Insurance

[user 14475]

It's that time of year again!

Quotes vary wildly from £160 (RH), £310 (flux) to £549 (Footman James and Peter Best)

Cherished won't touch me because I might park on my drive on the odd occasion.

I live in sleepy rural Norfolk this can't be right can it?

What do you think guys?

My bus is a fully restored Stock crossover

Matt

 

[geenjay]

oh this is one big mine field it really seems to vary some of us get it for under a £100 mines £230 ive got a clean licence and im 48 and direct line wanted £1130 to insure me on a fiat clinky cleato 950 cc yet it costs less than that for me on a scania 16 ltr v8 580 pulling 90 tonnes must be better built than i thought these fiats if they can do more damage than a truck.....quick dave ive got a live one ..bloke wants to insure his vw camper..pass me the butt wacking stick.... :lol:

 

[KevH]

This is an annual pain in the arse for us all and we are, to a large extent, at the mercy of insurers who, IMHO, are no better than bankers :evil:

At the end of the day you goes with the best compromise between cost and cover; Heritage did it for me this year but it will be another ring around next year I am sure.

What really hacks me off is that Cherished sponsor this forum yet seem to have little grasp of the reality of owning a bus, where we keep them and how we use them. Most are kept securely on drives I would guess. I use a steering lock and have monitored GPS tagging but it made no difference to the risk apparently.

Come on Cherished, and the others, get real :evil:

End of rant...but I do feel better for it

 

[Marriedblonde]

Yet cherished were brilliant for me and I am one of those people who are insured for under £100 although I did take legal cover on top of that which upped it slighty.

I do have certain restrictions with miles covered and I cannot use it for my commute to work. But my bus is my toy and a second car so this is not an issue.

J.

 

[user 14475]

Thanks guys. I went to Cherished first on the basis that they sponsor the forum. I might well try again. I have a clean licence, stock bus (albeit restored to a high standard) and live in a quiet, low crime area. 99% of the time my bus is in a locked container and it has a steering wheel lock and tracker.

I just don't get it!

 

[geenjay]

This is an annual pain in the arse for us all and we are, to a large extent, at the mercy of insurers who, IMHO, are no better than bankers :evil:

At the end of the day you goes with the best compromise between cost and cover; Heritage did it for me this year but it will be another ring around next year I am sure.

What really hacks me off is that Cherished sponsor this forum yet seem to have little grasp of the reality of owning a bus, where we keep them and how we use them. Most are kept securely on drives I would guess. I use a steering lock and have monitored GPS tagging but it made no difference to the risk apparently.

Come on Cherished, and the others, get real :evil:

End of rant...but I do feel better for it

i could not put it better myself...i dont think we are supposed to take them out of the glass case.... :lol:

 

[user 14475]

Cherished still say no! Shame, as I would like to put business towards those good enough to sponsor the forum. Apparently the locked container, CGmart gps tracker and steering lock isn't sufficient security for the value of my bus!

 

[Quincey]

I will go with Peter Best again this year. Just got my MOT today so have a week left on last years to go. Cherished already told me to go away as my post code didn't cut the mustard. We have lived here for two years and never seen any problems. Cherished won't even return my calls to discuss! RH said no because the van is not continually garaged. I explained that we have a very long driveway with gates and the van is parked behind an existing garage (too high to fit in) which is right in front of the house. I still got two fingers from them.
Anyway, onwards, ever onwards.

 

[Cherished Insurance]

After reading some of your posts I thought it might be a good idea for me to explain a few things with regard to the garaging aspect of our insurance policy. As I'm sure you all appreciate, some post codes are rated differently to others. This will be down to the insurers claims experience in a particular area in respect of Accidental Damage, Fire, Theft, Malicious damage, vandalism etc. This is not a direct reflection on you or your postcode, but if the insurer suffers regular losses in a particular area, that area will be rated accordingly. This can result in some post codes being rated higher than others, and in some cases being declined altogether. It can also mean that in certain circumstances garaging is a mandatory requirement, so too can certain types of security. Also the value of a vehicle will have a direct affect on how the insurers view a risk. Any camper valued under £10,000 will not have a mandatory garaging endorsement applied with our insurers, and before you say it I know, a lot of early bays are valued well over this! So what happens when your vehicle is valued at say £17000, kept on the drive at your home address? Well first of all we would assess your post code, and then look at what security is fitted if any. We would then make a decision based on these and all of the other material facts. Unfortunately the theft of campers is on the rise, together with their values! This does not make happy reading for you or the insurers!

We do understand that garaging isn't always as easy as it sounds. You might not have a garage, it might not fit in the garage. If this is the case, and the post code is acceptable, then the insurer expects to see the client taking as many precautions as possible to prevent theft. This would include fitting the very best security possible. After all, this is your pride and joy we're talking about isn't it?

At the end of the day we are here to help you as much as we possibly can, and the majority of the time we are providing competitive solutions for your insurance needs. We know this because of your invaluable positive feeback on this forum. However, we have to accept that there will be times that despite our best efforts are hands are tied.

All the best

Mark Harman
Manager - CVI

 

[rustydiver]

Took mine out with cherished after my last ins comany insisted on it being garaged even though they were happy the year before to insure it. And yes they do check into where you live by using google earth and look at your local neighbour hood, bit of a shock when he rang me back to ask is your drive the one with oil and rust stains on it. :msn4:
I live in a quiet area of the town in a cul de sac full of OAP's, the other side of the river affects my post code :evil:.

The best comment this year while trying to insure my split screen pick up van was what makes it worth that much then? I didn't stay on the phone for long to them.

 

[KevH]

Mark

It is great that you have been good enough to put the insurers side of the story to the forum, and I am sure that everybody on here will welcome this. It suggests that you and the industry are listening to its customers, however as you will have read, this does not always come across when we deal with companies on an individual basis. The strength of the forum is that these individual interactions can be shared, just as the insurers share post code and claims data though less formal, and you can hardly blame us if we build a picture of what the insurers are demanding that suggests that they are being unrealistic and are not listening hard enough.

The suggestions that insurers do take account of GPS etc is just not the experience of many of us on here. I pay monthly for my own piece of mind; my insurer is not interested. That is just daft, as is the throwaway line that "This is not a direct reflection on you or your postcode" which is immediately followed with "but if the insurer suffers regular losses in a particular area, that area will be rated accordingly." This is plain contradictory.

I know that insurance is risk based of course, but I expect insurers to encourage responsible ownership through a recognition of what individuals are doing to safeguard their pride and joy, to reduce that risk. That is not daft.

And, of course, you will see that the vast majority try Cherished first because we value your sponsorship of the forum. But if we get dismissed out of hand, we get upset. I am sure that you will accept that this is not unreasonable behaviour on our part.

 

[Supertramp]

You're all lucky. I can't get any insurance because I'm 21.

 

[user 14475]

Thanks Mark for your response, it's great that you are taking part in the debate.

Would have been glad to put some business your way, given your generous sponsorship of the forum. Alas it wasn't to be.


Matt

 

[Humphrey]

Footman Janes are the only ones who will insure me (no second vehicle) but the price is horrific...doubled when I fitted the new engine!

 

[clyde]

Cherished wont touch me because i drive my wifes car as a named driver...........work that one out. No one else even asks.
It dosent effect my postcode, it dosent effect my endorsements etc. My van is in a secure lockup with cctv for 7+ months a year while im away working and when im home its either in my garage (if i can find room) or under cover on the drive with 3 forms of security.

 

[user 14475]

So it looks like a toss up between RH ,Heritage or my current insurer, Flux

Each offer agreed value, limited mileage cover, breakdown cover.

Anyone had to claim from these guys and can offer a view?

Cheers

Matt

 

[KevH]

So it looks like a toss up between RH ,Heritage or my current insurer, Flux

Each offer agreed value, limited mileage cover, breakdown cover.

Anyone had to claim from these guys and can offer a view?

Cheers

Matt

My lad, a 23 year old named driver, had to claim on my policy due to a slight rear end shunt. Adrian Flux were very efficient, and although the 'victim' claimed whiplash the payout was minimal. My renewal quote was prohibitive though and he had to come off the policy as a result on renewal. Can't really fault the insurer.

 

[user 14475]

Cheers for the info. I'm with Flux currently and never had to claim, though some people have said they are a bit of a nightmare in that scenario. Your evidence gives me some confidence. Their breakdown cover definitely does what it say on the tin! They are the higher of the three quotes, but peace of mind is as important as price!

 

[Beigebay1968]

Hi mate, I'm with RH and never had a problem with them, I've got clean licence, full no Claims etc and mine comes in at about £150, Im 28 yrs old

 

[johnandkatrina]

It's definitely worth phoning around as I had tried cherished,Peter best, flux, footman James plus more and they where all around £200, I'm 35 sa8 postcode kept on the drive. Then to my surprise HERITAGE quoted £109 with £100 excess ans zero windscreen