Where to store MotorHome in Spain for a few weeks? (1 Viewer)

FiCamper

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Been travelling around in the motorhome the last few months (just bought it in July), currently in Italy but will be travelling down through France to the East Coast of Spain by mid Dec.
I'd like to then fly back to the UK for Xmas for between 1 to 4 weeks and then fly back and continue my journey (maybe to Portugal).
My question is where can I leave the van while I'm away. Ideally I'd like to fly from Alicante or thereabouts. Is there any motorhome storage there that anyone has used and could recommend? Is that a better alternative to leaving it in a campsite?
How does insurance work with this?
Should I be disconnecting the leisure battery altogether? (I don't have a solar panel)
Any advice is most welcome
 

bobandjanie

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Yes we recommend Chris Parking, he will plug you in to keep your batteries charged, and it's stored inside with 24hr security and they run you to and from the airport in a minibus. (y)
As for your insurance covering you, I have not found anyone yet, you have to take that chance. :eek: Bob.

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FiCamper

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ok thanks I'll check them out. So normal insurance for abroad only covers the vehicle if you're staying in it?
 

bobandjanie

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Yes, you could check, we did store a caravan on a site in Spain for a couple of years before we moved here and that was insured with towergate through the European caravan club, but they don't do motorhomes. :LOL: Bob.
 
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Plenty storage places around Alicante airport. Most of them are really close by and drop you off/pick you up from the airport. I've used Umbrella parking and never had any problems. Van was there for a year on and off. Inside and outside storage.

Not sure if they plug you in (I was outside and didn't need it)

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tonka

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ok thanks I'll check them out. So normal insurance for abroad only covers the vehicle if you're staying in it?

Usually there is a clause that states something like if you are away from your vehicle for more than 36/48 hours and it is not at the stated "kept overnight" location you gave them when taking insurance then its not covered.

There are a few places in Benidorm that offer storage... Camping Benisol, Camping El Raco and Stones parking.
As for having a pitch and leaving it on a site, will be expensive and you may struggle to get a spot anyway.

@ukbill Was planning an "aire" type stop north of Alicante, may be worth a PM (y)
 

Minxy

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Insurance is gonna be the biggest hurdle .... but ... just thinking 'outside the box' ... if you added the site owner to your insurance policy as a named driver would that then allow you to have cover as it would be in their care? Not sure if it's feasible, cost or practicality wise, but just a thought ...

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mikebeaches

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Yes

http://www.chrisparking.com/?lang=en&men=1
inside under cover & is probably one of the best. @bobandjanie have used them I believe.
Another strong vote for Chris Parking - German-owned family business. Christopher is the son and his Mum and Dad work with him - they are lovely people and speak good English.

We saw a recommendation on here last winter. Exchanged emails, then called in in February to give the place the once over.

Very impressed with the the storage hall - lots of expensive MHs and cars (as well as less expensive ones ;)). And security top notch. So there and then we arranged that our van would be stored inside from the end of September for 6 months, and we fly backwards and forwards to use it. Airport transfers included (about 2 or 3 miles).

We're back in Spain at the moment, but our first storage worked like clockwork. (y)

Now to insurance - what a bugger!! Spent 3 days on the phone trying to find one that would provide the cover we wanted. Nearly lost the will to live.:( They are shocking IMHO. If van not stored somewhere with a UK postcode, they wouldn't entertain it. So much for being in the EU (just)! (n)

Apparently different if we had a caravan! But we don't!!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I finally found a broker, who said they thought one of their underwriters would be willing to do it. And sure enough they came up trumps. :)

I pay a slightly higher premium, but still very acceptable. So all covered. (y)

But have a serious look at Chris Parking. They will quote for any duration from a day, to a year. And we think very reasonably priced for the service As others have said, they will plug in to keep the batteries charged whenever you want.

Good luck whatever you decide!
 
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ukbill

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How long you want storage for?

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pappajohn

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If you ring your insurers and ask it may be noted in your file and they will then know what you plan on doing even if they say no.
That could cause problems if you did have to claim.
 
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If you ring your insurers and ask it may be noted in your file and they will then know what you plan on doing even if they say no.
That could cause problems if you did have to claim.
Exactly ,I wouldn't even mention it to them.

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FiCamper

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Another strong vote for Chris Parking - German-owned family business. Christopher is the son and his Mum and Dad work with him - they are lovely people and speak good English.

We saw a recommendation on here last winter. Exchanged emails, then called in in February to give the place the once over.

Very impressed with the the storage hall - lots of expensive MHs and cars (as well as less expensive ones ;)). And security top notch. So there and then we arranged that our van would be stored inside from the end of September for 6 months, and we fly backwards and forwards to use it. Airport transfers included (about 2 or 3 miles).

We're back in Spain at the moment, but our first storage worked like clockwork. (y)

Now to insurance - what a bugger!! Spent 3 days on the phone trying to find one that would provide the cover we wanted. Nearly lost the will to live.:( They are shocking IMHO. If van not stored somewhere with a UK postcode, they wouldn't entertain it. So much for being in the EU (just)! (n)

Apparently different if we had a caravan! But we don't!!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I finally found a broker, who said they thought one of their underwriters would be willing to do it. And sure enough they came up trumps. :)

I pay a slightly higher premium, but still very acceptable. So all covered. (y)

But have a serious look at Chris Parking. They will quote for any duration from a day, to a year. And we think very reasonably priced for the service As others have said, they will plug in to keep the batteries charged whenever you want.

Good luck whatever you decide!


Thanks for all that info. So would the insurance have to be with my yearly insurance - or is it possible to just get add-on insurance for the storage period?
 

mikebeaches

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Thanks for all that info. So would the insurance have to be with my yearly insurance - or is it possible to just get add-on insurance for the storage period?
So I went into battle mode just before my renewal was due last summer, and arranged cover for a full year.

My previous insurer - Comfort - would I think have agreed at about £30 per week, as an add on to an existing policy, but that wasn't what I wanted.
 

Stonemags76

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If you ring your insurers and ask it may be noted in your file and they will then know what you plan on doing even if they say no.
That could cause problems if you did have to claim.
I had that trouble with a caravan. Rang Saga (who I was insured with at the time) just to ask if it was possible to leave the van in storage. Not only would they not insure the van, but they cancelled my insurance there and then, saying I intended to leave the van unattended! I said I was only looking at the possibility, but they wouldn’t have it! We were in Spain at the time and eventually got insurance through Towergate, but they don’t do Motorhomes. Moral of the tale is be very careful before you even ask the question!

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Parapilot

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Very useful thread - does anyone have any similar recommendations for parking within range of Malaga airport ?
 
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……...


Anyway, to cut a long story short, I finally found a broker, who said they thought one of their underwriters would be willing to do it. And sure enough they came up trumps. :)

Will be really helpful to know who the Broker is please. Will be looking for similar cover when next renew.

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mikebeaches

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Will be really helpful to know who the Broker is please. Will be looking for similar cover when next renew.

The broker was Advance Insurance, Chippenham:

http://www.advanceinsurance.co.uk/



And the underwriter is Ageas Insurance, which I believe used to be called Fortis, but was apparently renamed in 2010.

https://www.ageas.co.uk/contact-us/

Registered office:
Ageas House,
Hampshire Corporate Park,
Templars Way,
Eastleigh,
Hampshire,
SO53 3YA

And for more info on Ageas - whose parent company is Belgium's largest insurance co - try Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageas

Apparently, it was the head underwriter in the UK that looked at the details of Chris Parking at Alicante that we wanted to use, and I was advised he was more than happy.

Good luck.
 

Nick_Sunlight

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Thank you very much for this useful post mikebeaches - I'm looking for motorhome cover that will allow a couple of months storage in France and have not managed to find any cover despite many phone calls.

Ageas say they don't do motorhome and I've been waiting on a call back from Advance for a while which makes me think perhaps can't cover it either.

Do you still have cover now (2022) that allows you to store your motorhome in Europe at all, and if so who is your insurance company now please?

Thank you very much.
 

mikebeaches

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Thank you very much for this useful post mikebeaches - I'm looking for motorhome cover that will allow a couple of months storage in France and have not managed to find any cover despite many phone calls.

Ageas say they don't do motorhome and I've been waiting on a call back from Advance for a while which makes me think perhaps can't cover it either.

Do you still have cover now (2022) that allows you to store your motorhome in Europe at all, and if so who is your insurance company now please?

Thank you very much.
I am still insured by Ageas, arranged through Advance Insurance.

The first year with them was from June 2018, so I renewed last June for a fourth term.

For the 2019/20 year I managed to negotiate up from the policy standard 6 months of continental cover (including storage) to eight months, with payment of a small additional premium. However, when I was due to fly out in late March 2020, my flight was cancelled at short notice as part of the first lockdown. So the van was 'trapped' in Spain', because we were unable to get there to drive it back to the UK. It eventually returned on a transporter in July that year, at my expense (having been in Spain for about 10 months!) - I didn't even ask the insurer to consider paying for the transport.

But the underwriter was excellent and willingly agreed to keep the van 'on risk' during the extended storage at Alicante, and without any additional charge. Somewhat to my surprise, the next renewal premium actually reduced! But at that point they would only provide the standard 6-month continental use terms. And that remained the case at the last renewal ie currently. We are still covered for storage at Chris Parking at Alicante, although we haven't been back to Spain or anywhere else abroad since early 2020. Hopefully, that might change later this year. ;)

Whether they will still do it for new customers I don't know? And whether they'd cover storage in France, I don't know? And whether they would judge your proposed storage location suitable? Chris Parking provides a secure indoor storage hall with video surveillance and has human on-site security 24/7.

See if Advance Insurance can help you - no doubt they've been closed through the holidays and working from home too.

Hope you can get something sorted. (y)

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Nick_Sunlight

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Thank you very much mikebeaches - that's really helpful. I shall cross my fingers that Advance Insurance are still able to offer cover including storage and that one of the storage locations I've been looking at will be acceptable.

Really appreciate your help and hope you manage to get away before too long (y)
 

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