Caravan Club Non Insurance Policy
Comments
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The current Caravan Cover document is very new, dates from 27.8.2019 See here https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/globalassets/pdfs/caravan-cover/caravan-cover-document.pdf
I have no idea how it differs from previous documents, two of which are available to view for those who took out cover before 1st March 2019.
There are some important items to look out for in the details, including the age and upkeep of your towing vehicle, and what sort of cover is provided under contents. Not sure how relevant this is, but your caravan doesn’t appear to be covered when hitched or being towed. It then comes under your vehicular insurance I think, so this might be something to think about when renewing towing vehicle insurance. It’s a long long time since we insured a caravan, so not sure if this latter detail was always thus, ie caravan insurance applied when stored or on site, but vehicular insurance applies when hooked and towing. Anyone with an older caravan 15 years plus, needs to read very carefully. It may be the product offered isn’t suitable.
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It’s a long long time since we insured a caravan, so not sure if this latter detail was always thus, ie caravan insurance applied when stored or on site, but vehicular insurance applies when hooked and towing
I don't think the replacement or repair cost to your caravan has ever been covered on the car insurance. Third party liability yes if your van whacks something else, but not the damage to the van.
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That’s what I thought Steve thanks.
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Perhaps CC Ltd should stick to ding what it was originally formed for - promoting and running touring leisure vehicle sites. If the argument is that they want to provide an all-encompassing service to members, when are we going to see them running a cross channel ferry service?
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Had a thought this afternoon.
As this is not an insurance policy, how does that affect your "no claims bonus"?
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Do caravan policies have NCDs? I don’t recall that being the case back in my days of insuring a caravan.
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I suppose the Club are taking advantage of their mutual status to drive profits which would otherwise go to an insurance company with the Club only previously taking a commission. The Club would also have access to all the stats on current claims so would be in the best position to judge whether it was a worthwhile project which might put them in a position to be more competitive and make more profit. The caravan insurance (cover) market has become much more competitive over the years and I imagine the Club may have lost market share which has perhaps prompted this change? By the very nature of the product not being insurance in the accepted sense I can understand that it might cause some confusion but the same type of product exists in the medical and motoring warranty world. Having said that I suppose at the end of the day it will depend whether you trust the Club. If I still had a caravan I think I would go for it. If you think about it if there were instances where for some reason the Club refused to meet their commitment the whole project would collapse with immense reputational damage. On the up side it has the opportunity to provide the Club with extra funds to buy or refurbish sites.
David
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I insure through the C&CC for the simple reason that I have never been able to obtain a quote from the CMC for either car or caravan cover that was remotely competitive. I doubt that I will bother them again.
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.............or offer very competitive cover rates to its Members? Sometimes that feeling of getting something as a Member, personally, rather than spent on Sites, would be a big bonus? It is a Members only product they are selling. Just a suggestion......
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Long ago a gentleman on here with experience in the world of insurance told me only to look at car and caravan insurances which had a five star Defaqto rating - because all the lesser ones had some shortfall or other in the cover they provide.
If you look at the Defaqto website there are 12 companies with that five star rating for Caravan insurance, so you might choose one of those as I did.
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Thanks ET I shall have a look come Monday.Link for anybody that might be interested
https://www.defaqto.com/star-ratings/caravan/touring-caravan-insurance/
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Before the 12% insurance premium tax the quote by Towergate was actually lower than the CMC plus the excess with Towergate was £125 less. We are happy to pay the 12% tax for proper insurance.
BTW in most HP agreements one of the clauses will state that as a condition of the loan the caravan must be insured. Plus of course many storage locations also insist that the caravan must be insured.
If the CMC caravan were in a storage location and it caught fire causing damage to other caravans where would that leave you if the the committee rules against you?
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You mention "all payment was at their discretion" whereas I think the club has said (something along the lines of) they have discretionary power to decide claims outside the specified terms.
We have the club cover so I will read the precise wording later with considerable interest. I like the previous club insurance as claims made have been dealt with well, however...….
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We had the previous proper insurance cover with the CMC and cannot fault it however the new caravan cover there are too many get outs plus it is not regulated so false savings due to not paying the premium insurance tax at 12%. BTW have a look at the last page in the booklet regarding the complaints procedure.
Another point the documents were sent to us by cover@camc.com however when i raised a query shortly after taking out the policy the reply email as from insurance@camc.com indicating I was dealing with an insurance company? Surely this is very misleading?
BTW you cannot reply to cover@camc.com!
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All claim settlement amounts are at the discretion of the provider. The difference is with an Insurance provider there is free recourse to adjudication via the ombudsman because it is a regulated product.
CMC is not a regulated policy although the CMC itself is regulated by the FCA as a financial service provider.
The club has not made it clear what the situation is regarding Builders Insurance other than if the club cannot meet claims payments.
A staff member did say :
Part of the benefit of the discretionary mutual model is that the cover provided does not equate to an insurance contract and as a result isn’t subject to the same level of regulation as insurance. This is because one of the facets of a discretionary mutual is that claims are paid at the discretion of the organisation. That means that the payment of claims is not contractually guaranteed, but as you’d expect with mutual organisations owned by the members, claimants can expect a fair and reasonable response to claims made.
To reassure our members, the Club has taken out a group insurance policy, which is referenced in the cover wording. This protects you should we not have sufficient funds to pay claims.
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