Seriously Considering Full Timing From June (1 Viewer)

Aug 18, 2017
241
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Antequera, Spain
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5 years and still learning
Ok, after searching the forums, I still have some questions that I hope someone can answer.

1. I'm insured with Comfort, just spoke to them and they will not insure my 2000 motorhome for full time. Does anyone know of another insurance company that will?

2. What do you do about a postal address for things like drivers licence etc?

3. Any ideas on how to handle scooter insurance? I guess it relates to ques 2 re: address to use.

Thanks in advance for any help.(y)
 

kip

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Apr 26, 2015
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You could use a family or friends address for all your correspondence, I'm sure there are insurance companies out there, just need to shop around. Good luck & enjoy your new lifestyle.
 

Hollyberry

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Apr 24, 2011
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I used a friend's address for DVLA, tax, insurance. I just keep the insurance I had as I was full timing by default really. I still owned my house in France so I'd have argued I was going home next week if there'd ever been a problem. Didn't have any problems with officialdom in 2 years.

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Aug 18, 2014
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With the driving licence if you haveno address then it stays as the last one. It isn't a problem nor illegal.
 

Easyliving

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Dec 4, 2012
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Ok, after searching the forums, I still have some questions that I hope someone can answer.

1. I'm insured with Comfort, just spoke to them and they will not insure my 2000 motorhome for full time. Does anyone know of another insurance company that will?

2. What do you do about a postal address for things like drivers licence etc?

3. Any ideas on how to handle scooter insurance? I guess it relates to ques 2 re: address to use.

Thanks in advance for any help.(y)


Hi

I can only answer question 2. We fulltime in our van and use our daughter's address for driving licence, v5s etc. For general mail we use boatmail.co.uk who will give you a real street address and scan / forward your mail on to you anywhere.

You can also use the Boatmail address for your driving licence if you like but apparently the DVLA will do some extra checks before sending out your licence in this case.

On the subject of licences, as our daughter has just moved house we needed to change the address on our licences, I did mine on line and had a new licence within 3 days, very efficient.

Paul

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Pernickety

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Mar 4, 2018
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Similar to Paul, I plan on using my sister as a residential address (in exchange for a few DIY favours). Some info at Motorhome Vagabond you might find useful. There are other boatmail companies out there, MyUKMailbox and UKPostBox are two but no idea what they're like. It was helpful reading through their blurb though, boatmail too, to clarify some of the license and elecoral role questions.
All seems pretty doable. Sorry can't help with insurance but good luck!
Andy.
 

Easyliving

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I have heard that there was some ownership change at Boatmail recently and that maybe their adddress was changing.

Can anyone shed light, please?

Geoff

I use Boatmail and I can confirm the company was sold a couple of months ago. New chap has taken over, has all been seemless and not caused a problem. Have had to inform a few firms about change of address though.

I find Boatmail efficient and quick, charges seem reasonable to me too.

Paul

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May 17, 2016
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I use Boatmail and I can confirm the company was sold a couple of months ago. New chap has taken over, has all been seemless and not caused a problem. Have had to inform a few firms about change of address though.

I find Boatmail efficient and quick, charges seem reasonable to me too.

Paul

Can you explain in an idiot proof manner what exactly Boatmail is?
 

klaatu

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Aug 10, 2013
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Can you explain in an idiot proof manner what exactly Boatmail is?
We use Boatmail. They provide you with a UK address which you can then use for most purposes, e.g. for bank accounts etc, so that your mail gets sent there. Boatmail will then either scan any received mail and email it to you, or will forward it to an address you supply (e.g. a camp site you are staying on).
 

spitfire

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We use Boatmail. They provide you with a UK address which you can then use for most purposes, e.g. for bank accounts etc, so that your mail gets sent there. Boatmail will then either scan any received mail and email it to you, or will forward it to an address you supply (e.g. a camp site you are staying on).
So I guess they have to open all your mail so see all of your personal information including bank details etc ! I am surprised there isn’t a huge security risk .

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Easyliving

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So I guess they have to open all your mail so see all of your personal information including bank details etc ! I am surprised there isn’t a huge security risk .

Yes, they do have to open your mail if you want the contents scanned. Our bank account is online only and we never get paper statements or junk mail from them.

For our bank we use our daughter's address anyway. This is handy as we also have parcels delivered there (Amazon etc.) and the delivery and billing addresses correspond.

Paul
 
Apr 25, 2014
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When we were full timing we used my sister's address and got on her electoral register as well so we had a verfiable address if it was needed. We had post redirected to her by Royal Mail and she opened it all and told us if anything needed to be done. We've cut down considerably on post anyway by cancelling everything we defiinitely don't need (like caravan club mags and other sorts of mailings) and getting most stuff like bank statements etc on line.
I don't think we told anyone we were full timing and so carried on with our usual insurance as we were living at Gill's when we were back (not for long though - really just visiting) and just away for extended periods. If you are abroad you have to come back at least once a year for an MOT - I don't think there's any way round it.
As it turned out we had to come back more than we'd thought for a family funeral and then an extended stay for John to have an operation.
 
Last edited:
Apr 25, 2014
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PS This won't apply to you but if you have a new van and need work doing to it under warranty some people had problems with the dealers/manufacturers who said their vans weren't meant to be lived in full time. They were obviously trying to get out of doing the warranty work.

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Linda18

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Jan 8, 2018
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All very interesting. I accidentally full timed for 10 months after selling my house a few years ago and I used my dads address. I rent a house now and intend to give it up when I get my state pension next March, and spend most of my time in Spain. I have decided that I will return to GB for a few weeks every summer because of van MOT, health checks etc.

PS Can't get access to motorhomevagabond.com
 

Basildog

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PS This won't apply to you but if you have a new van and need work doing to it under warranty some people had problems with the dealers/manufacturers who said their vans weren't meant to be lived in full time. They were obviously trying to get out of doing the warranty work.
They weren't trying to get out of doing the warranty work it is written into nearly all the manufacturers warranty terms that they are leisure vehicles and aren't for long term use or permanent accommodation.
One years full time use is probably the equivalent to 10 years average motorhome owners use .
 
Nov 11, 2016
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I started full timing 3 months ago. Must admit that I bought the vehicle with the requirements of Comfort in mind, as far as I am aware they are the only ones that cover proper full time use rather than the 365 cover which is different (even though my small brain can't quite grasp it). My take on it is to go above board as they will use any excuse not to pay out if anything goes wrong, but other people may look at that differently. Quite surprised though they won't insure you FT if you are insured with them already. May be worth phoning again and speaking to someone different as I got VERY different quotes, and I happily accepted the second one which was considerably less than the first.

As to address, friends of mine offered theirs. Over the past year I have reduced to an absolute minimum what I receive by mail so as not to bother them too much. It is also the address on my driving license. As far as I was told, Comfort does not accept Boatmail etc. They checked that the address of my friends was a 'proper' address (and it being in a 'safe' area means my insurance was even less, did point out I don't live there and only visit once or twice a year, totally bizarre but hey ho). For parcels, I would assume I will be able to use the address where I am working this summer or again my friends if I know I will go and visit them soon.

Have to say that so far so good, I'm loving it. I did take a year to make sure I had everything sorted and I'm glad I did that, there are so many little details to think about. Just go for it and have fun.

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MattR

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Aug 18, 2013
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All very interesting. I accidentally full timed for 10 months after selling my house a few years ago and I used my dads address. I rent a house now and intend to give it up when I get my state pension next March, and spend most of my time in Spain. I have decided that I will return to GB for a few weeks every summer because of van MOT, health checks etc.

PS Can't get access to motorhomevagabond.com

You may find that you are no longer eligible for NHS health checks in the UK if you spend so much time overseas.
 

adonisito

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Interesting, my doctor demanded I go back every 6 months for post cancer checks., which I do. I don’t know about routine ones.
 

1881TB

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Spent a few weeks touring Australia and New Zealand about 10 years ago...
Hi, I used Comfort Insurance and I think that they were the only ones who WOULD insure me for full-timing. Perhaps there is something specific about your circumstances which makes the difference. Might be worth checking back with them about what it is exactly which prevents them insuring you.

I actually got the van in mid-December and only hit the road on 9th March but I haven't driven such a large vehicle before and wanted to make sure I was 100% covered if I had an accident. I made sure that they had my exact plans i.e. touring Europe with occasional visits back to my friends and family but essentially open-ended foreign travel until I don't know when. Also that the van would be parked on my drive for the first three months until I rented my house out to pay for my adventures.

The premium was about double what it would have been had I been able to say that it would be kept on my drive for the entire year when not in use, which would have been bending the truth a bit as I no longer have a drive...

Like many others, I use a relative's address for post, NHS etc.

Good luck!

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