Getting an insurance quote
Last week I signed an agreement to purchase a new MH from a German dealer. Now I'm faced with the challenges of importing it and getting it insured. It looks like delivery will be March 2025 and I plan to reach the UK by May or June 2025. So UK insurance is not exactly urgent but I've been trying to get an idea of what to expect.
First I tried the Caravan and Motorhome Club, but after many pages of questions received the notice "We can't offer you insurance....."
Next I tried Comparethemarket and after many pages of questions received their top 3 quotes which included one from the Caravan and Motorhome Club, although at the bottom of the page included in the list of insurers who could not provide a quote I noticed CMC listed again.
Does anyone have an insurance company or agent that they would recommend as being worth a call? I suspect I need a specialist insurance agent due to my circumstances. Although having said that, I would think there must be many MH owners who travel in the EU for a few months each year and store their vehicle securely in the UK for the rest of the year.
The online quotes that I saw are all top side of £2,000 per year which strikes me as on the high side. That's just a feeling though and maybe that sort of premium is typical?
Can anyone throw in any examples of what they think would be a reasonable expectation cost wise and what the best approach might be to get a good deal?
Comments
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It’s rather difficult to make any suggestions without knowing why some companies are refusing you insurance.
You are absolutely correct about UK people using their vans in Europe each year and keeping them in the UK the rest of the year. Insurance policies state a limit of how many days Europe cover is included each year.
£2000 sounds a phenomenal amount to me but, without knowing your circumstances, it’s not really possible to say if you might do better.
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For many motorhomers Comfort Insurance seems to be the go to for motorhome insurance. It wouldn't surprise me that you are getting higher quotes simply because you are buying (I assume) a left hand drive model? Is there is not a right hand drive version of the same model they could be concerned about body parts and repairs. So I expect that would be factored in to any premium. Perhaps its just a case of doing a bit more footwork than would be necessary with a right hand drive model? I would be inclined to start with the specialist motorhome insurers rather than the comparison websites.
David
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It might be worth phoning Comfort Insurance,which is a company widely used by motorhome owners, and asking if they will quote or whether they foresee difficulties in your personal circumstances. Then speak to LV as well and see what they say.
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A number of Insurers were unwilling to provide me with a quote earlier this year as the new vehicle did not have a registration number! Especially so with the comparison websites.
However I did get quotes from Caravan Guard and Adrian Flux. Not sure how they would react to your situation.
With regard to £2,000 premium quoted nobody on here will be able to say whether that is good or bad. We have no details whatsoever to base any premium on such as Age and driving history of drivers, postcode, no claims discount earned, price and size of vehicle, security etc etc etc. Price could be brilliant, could be awful.
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Can the German dealer you are buying from arrange temporary insurance for you with a German company so that you can drive away from his premises?
Then when you have the vehicle in the UK and have cleared the import hurdles with HMRC and have registered it with DVLA and got UK number plates the UK insurance might be simpler.?1 -
We are with Comfort. Always found them very helpful on the phone. I think you are better phoning companies rather than relying on comparison web sites.
i would suggest you join a group called Motorhome Fun. Forum members have extensive experience on all sorts of things including insurance. I am pretty sure some members of Fun have imported vans.
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I agree with Hja, join the "Fun" (Motorhome Fun). Loads of info there on insurance. However, I would also speak to NFU Mutual; in particular their Chichester office. They have a wealth of experience insuring MH's, especially high end continental models. If nothing else they may be able to give you some guidance.
Incidentally, many "Funsters" have imported vans, some several times. They will be happy to provide help and advice.
Good luck.
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A very sincere thank you to each one of you, each comment has given me some additional thought and work to do.
Possibly the results from using the comparison web site were misleading due to my lack of accurate data input and I will now take another look at the situation via specialist insurers.
The MH is indeed a left hand drive and there is a right hand drive that comes off the production line and is actively sold in the UK under a different brand name. That is something that I might be able to highlight when talking to insurance agents.
And yes, the German dealer can provide temporary insurance that will cover the MH until I can get full UK insurance in place.
I'm actually on the road at the moment but will provide some feedback here as work on the insurance issue.
Thanks again.
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