it has to be done for our peace of mind.
Hope all this typing & sharing our experience helps a Funster or two.

 

Interested to hear why Safeguard did not even make the short list - their cover appears to be very comprehensive

 

I'd like to know that too. We've used Safeguard for a couple of years and they seem to have everything we need but I'dlike to know if we've missed anything.
Thanks
Steph

 

Thanks very much. A really good insight

 

Good advice and thanks for spending the time and sharing, if you get a minute can you check out spanish insurance.
We were with Saga for many years, although they give great cover they are old school, the policy goes up rapidly, and you get far to much paper through the letter box.
Never got to use Comfort because they had too many restrictions and when we had quotes for full time it was £1600 because our post code was NR1 not that the motorhome would have been there.
We stuck with Safeguard, but none of them look after their customers.
Our friends are insured with Caravan Guard and have been for many years, last year they broke down in France not long after they arrived, they refused to repatriate the motorhome because their return crossing was almost 3 months away.
They took them to a garage and ended up with a new engine cost them over £8500 had it been back in the UK it would probably have been a third of that.
There are lots of things to worry about, and Insurance companies don't like risk, and always look for a way out. Bob.

 

Hi Karen,

Do you know what constitutes a demonstrator for the purpose of the legal clause.

Is it something that has been pre-registered and/or driven or is it an unregistered van which has been standing in the showroom for weeks/months.

That's a great piece BTW - very useful indeed

 

Worth trying AIB Southampton.
I've got a fulltimers policy with them, underwritten by Aviva.
Same cover except windscreen unlimited with AIB, whereas comfort policy was limited, but doesn't effect me.

 

Saga suspended our insurance when I was in Spain & asked a question about storage there. I explained I wasn’t going to do it if it was against the insurance, but they said because I had asked the question they couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t do it, so had to stop the insurance, I was left I. The lurch, and had to find another insurer whilst in Spain with site WiFi! Would never touch Saga with a barge pole since!

 

Hi both - Safeguard was on our original hit list but it was their Personal Accident cover being just £5,000 & no option to increase that (we rang & asked) which ruled them out for us but other aspects like 2 years NFO & belongings cover of their policy are good. The level of PA is important to us but may not be to others especially if that cover is provided by another policy.

 

thank you for clearing this up - yes PA is covered with other policies so this was not an issue, the motorhome policy was we thought very comprehensive and they are very competitive. Maybe that point should have been clearer within your initial report - which I also found very useful.

 

Hi - would have to ask each insurer for their position on this ( & get in confirmed in writing if it's the policy you choose) as it's a bit of a fuzzy area as the rules of their policy & how they are applied are down to them.

As an example this is the Comfort Motorhome Insurance document https://comfortnew.staging.wpengine...-Motorhome-Insurance-Policy-25th-May-2018.pdf & info. about New For Old is on page 9 but have also copied here:

"New motorhome replacement We will replace your motorhome with a new vehicle of the same make and specification (subject to availability) if within 36 months of purchase new by you or your domestic partner: ● any repair cost or damage covered by the policy exceeds 70% of its list price (including VAT) at the time of purchase: or ● your motorhome is stolen and not recovered. This replacement vehicle benefit ceases once your motorhome has recorded more than 15,000 miles Replacement is subject to: ● you or your domestic partner own your motorhome or are buying it under a hire-purchase agreement or other type of agreement where ownership passes to you) and the Financing Company agrees; and ● you or your domestic partner are the first registered keeper of your motorhome or you or your domestic partner are the second registered keepers of your motorhome, if your motorhome has been pre registered in the name of the manufacturer or supplying dealer, providing at the time of purchase by you or your domestic partner, the mileage was less than 250 miles. Vehicles sold as‘ex demonstrators’ and ‘nearly new’ do not qualify for replacement under this section."

 

Glad that you found it useful but it wasn't meant to be a report just highlighted points about our findings to encourage fellow Funsters to check the small print of policies offered to them before buying as they vary so much & each persons requirements & circumstances are different.
Did point out that our criteria was New For Old plus a good level of Personal Accident cover & for others with different requirements other policies may be more suitable.

 

Lovely to have a mention about this thread in the Fun newsletter but the link isn't working so posting so it's back in Recent for anyone that it might be of use to.

 

Very informative & thanks for posting. The sad thing about it though is this is what a broker used to do for you in the UK years ago

 

Thanks for that. That must have taken up a lot of your time.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this Wombles, we are also looking into Insurance just now and the differences we are seeing are very apparent regarding costs and cover options considering it is for the same vehicle and drivers etc. One wall that seems to be commonplace is to not be given a quote due to value of the vehicle and therefore limiting the choice of policy or Insurers. Your post has highlighted other things to take into account.