My first motorhome insurance - where to start? (1 Viewer)

chenderson1965

Free Member
Aug 3, 2019
327
274
Nottingham
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62,953
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N+B Arto 79R A Class
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10 years with hires, Newbie owner
Hi. I have just retired and we are about to buy a motorhome. Probably an a class in the £50,000-£60,000 range. It will be stored in the road outside our house as we don’t have any choice about this.

I’ve had a little look at the comparison websites for insurance and it seems that they are extremely sensitive to security equipment.

I have two questions, therefore,

1) What is the best place to start to get quotes? Are all the comparison websites the same or are some better than others? Are there any motorhome insurance providers who don’t subscribe to the comparison sites who are also worth getting a quote from?

2) Which additional security items produce the best improvements in insurance quotes? I’ve seen references to Thatcham immobilisers, clutch claws, wheel clamps, additional wheel clamps (presumedly meaning two rather than one) and a variety of other things. What gives you the best value on the quote for the least aggravation and cost?

Thanks a million.

Chris
 

pappajohn

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Aug 26, 2007
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Insurance will always depend on various factors, your personal details, postcode, driving record, storage, value etc so its impossible to say this or that insurer is better.
If you use the search function and the review section on here there will be quite a few hours worth of reading about different companies.
 
Apr 6, 2019
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FourWinds Windsport 6.8L V10
I can only recommend what I used.
Grove and Dean are a broker and search lots of companies for you and include breakdown for any age MH, very important for my older van. Even with their commission was best price.

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TerryL

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Hate to burst your bubble but from various comments I've read on here I think you'll have difficulty at getting cover for a motorhome of that value when it's parked on the road at anything like a reasonable price. You'll need to call all the brokers, endure the sharp intake of breath then be prepared to sit down when they demand your left arm and leg in payment! Seriously, though, you will get someone to quote, just how much it's going to be so suggest you start right away.

Hopefully someone can come up with a contact for you.
 
May 7, 2016
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I have been pleased with NFU but I don’t think they will be found on the comparison sites. No stipulations about alarms and trackers, though a discount may applied with some trackers. No longer taking new business for motorhomes over £75,000 value. Some of their offices are not interested in motorhomes and others are very keen, their Brockenhurst office has been very helpful. Post Code seems to be the main factor with them.

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tonka

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Jul 2, 2008
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As said above. There has been a thread on here where the poster was struggling to get any insurance for parking in the road... So before you commit any cash check that out. !!!

Ps. I found the thread but the poster ran out of free posts, never paid to join and so no feedback on this. Apart from 1 high premium of over £600 quoted and the van was a self conversion.
 
Last edited:
Jan 10, 2013
5,958
7,354
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Warwick XL PVC
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Still trucking and learning
Agree with the above - parking on the road will attract a very heavy premium or a downright refusal. You might find this useful.
 

Cheshirecat57

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Feb 3, 2018
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Hi. I have just retired and we are about to buy a motorhome. Probably an a class in the £50,000-£60,000 range. It will be stored in the road outside our house as we don’t have any choice about this.

I’ve had a little look at the comparison websites for insurance and it seems that they are extremely sensitive to security equipment.

I have two questions, therefore,

1) What is the best place to start to get quotes? Are all the comparison websites the same or are some better than others? Are there any motorhome insurance providers who don’t subscribe to the comparison sites who are also worth getting a quote from?

2) Which additional security items produce the best improvements in insurance quotes? I’ve seen references to Thatcham immobilisers, clutch claws, wheel clamps, additional wheel clamps (presumedly meaning two rather than one) and a variety of other things. What gives you the best value on the quote for the least aggravation and cost?

Thanks a million.

Chris
If you store it at a nearby Cassoa Gold Site, it will cost you less than £500 a year, and will open the more reasonable insurers to you...like Comfort for (one) example
Comfort require a tracker if over £55k list pri

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Apr 6, 2019
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For the record my broker (Grove & Dean) were made aware of the parking on road occasionally and the resulting cost went up a whole £15. However, My MH is roughly £15K and older.
 
Feb 16, 2013
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ambulance conversion
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Nfu always worth a try , if they do accept you it won't be the cheapest but they are far more lenient on conditions.
 
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chenderson1965

chenderson1965

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Aug 3, 2019
327
274
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10 years with hires, Newbie owner
Thanks for your helpful replies and comments. Having you happy hours on the telephone to various different brokers I have found a policy for just under £600. As predicted by some of you, there weren’t many companies prepared to quote (or at least anything like a reasonable level). The problem seem to be our postcode (central Nottingham), the on street parking, my lack of any motorhome no claims and also my wife’s claims record on her car (she had a couple of at fault claims about three years ago.

All is well that ends well, however, so thanks again for all your suggestions.

Chris

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hdj42

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Aug 7, 2019
5
3
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Burstner 747-2
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We pay Full Comp £390 for our Burstner, off road but accessiable to the public,
Thatcham 1 fitted, no tracker

Our first motorhome in 2005 we paid £245 so good value for money

I seem to change Insurance company every Year, we started with Adrian Flux, now we are with Caravan Gaurd, NFU there are about 20 out there, also try Axia Direct

Dont rely on Comparrison websites when it comes to motorhomes
 

Big D

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Aug 19, 2019
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Hi. I have just retired and we are about to buy a motorhome. Probably an a class in the £50,000-£60,000 range. It will be stored in the road outside our house as we don’t have any choice about this.

I’ve had a little look at the comparison websites for insurance and it seems that they are extremely sensitive to security equipment.

I have two questions, therefore,

1) What is the best place to start to get quotes? Are all the comparison websites the same or are some better than others? Are there any motorhome insurance providers who don’t subscribe to the comparison sites who are also worth getting a quote from?

2) Which additional security items produce the best improvements in insurance quotes? I’ve seen references to Thatcham immobilisers, clutch claws, wheel clamps, additional wheel clamps (presumedly meaning two rather than one) and a variety of other things. What gives you the best value on the quote for the least aggravation and cost?

Thanks a million.

Chris
Hi just bought my 1st A class absolute nightmare to insure as soon as you say roadside parking they refuse insurance .if you get one i would love to know who from cheers
 
Apr 6, 2019
3,691
7,297
Eye, Peterborough, UK
Funster No
59,702
MH
RV
Exp
FourWinds Windsport 6.8L V10
Hi just bought my 1st A class absolute nightmare to insure as soon as you say roadside parking they refuse insurance .if you get one i would love to know who from cheers

Try Grove and Dean brokers.

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Nov 17, 2012
1,929
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23,714
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SINCE 2005
If you store it at a nearby Cassoa Gold Site, it will cost you less than £500 a year, and will open the more reasonable insurers to you...like Comfort for (one) example
Comfort require a tracker if over £55k list pri
Really worth going to a storage facility from the viewpoints of; insurance, piece of mind and a bit more neighbourly perhaps.
 
May 5, 2014
246
635
Essex
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31,316
MH
A class
Exp
Since 2011
Hi. I have just retired and we are about to buy a motorhome. Probably an a class in the £50,000-£60,000 range. It will be stored in the road outside our house as we don’t have any choice about this.

I’ve had a little look at the comparison websites for insurance and it seems that they are extremely sensitive to security equipment.

I have two questions, therefore,

1) What is the best place to start to get quotes? Are all the comparison websites the same or are some better than others? Are there any motorhome insurance providers who don’t subscribe to the comparison sites who are also worth getting a quote from?

2) Which additional security items produce the best improvements in insurance quotes? I’ve seen references to Thatcham immobilisers, clutch claws, wheel clamps, additional wheel clamps (presumedly meaning two rather than one) and a variety of other things. What gives you the best value on the quote for the least aggravation and cost?

Thanks a million.

Chris

You are about to spend a serious amount of money. First make sure your investment has adequate security protection. Like others on here I highly rate the Growler and Non Starter from Vanbitz. (Plenty of info on this forum on security)
Parking any Motorhome on the street carries risk and insurance companies like Comfort don’t like risk. For peace of mind find a secure parking facility nearby, pay the fees and sleep easy at night.
 
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chenderson1965

chenderson1965

Free Member
Aug 3, 2019
327
274
Nottingham
Funster No
62,953
MH
N+B Arto 79R A Class
Exp
10 years with hires, Newbie owner
Hi just bought my 1st A class absolute nightmare to insure as soon as you say roadside parking they refuse insurance .if you get one i would love to know who from cheers
Hi, we found that no-one would even cond]sider us without a Thatcham 1 alarm and Thatcham 6 tracker. With those the choice was still very limited but Performance Direct/Grove and Dean (two companies but they seem to be closely related somehow) quoted and the premium wasn’t too crazy (around £750) because they were prepared to mirror the no claims from my car even though I had no motorhome no claims.

In the end a farmer friend of ours agreed to let us keep it there, which has halved the premium - but without the £400-£500 you’d have to pay for secure storage.

Good luck with it!

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P Jones

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Apr 15, 2017
257
111
Retford
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48,174
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ci carioca 694
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2015
Hi. I have just retired and we are about to buy a motorhome. Probably an a class in the £50,000-£60,000 range. It will be stored in the road outside our house as we don’t have any choice about this.

I’ve had a little look at the comparison websites for insurance and it seems that they are extremely sensitive to security equipment.

I have two questions, therefore,

1) What is the best place to start to get quotes? Are all the comparison websites the same or are some better than others? Are there any motorhome insurance providers who don’t subscribe to the comparison sites who are also worth getting a quote from?

2) Which additional security items produce the best improvements in insurance quotes? I’ve seen references to Thatcham immobilisers, clutch claws, wheel clamps, additional wheel clamps (presumedly meaning two rather than one) and a variety of other things. What gives you the best value on the quote for the least aggravation and cost?

Thanks a million.

Chris
im using adrian flux in kings lynn at moment,been good. ok.pj

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Apr 27, 2008
11,790
13,945
Eastbourne East Sussex
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2,327
MH
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Since 1972
I have only parked my mh on the road outside our house once. I think if it was there all the time neighbours would be justified in complaining. Our storage site is 13 miles away so a bit inconvenient but nearest we could find.
 
Jun 10, 2010
8,421
20,056
Shrewsbury (sometimes)
Funster No
12,013
MH
N&B Clou Liner MAN
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2006
Really worth going to a storage facility from the viewpoints of; insurance, piece of mind and a bit more neighbourly perhaps.
100% agree. Even if you get insurance, you are likely to get lots of small damage which if you keep claiming will soon wreck your claims record.
 
Aug 7, 2019
132
207
Worcester (UK)
Funster No
63,063
MH
Autograph 794-T
Exp
I'm a newbie
This wont help to reduce your insurance quote / premium but for peace of mind on the security front. When leaving your MH unattended for a period (whether on site or otherwise), does anyone remove any of the vehicle's main fuses / relays that operate the engine management / fuel injection system? Surely removing a key relay / fuse has got to be the ultimate theft protection as no potential theif is going to arrive with a pocket full of replacements and the only way its going to be stolen is being towed away. Just a thought.

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Aug 5, 2018
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a
Giving the fuel cut off switch a good tap to get it to pop up is always a good one too, not obvious either. (But admittedly easy to reset)
 

Southdowners

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May 7, 2015
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We use NFU Chichester branch (cover varies from branch to branch we've found).

They don't require a tracker or any of the other items listed in your original post.
 
Aug 5, 2018
1,567
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Funster No
55,394
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a
Got my very first insurance for a MH through being a CAMCLub member. 0 years no claims, (because they wouldn't take 9 years from my expired discovery policy because it wasn't a motorhome policy) 0 added security, 25k insurance value.. £600. Didn't think that was too bad. Added a Cat 1 Thatcham this year, rang them and they said it made no difference ??

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Aug 7, 2019
132
207
Worcester (UK)
Funster No
63,063
MH
Autograph 794-T
Exp
I'm a newbie
After contacting many companies and brokers to include AIB, Adrian Flux, and Caravan Guard I decided to go with Grove and Dean for their level of cover, the manner in which I was dealt with / efficiency, and of course price. I appreciate that there are many many other companies out there but at some point you have to narrow it down to a shortlist. So fully comp on a £60k 2017 Bailey Autograph with 90 days F/Comp cover in Europe plus an endless host of other benefits to include homestart / UK breakdown, I thought £270 that was pretty good value and at the end of the day that was all I really wanted.
 

Cheshirecat57

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Feb 3, 2018
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Mid Cheshire
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After contacting many companies and brokers to include AIB, Adrian Flux, and Caravan Guard I decided to go with Grove and Dean for their level of cover, the manner in which I was dealt with / efficiency, and of course price. I appreciate that there are many many other companies out there but at some point you have to narrow it down to a shortlist. So fully comp on a £60k 2017 Bailey Autograph with 90 days F/Comp cover in Europe plus an endless host of other benefits to include homestart / UK breakdown, I thought £270 that was pretty good value and at the end of the day that was all I really wanted.
Just don't expect “£60k” for your 2 year old Autograph if anything happens to it
 

TerryL

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That looks an excellent price, but I'm sorry IMHO at bit too good! Did no-claims record have anything to do with it?
Hope you never have to test it out.

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