Cannot insure my caravan

24

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  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited October 2016 #32

    Ask the insurance company to define work related.  think you will find as being used as an office or similar not as you would use it.a place to commute from.

    Sorry, they will only insure for touring purposes. So if I am not touring, which I am not if I am using it as a temporary home, then that is outside of their acceptancy policy.

    Write your comments here...If you're staying on a club site or Cl, these are touring sites because you have to move every 21 days or 28 days in the case of a cl. So for insurance purposes, you are touring. A caravan is a mobile home and is therefore a touring vehicle, so like ourselves you need the normal caravan touring insurance.

    We have a seasonal pitch on a club site but we can still only stay on it a maximum of 21 consecutive nights. We have to stay elsewhere for 2 nights before we can re-occupy our seasonal pitch. If you abide by these rules, you should qualify for the normal touring insurance.

  • Bakers2
    Bakers2 Forum Participant Posts: 8,192 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #33

    Ask the insurance company to define work related.  think you will find as being used as an office or similar not as you would use it.a place to commute from.

    Sorry, they will only insure for touring purposes. So if I am not touring, which I am not if I am using it as a temporary home, then that is outside of their acceptancy policy.

    Write your comments here...If you're staying on a club site or Cl, these are touring sites because you have to move every 21 days or 28 days in the case of a cl. So for insurance purposes, you are touring. A caravan is a mobile home and is therefore a touring
    vehicle, so like ourselves you need the normal caravan touring insurance.

    We have a seasonal pitch on a club site but we can still only stay on it a maximum of 21 consecutive nights. We have to stay elsewhere for 2 nights before we can re-occupy our seasonal pitch. If you abide by these rules, you should qualify for the normal
    touring insurance.

    Malcolm out of interest have you told CC your situation? I merely ask as you openly post on here and if, heaven forbid, you needed to make a claim you couldn't plead ignorance. This thread, if monitored, would cut the rug from beneath your feet.  I had a
    while working for an insurance company 30 plus years ago, even then they were looking at ways to decline a claim.  My motto and regular chant, as friends will tell you, is the time you want to claim is not the time to discover the information you gave was
    a half truth on open to different interuptations , or the cheapness of the premium. Insurance company's don't employ law graduates to write their policy documents for nothing! Although I Agee the CC words quoted could be argued either way. I wouldn't want
    the extra aggro myself.

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited October 2016 #34

    Ask the insurance company to define work related.  think you will find as being used as an office or similar not as you would use it.a place to commute from.

    Sorry, they will only insure for touring purposes. So if I am not touring, which I am not if I am using it as a temporary home, then that is outside of their acceptancy policy.

    Write your comments here...If you're staying on a club site or Cl, these are touring sites because you have to move every 21 days or 28 days in the case of a cl. So for insurance purposes, you are touring. A caravan is a mobile home and is therefore a touring vehicle, so like ourselves you need the normal caravan touring insurance.

    We have a seasonal pitch on a club site but we can still only stay on it a maximum of 21 consecutive nights. We have to stay elsewhere for 2 nights before we can re-occupy our seasonal pitch. If you abide by these rules, you should qualify for the normal touring insurance.

    Malcolm out of interest have you told CC your situation? I merely ask as you openly post on here and if, heaven forbid, you needed to make a claim you couldn't plead ignorance. This thread, if monitored, would cut the rug from beneath your feet.  I had a while working for an insurance company 30 plus years ago, even then they were looking at ways to decline a claim.  My motto and regular chant, as friends will tell you, is the time you want to claim is not the time to discover the information you gave was a half truth on open to different interuptations , or the cheapness of the premium. Insurance company's don't employ law graduates to write their policy documents for nothing! Although I Agee the CC words quoted could be argued either way. I wouldn't want the extra aggro myself.

    Write your comments here... As far as I can see, there is nothing in the insurance policy that restricts how much you use your caravan. It is yours to use however much you want to. If you choose not to stay at your home address because you prefer to be away in your caravan, there should be nothing to stop you doing just that! My cousin stays at the house address and we prefer to let him have his own space there whilst we enjoy the great outdoors in our caravan. Each to their own!

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #35

    You have also stated the address you use is not your home, it belongs to someone else, your cousin. 

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited October 2016 #36

    Incidentally, the home address is a large three bedroomed property with sufficient space to accommodate us should we want to stay there. However, what's the point in buying a caravan if it's just going to sit on the driveway all the year round? Insurance
    companies should be well aware that modern caravans are designed for all year round usage and that is the norm nowadays.

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited October 2016 #37

    You have also stated the address you use is not your home, it belongs to someone else, your cousin. 

    Write your comments here...Yes but he has agreed that we can use it as our home and home address. We discussed all this with him before we bought the caravan. I'm even on the electoral roll for that address. Whenever there is any mail for us, he rings us on the mobile phone and we then go round to collect it. 

    Before we started the delivery work, we used to often go and spend the afternoon there. Now we don't because there isn't the time. The house is literally only a mile away from my seasonal pitch. So easy to get there to collect mail etc. He would like to see more of us and we would like to see more of him but when we're busy doing deliveries, it's just not possible. However, all of these things are personal matters that have nothing whatsoever to do with caravan insurance.


  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,668 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #38

    You have a very generous cousin.

    However if  I was you I would be keeping this information to myself, if anything goes wrong, it could be used by insurers to invalidate your policy.

    You might even have the TV licence bunch after you if you are not careful!

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #39

    Non disclosure of facts could cause problems with CC or any other insurance. The OP has dislosed the facts and is seeking alternative insurance. I'm assume there is insurance out there, possibly at a higher pemium?

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited October 2016 #40

    Non disclosure of facts could cause problems with CC or any other insurance. The OP has dislosed the facts and is seeking alternative insurance. I'm assume there is insurance out there, possibly at a higher pemium?

    Write your comments here...Yes but not necessarily the right facts. He has given the insurers the impression that he is using his caravan as a static home that is in one place and cannot be moved and running a business from it. However, this is not true if he uses club sites and cls.

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #41

    No he hasn't. The definition is in the word "touring." Working from a site or one or two sites isn't touring. It sounds as though this has been confirmed by the CC because the OP has told them about his situation, he has disclosed the correct facts. As others
    have said non disclosure can invalidate insurance.  I hope the OP finds suitable insurance and everything works out well for him.

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited October 2016 #42

    No he hasn't. The definition is in the word "touring." Working from a site or one or two sites isn't touring. It sounds as though this has been confirmed by the CC because the OP has told them about his situation, he has disclosed the correct facts. As others have said non disclosure can invalidate insurance.  I hope the OP finds suitable insurance and everything works out well for him.

    Write your comments here...From what I have read on this thread, the facts appear to be unclear. He talks about using his caravan for accommodation instead of a bed and breakfast.  He says it is temporary. He may well be moving from site to site like we do every 21 days. If so, he is touring and not staying in one place and he is using the caravan for leisure purposes if he is sleeping and relaxing in it when he is not working.

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #43

    Nevertheless, the CC will have their own defintion via their insurers. Smile

  • Goldie146
    Goldie146 Club Member Posts: 2,448 ✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #44

    In T&C 4.1 on the Seasonal pitch page it  says 




    "Seasonal and Base pitches are available for recreational purposes only
    and not for residential or business purposes. "

    So even if you are moving off and on every 21 days, it seems it must not be your "residence"

    It all seems a bit of a grey area.





  • Wildwood
    Wildwood Club Member Posts: 3,581 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited October 2016 #45

    No he hasn't. The definition is in the word "touring." Working from a site or one or two sites isn't touring. It sounds as though this has been confirmed by the CC because the OP has told them about his situation, he has disclosed the correct facts. As others
    have said non disclosure can invalidate insurance.  I hope the OP finds suitable insurance and everything works out well for him.

    Write your comments here...From what I have read on this thread, the facts appear to be unclear. He talks about using his caravan for accommodation instead of a bed and breakfast.  He says it is temporary. He may well be moving from site to site like we
    do every 21 days. If so, he is touring and not staying in one place and he is using the caravan for leisure purposes if he is sleeping and relaxing in it when he is not working.

    Sorry no. Technically that is not leisure purposes. Leisure purposes has to be non work related and acco odation used for temporary work locations is not leisure. I have to say that the wording of some policies on this is not all that clear but if you have
    asked about it and told been no then you are stuck with that.

  • Justus2
    Justus2 Forum Participant Posts: 897
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    edited November 2016 #46

    The thing to remember with any form of insurance is that insurance companies require you to declare material facts that may impact on the risk. They decide what is material so its always best to declare everything. They decide, in the event of a claim, if any material facts have been withheld, and may, as a result reject any claim on that basis.  Its better, I would have thought, not to find out the hard way that something which has not declared, is to them, a material fact.

    If an insurance company can avoid settling a claim, they will.

  • Bakers2
    Bakers2 Forum Participant Posts: 8,192 ✭✭✭
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    edited November 2016 #47

    I think Wildwood and justus2 have summed it up in a nutshell.

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited November 2016 #48

    The thing to remember with any form of insurance is that insurance companies require you to declare material facts that may impact on the risk. They decide what is material so its always best to declare everything. They decide, in the event of a claim, if any material facts have been withheld, and may, as a result reject any claim on that basis.  Its better, I would have thought, not to find out the hard way that something which has not declared, is to them, a material fact.

    If an insurance company can avoid settling a claim, they will.

    Write your comments here...That surely depends on the insurance company. A reputable company will not make a drama out of a crisis. If they do, then choose a company where there isn't a risk of that happening. You are paying them to cover you against risk of loss and so there should not be a risk that your claim would not be settled should the need arise.

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited November 2016 #49

    I think Wildwood and justus2 have summed it up in a nutshell.

    My thanks too, I know Wildwood worked in inurance so his views are always useful.

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited November 2016 #50

    No he hasn't. The definition is in the word "touring." Working from a site or one or two sites isn't touring. It sounds as though this has been confirmed by the CC because the OP has told them about his situation, he has disclosed the correct facts. As others have said non disclosure can invalidate insurance.  I hope the OP finds suitable insurance and everything works out well for him.

    Write your comments here...From what I have read on this thread, the facts appear to be unclear. He talks about using his caravan for accommodation instead of a bed and breakfast.  He says it is temporary. He may well be moving from site to site like we do every 21 days. If so, he is touring and not staying in one place and he is using the caravan for leisure purposes if he is sleeping and relaxing in it when he is not working.

    Sorry no. Technically that is not leisure purposes. Leisure purposes has to be non work related and acco odation used for temporary work locations is not leisure. I have to say that the wording of some policies on this is not all that clear but if you have asked about it and told been no then you are stuck with that.

    Write your comments here...It is leisure use because when you are not at work, it is leisure time. 

    When I get an order and accept the order and start to carry out the collection and delivery work in relation to that order, I am at work and being paid a delivery fee to do it. When I have completed the order, my work is over and I am at leisure until I receive the next order. That leisure time is financed by my state pension and not by the company that sends out the orders. So it is truly leisure time. Previously, I was entirely dependent on earnings but now the job is a bit of extra income to help supplement my pension because I don't get holiday pay or any pay for days off.

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited November 2016 #51

    Malcolm, if you are at all concerned about the use of your van re insurance you need to speak to the CC Insurance team personally. This thread has raised the issues regarding insuring a van for work or for touring and only your insurer can advise you.

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited November 2016 #52

    Malcolm, if you are at all concerned about the use of your van re insurance you need to speak to the CC Insurance team personally. This thread has raised the issues regarding insuring a van for work or for touring and only your insurer can advise you.

    Write your comments here...It's not necessary, Brue because I'm using the caravan for touring and leisure purposes and that is an accepted and proven fact, end of story! If I choose to use my caravan all the year round and enjoy moving between sites because I like a change of scene, that is my personal choice and has nothing whatsoever to do with the insurance company. 

    This is getting ridiculous. Next you'll be telling me that I should disclose to the insurance company that I brush my teeth when I get up in the morning!

     

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited November 2016 #53

    You are being abusive, I wont be responding further.

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited November 2016 #54

    You are being abusive, I wont be responding further.

    Write your comments here...No I'm not, I'm just talking reality.

  • Pippah45
    Pippah45 Forum Participant Posts: 2,452
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    edited November 2016 #55

    If push came to shove and a claim was needed - I wonder how the land would lie then. 

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 13,859 ✭✭✭
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    edited November 2016 #56

    Malcolm

    The problem you have is that you do draw attention to yourself. From what I have read of your postings on this forum you clearly work from whatever site you are staying on.This must mean that you are in and out of the site on a much more regular basis than
    most people staying on site. It seems also, in most instances, that you only move site to meet the limited occupancy rules of staying on a Club site. Personally I don't see much difference between you and someone pitching a caravan on a site and going off
    for the day to work which seems to be exactly what you do. Whether your insurance covers such eventualities you won't know until you test it by asking. I would also suggest that you need to establish whether your car insurance covers for essentually doing
    a delivery job. mine wouldn't.

    David

  • JillwithaJay
    JillwithaJay Club Member Posts: 2,485 ✭✭
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    edited November 2016 #57

    Following on from David's post, I have to ask Malcolm precisely where he is when he takes the (presumably) phone orders for delivery.  In his van?  On site?  If that's not using your caravan for business I'm sure I don't know what is.

    photo 78301b06-7bdd-45fe-8ae2-d4d2cae14135_zpssi5htrez.jpg

  • MichaelT
    MichaelT Forum Participant Posts: 1,874
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    edited November 2016 #58

    I would imagine MAlcom is more worried about being covered for driving his car for these delieveries rather than caravan insurance.  As he is not working in it and even if he takes a phone call thats not likely to have any impact on the risk weighting of
    insurance, in fact I would have thought that living in the van all year makes the risk of theft, vandalsim etc lower than having it on a dirvieway or a farm yard storage.

    By the way MAlcolm I saw the Uber drivers won their case to be employed....

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited November 2016 #59

    I have business insurance on the car. The car is specifically insured with Lloyds as fast food delivery driver for business as well social, domestic and pleasure.

    If I am out in the car, the boss contacts me on my hands free car phone to say that there is an order. My wife then checks the order on her Iphone through the admin area of the dinner2go website where we get details of the entire order and any special requests by the customer.

    I keep the mobile phone with me at all times so that if I'm in the caravan, I can receive a call from the boss. However, if there is one delivery, this is often followed by another one so the call is subsequently received in the car. So on a busy day, most of the calls will be received in the car and not in the caravan. This is because if orders are queueing, there's no time to return to the caravan.

  • Malcolm Mehta
    Malcolm Mehta Forum Participant Posts: 5,660
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    edited November 2016 #60

    Following on from David's post, I have to ask Malcolm preciselywhere he is when he takes the (presumably) phone orders for delivery.  In his van?  On site?  If that's not using your caravan for business I'm sure I don't know what is.

    photo 78301b06-7bdd-45fe-8ae2-d4d2cae14135_zpssi5htrez.jpg

    Write your comments here...So in answer, both but mostly car.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,138 ✭✭✭
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    edited November 2016 #61

    I wonder why Malcolm feels the need to reveal the ins and outs of his life on CT. 

    Malcolm, you make yourself a target in so many ways. Wise up, man.