What price Insurance ?

I have just renewed my insurance with Caravan Guard, 9 years no claims 60 year old only myself on the policy £56,000 agreed price for the WXL with 5000 miles £301.00 up £40 from last year as I increased the value of the van,  with everything the same as last year there was no increase at all

So many previous threads on this subject which always bring up the same companies- Caravanguard, Comfort, Adrian Flux, Scenic etc. 

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See my post in the other place, Bill. NFU for me 

Tinwheeler wrote:See my post in the other place, Bill. NFU for me 

Yep, NFU St. Austell branch. I insured our caravans for nearly 20 years with CAMC at very reasonable cost, (ca.£150) but they wanted well over £500 for the MH (62k value). NFU added the motorhome to my existing car policy for just under £300. They realise I can’t drive both at once! Incidentally it was also slightly cheaper than that (about £285?) after I added my wife to the policy as a named second driver, even though she will probably never drive it.

The Bargee wrote:
Yep, NFU St. Austell branch. I insured our caravans for nearly 20 years with CAMC at very reasonable cost, (ca.£150) but they wanted well over £500 for the MH (62k value). NFU added the motorhome to my existing car policy for just under £300. They realise I can’t drive both at once! Incidentally it was also slightly cheaper than that (about £285?) after I added my wife to the policy as a named second driver, even though she will probably never drive it.

If she will probably never drive it remove her from the insurance as the insurance company will expect her to drive it if ever you are incapacitated, they will not recover while you have a named driver , this was on advise from the chap I spoke too a few years ago at the insurance company for our Autotrail

If your shopping around might be worth trying SAGA. When I purchased my van,with a little haggle chat they mirrored my ncd from my car which made a massive difference from quotes elsewhere at the time. Currently I am on their 3 year fixed price which will cut out the annual hassle that insurance can bring, for a couple of years anyway.

Hi.
Please feel free to give us a try for insurance if you wish.
Regards,
Dan.

FreelanderUK wrote:

If she will probably never drive it remove her from the insurance as the insurance company will expect her to drive it if ever you are incapacitated, they will not recover while you have a named driver , this was on advise from the chap I spoke too a few years ago at the insurance company for our Autotrail

Probably very good advice thank you. However, she would drive it if she had to, just prefers not to, and we are happier that she has the option, but I do take your point.

The Bargee wrote:
Yep, NFU St. Austell branch. I insured our caravans for nearly 20 years with CAMC at very reasonable cost, (ca.£150) but they wanted well over £500 for the MH (62k value). NFU added the motorhome to my existing car policy for just under £300. They realise I can’t drive both at once! Incidentally it was also slightly cheaper than that (about £285?) after I added my wife to the policy as a named second driver, even though she will probably never drive it.

That’s the one  .  It’s now amalgamated with the Liskeard branch but both offices are still operational. 

As I said to Bill on another forum, they give good service and their policies include breakdown cover for sub 5.5m vans. They handled my claim on my car policy without issue and didn't hike the premium afterwards.

The Bargee wrote:

Probably very good advice thank you. However, she would drive it if she had to, just prefers not to, and we are happier that she has the option, but I do take your point.

Do think hard about that. Would your wife be willing to drive the van back from Spain or SE France if you were incapacitated? My wife was happy to drive for 50 to 100 miles but not 500 or 700!

Just had the renewal through on the Worcester from Saga, £330.74 so a quick call and it dropped to £290.74. Let's see where we end up (£198.00 last year). I do like Saga though as I know the claims department are quick and efficient.

groundhog wrote:Just had the renewal through on the Worcester from Saga, £330.74 so a quick call and it dropped to £290.74. Let's see where we end up (£198.00 last year). I do like Saga though as I know the claims department are quick and efficient.

Hope you upped your vans value

The Bargee wrote:

Probably very good advice thank you. However, she would drive it if she had to, just prefers not to, and we are happier that she has the option, but I do take your point.

The insurance company may expect her to drive it in the event of incapacity but if it says in the policy that they will provide recovery then that is what they should do unless, of course, it is written into the policy that an accompanying driver must drive it although I have never come across such a condition - check.  Most likely it will be the vehicle that will be incapacitated and require recovery.  It would be strange to find a driver incapacitated by an insured event and not the vehicle.

Bargee - I wouldn't remove your wife from the policy in any event because it can be cheaper to have two drivers listed as opposed to one, especially if you or she has another vehicle.

Crashman wrote:
The insurance company may expect her to drive it in the event of incapacity but if it says in the policy that they will provide recovery then that is what they should do unless, of course, it is written into the policy that an accompanying driver must drive it although I have never come across such a condition - check.  Most likely it will be the vehicle that will be incapacitated and require recovery.  It would be strange to find a driver incapacitated by an insured event and not the vehicle.

Bargee - I wouldn't remove your wife from the policy in any event because it can be cheaper to have two drivers listed as opposed to one, especially if you or she has another vehicle.

When I posted about this it was on the advice from the company who was insuring us at the time, I only added the wife on the policy to bring the price down, when it was brought up I took her off straight away, she had been on for about 4 years and had never driven the van or had any intention of doing so, the way it was put to me by the insurance company was that if we were out and about and I broke my leg and had to be in plaster cast they would expect my wife to drive the van home after the holiday or if indeed sooner as she was a named driver, I was not prepared to take the chance , obviously if people have concerns about this it only takes a phone call to your insurance provider to clarify things

Freelander
Two different scenarios here. If you broke your leg in a road accident whilst in the vehicle and couldn't drive, subject to the policy terms, they would be obliged to recover it.

However, if you broke you leg by stumbling over a pothole and the vehicle wasn't involved, your vehicle insurer wouldn't have an interest and from what you say that seems to be the scenario they were considering when you spoke to them. You'd need to look at your breakdown policy or travel insurance for any 'get you home' assistance regardless of whether your wife is a named driver on your vehicle policy or not.

Crashman wrote:Freelander
Two different scenarios here. If you broke your leg in a road accident whilst in the vehicle and couldn't drive, subject to the policy terms, they would be obliged to recover it.

However, if you broke you leg by stumbling over a pothole and the vehicle wasn't involved, your vehicle insurer wouldn't have an interest and from what you say that seems to be the scenario they were considering when you spoke to them. You'd need to look at your breakdown policy or travel insurance for any 'get you home' assistance regardless of whether your wife is a named driver on your vehicle policy or not.

 If I broke my leg in a road accident whilst in the van ,the van would need recovery any way, if I broke it whilst out and about the wife would have had to drive as she was a named driver , this came from the insurance provider.  It doesn’t bother me now as she in not on the policy so can not drive it anyway ,  

As I said if it bothers people about having partners on the policy and having to drive the van home check with you insurance provider , simple 

Our insurance (Saga) allows in a medical emergency someone else to drive as long as the insured or spouse or partner is in the vehicle, if they are not then the vehicle can only be driven back straight to the home address. Cover for this includes accidental damage. 

Although Helen is on the insurance at the moment she is not happy about driving it, and never has driven this one I don’t think so we have decided to remove her from the policy at the next renewal.

I would also concur with Groundhog about Saga claims handling being excellent, one call and everything taken care of efficiently and quickly.

Mike

Mike187 wrote:
I would also concur with Groundhog about Saga claims handling being excellent, one call and everything taken care of efficiently and quickly.

Mike

I wouldn't reserve all your praise for Saga, it is not they who are underwriting the policy and they will not be paying out on claims. Saga are insurance agents representing the insurer, not insurance brokers who represent their clients. If a dispute arises over an insurance contract, their loyalties will be obvious. Insurance companies are often maligned but when they do get it right, the should be praised accordingly.

Unfortunately, Saga appear to be rather coy about who actually underwrites their MH policies, simply referring to the insurer quoted in the Schedule. I seem to recall that they are required to disclose before a policy is taken out who the actual insurer will be.

A little research reveals:

"Acromas Insurance Company Limited was formed in July 2003. We are a Gibraltar registered company and have a branch office in Folkestone, Kent. We are authorised by the Financial Services Commission in Gibraltar.

We are the Underwriters for a variety of personal lines policies for other companies including Saga Services Limited and AA Insurance Services Limited."
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Crashman wrote:
I wouldn't reserve all your praise for Saga, it is not they who are underwriting the policy and they will not be paying out on claims. Saga are insurance agents representing the insurer, not insurance brokers who represent their clients. If a dispute arises over an insurance contract, their loyalties will be obvious. Insurance companies are often maligned but when they do get it right, the should be praised accordingly.

Unfortunately, Saga appear to be rather coy about who actually underwrites their MH policies, simply referring to the insurer quoted in the Schedule. I seem to recall that they are required to disclose before a policy is taken out who the actual insurer will be.

A little research reveals:

"Acromas Insurance Company Limited was formed in July 2003. We are a Gibraltar registered company and have a branch office in Folkestone, Kent. We are authorised by the Financial Services Commission in Gibraltar.

We are the Underwriters for a variety of personal lines policies for other companies including Saga Services Limited and AA Insurance Services Limited."
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I have three cars and the motorhome insured through Saga and always ask who the underwriter is.Never had a problem in getting that information.

I speak as I find, although I have had only the one vehicle claim I have had their pet insurance with one dog regularly costing more than the premium due to an under active thyroid condition and it’s associated problems plus two cruciate ligament operations over his 12 years life. They certainly paid out more over his life than I paid in premiums. All dealt with with no questions and no excessive increase of premium.

Acromas like Saga Services is wholly owned subsidiary of Saga Plc. They also use other underwriters, my car insurance is underwritten by Axa, but they use others as well.

Particular underwriters clearly stated in the quote documentation.

Mike

When I removed my wife from our policy I specifically queried the matter in relation to breakdown insurance and my query was to Comfort where the breakdown and vehicle insurances are combined. I suspect that if a minor injury prevented my from driving the answer would have been the same even if I had declined breakdown cover. Policy document should clarify if repatriation due to injury is covered. However, if I claim for the broken leg incident on my breakdown insurance I shouldn't imperil my claims record on the vehicle policy.

All insurance companies are friendly & will promise you the earth...the acid test is when you need them & our experience with Saga after my wife had an accident has been less than impressive...woeful is the only polite word I can use for Saga Insurance claims service, from our experience Saga are best avoided if you value your sanity.