So, it's been nearly 4 weeks since the theft, what's happened? Well, very little so far, no feed back from the underwriter, a little from the insurer. Tales of woe from them, van thefts are running at 3 times that of previous. They appear to be targeting vans in the £35-£45,000 region, on the basis that the more expensive vans have to be fitted with high-tech security devices. But to me, I wonder what difference a loud alarm makes against these brazen thugs. Having spoken with motorhome dealers, it is amazing the extent of this problem. One dealer says they were targeted by thieves who took 3 new unregistered motorhomes away on a large low loader. Apparently they were booked on a ferry a few hours later, and the vans were out of the country before the theft was discovered. They had cctv coverage, but the thieves wore gloves, masks, hats, were dressed in grey and so on, so the police had nothing to go on. The same dealer said that the thieves broke into a building near Bristol and took the country's main decoding device for Fiat/Citroen/Pugs. So vehicles that had previously been safe, were now no longer. This device was visible on the cctv, it was fairly heavy, inside a bag hanging on straps over the shoulder. Open the door, access the OBD port, read the main system and you have control of the van. It took seconds. I have heard many similar tales, and it makes you realise what you are up against. These guys are serious, if they want your van, they can take it. I have often thought how easy it is to get into a normal motorhome. With standard plastic windows, all it takes is a small jemmy or strong screwdriver, shove it into the corner, give it a twist and the windows pops open. Or a screwdriver in the drivers door keyhole. If there are chains, they come equipped with cutters. They can use powerful portable rechargeable tools where necessary. Basically, you are defenceless. The response I got from the police, was just that, no hope. They said the thieves would have come equipped with suitable cloned number plates, nothing to trip any ANPR devices, they'd have left going down country roads to avoid detection anyway. They said that there is little chance of them finding our van. The network of thieves involved is huge and they are well organised. I found that thoroughly demoralising.
I decided to buy a cheap runabout car, since after the theft we have no wheels. I thought I'd best go to my van insurer to continue the relationship. Obviously, you have to declare that there is an on going claim. They knew that anyway. Plus I had turned 80 just after the theft.To insure a simple basic runabout, he quoted something in the region of £1380 pa. Go elsewhere he said, we specialise in motorhomes and can't compete. So I went onto Go Compare and similar comparison websites. I got some reasonable quotes, and when I contacted the 3 lowest companies they each said, sorry, you don't match our profile. Ah, but I declared the age on the quote forms. We wouldn't have accepted you anyway, they said. In the end I went to a specialist company, they quoted just over £500. In spite of the fact that I have not made an insurance claim in more than 35 years. Apparently that has no bearing. The underwriter in my claim did say there would be a premium increase, so I asked the broker for a quote for the next van, to see if there was a motorhoming future for me. That was about £1100 pounds. So right now I feel I've had a thorough kicking. And also this is a warning to others who will undoubtedly suffer similarly.
Keep safe out there!
I decided to buy a cheap runabout car, since after the theft we have no wheels. I thought I'd best go to my van insurer to continue the relationship. Obviously, you have to declare that there is an on going claim. They knew that anyway. Plus I had turned 80 just after the theft.To insure a simple basic runabout, he quoted something in the region of £1380 pa. Go elsewhere he said, we specialise in motorhomes and can't compete. So I went onto Go Compare and similar comparison websites. I got some reasonable quotes, and when I contacted the 3 lowest companies they each said, sorry, you don't match our profile. Ah, but I declared the age on the quote forms. We wouldn't have accepted you anyway, they said. In the end I went to a specialist company, they quoted just over £500. In spite of the fact that I have not made an insurance claim in more than 35 years. Apparently that has no bearing. The underwriter in my claim did say there would be a premium increase, so I asked the broker for a quote for the next van, to see if there was a motorhoming future for me. That was about £1100 pounds. So right now I feel I've had a thorough kicking. And also this is a warning to others who will undoubtedly suffer similarly.
Keep safe out there!
