Insurance payout question
Can we assume that if your caravan has "new for old" insurance cover with any insurance company that offers this facility and you take your caravan to a dealership and while it is at the dealer, it is stolen, what will happen?
Obviously while the caravan is in the care of the dealership, it is unlikely that they will fit wheel clamps or hitch locks as required by most insurance companies therefore your own insurance policy will probably be invalid.
The dealership's insurance company may pay out for the loss of the caravan at market value, but what if your own policy is "new for old". Also will they pay out for any contents in the caravan like awning, motor movers, etc?
Comments
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I know that our present caravan insurance states that the caravan is covered whilst in for service or repair but what hoops you have to jump through I haven't checked.Just recently our van was in for repair and the agent fitted the hitch lock but not the wheel lock !
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I opted (with Red Pennant) to pay extra to delete the wheel lock warranty, as with a T/A van the warranty requires both wheels to have a lock fitted. Only way you can do that is jack up the van!
My dealer fits a hitchlock, and I have a tracker (insurance requirement) however check the dealer form you sign as some dealers exclude their liability for damage or theft whilst in their possession. Not sure how this would stand up in court - unfair contract terms, unable to contract out of negligence etc etc. Lawyers would have a field day.
Paul
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Easiest way is to claim on your own insurance, assuming that the conditions under the policy were met before the incident or theft took place (i.e. all locks fitted etc) and then your insurer would claim back off dealers insurance if they were negligent.
If the daler didn't fit the locks so you couldn't claim off your insurance then their insurance would have to settlevon the new for old cover basis as otherwise you could sue them for being out of pocket as a result of their negligence. They should also reimburse you for contents in accordance with your own policy and with any out of pocket expenses (eg cancellation of holiday deposits, taxi fares etc).
Of course what they should do and what actually happens are sometimes 2 different things.
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I have been through a large insurance claim on my home, but never our caravan.
I suspect that we would all largely agree what we would hope that the insurance company and or dealer would take responsibility for.
But the reality is it all depends on the small print in each of our insurance policies - so it may well be different from company to company - and it could also depend on the small print on back of the "service order form" of the dealership when the service was booked/or caravan left with them for servicing.
Although a nightmare, it is possible that the caravan insurance insists that security devices must be used, so the insurance is void if the dealer didn't use them and at the same time you may have signed an agreement with a dealer who either limits or entirely abdicates their liability.
Of course I hope that neither scenario is the case. But thanks for posing the question as it is a situation we all occasionally put ourselves in when we get our caravans serviced so I for one am now going to read my insurance small print and check the dealers liability when they say the need the caravan overnight for servicing
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Whilst I would agree with most of HillClimb's post it should be noted that the dealer, or anyone else for that matter, cannot just abdicate their Common Law Liability by putting up a sign or including them in conditions. You often see this in supermarket car parks where the retailer denies any responsibilty for damage caused whilst on the car park but if they've not fixed huge potholes or have pavements that are badly maintained then they will still have a Common Law Liability to their customers and can't just waive it away with a sign.
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I think most companies will still pay out but if you cannot get the answer in the policy wording ask them. If they will not give the cover then go elsewhere sharpish.
Claiming off the dealer would mean proving they were negligent. It is possible a court would hold the dealer responsible but I know of no actual case so cannot be sure.
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