Club Caravan Insurance
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Devious and misleading, if you ask me.
I had my fill of Devitts a couple of years back and wouldn't insure a matchstick with them.
I'm glad I use an actual insurance company and not caravan cover as something which operates in a similar way to caravan insurance doesn't cut it with me. My policy is also half the price quoted by Caravan Club Ltd, with exactly the same cover.
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The club have explained on another thread. They now cover the risk themselves and pay out claims for damage to your caravan from the premiums received rather than put the business through a commercial insurer. They then reinsure the risk of claims exceeding what they can afford to give security. They are not a commercial insurer but have set up a legal alternative way of dealing with this which is far cheaper to operate but should still give you the security.
Hopefully with no commission to brokers or investors to pay dividends to it should mean a higher proportion of premiums goes to the claims and there is no commercial pressure to make as much money as possible which is there in the commercial sector.
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"Should" and "Hopefully" are not words I associate with guaranteed insurance. Furthermore, I think it has been done in an underhand manner, similar to what happened at Red Pennant last year and the reduction in cover.
Wildwood - you with your experience will know better than most how important transparency is in business and how the regulators demand that customers are treated fairly? Is this the case in this scenario?
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The club couldn't afford to self insure motor insurance Brian. The Public Liability exposure alone would be too great.
At least with Caravan cover they should have limited exposure as they will know how much each claim should maximise out at and be able to adjust premiums accordingly. They may well make a profit which will be good for the club but I personally like guarantees behind my investments and insurance and I don't like the way they appear to be going about it.
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Caravan insurance also includes third party liability, as it always has.
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Yes, TW, I'm sorry I didn't explain myself very well and thanks for your post.
The Third Party Liability cover under motor insurance carries way more exposure than that under a caravan policy. In all my years in insurance I never dealt or handled a Public Liability claim under a caravan policy. The CMC probably feel their exposure is minimal.
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No worries.
Agreed, other than a caravan running away on site when not attached to the towing vehicle, I’m hard pushed to think of an incident which could give rise to a third party claim.
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As someone who dealt with the claims the claims usually came from people falling off the steps and injuring them selves.
You also have to look at the caravan catching fire and that spreading to other units which could be very expensive.
Apart from those the risk is very low.
With motor insurance you do get the odd catastrophe claim that can run into millions. Possibly the biggest one I dealt with, was many years ago when a car pulled out to turn right and a coach was overtaking him. The bus ran off the road and down an embankment with multiple injuries, although thankfully no fatalities.
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Give them a bit of time, ET. You know that no-one would have been in over the weekend.
Hope they are going to man the office for at least some time over the weekend when they take on the risk in March. Urgent decisions may have to be made unless they give Devitts a lot of delegated authority.
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Would the club have sufficient funds if your caravan which is in storage for some unknown reason caught fire and the resulting fire then destroyed several caravans and motorhomes and those owners claimed against your insurance company? It can happen and has happened in the past.
If there is a dispute can you escalate the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service for a resolution? Are the club even registered with the FOS for insurance financial issues?
Taking into account the Esso card fiasco and also the issue recently with Mayday breakdown cover as per another thread I would be very wary of insuring our pride and joy with the CC.
Having said that when it was managed by Devitts, we had prompt payment on a claim!
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I don't think that the adjacent owners would have a claim unless they could show negligence. I can't remember the case histories at the mo and can't see too well having had dilating drops in my eyws, not sure if I am hitten the right keys
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Hi all,
Apologies it’s taken a while to respond to your questions EasyT and others. This benefits the member from the change in operating model in so far as premiums and cover are now totally within the Club’s control.
When we moved to the Discretionary Mutual model, we kept the cover and pricing structure the same as it was when provided by AXA through Devitt, except that we reduced the premium by a flat percentage. Moving forwards, this means that, as we begin to build our own data and are able to better analyse performance, we will be looking at ways we can improve the product and pricing. Most importantly, we will now be able to offer a product more closely aligned to the needs of our Members, without the requirement to refer through Devitt to the Underwriter at each stage of the process.
In terms of the regulation, although this product is not regulated by the FCA, we are still fully adhering to FCA principles in how we are managing the product – and we have every intention to continue doing so.
In terms of claims payments, while the payment of claims is not guaranteed by the Club, one of the objectives of setting up the DM scheme was to be able to react in a more ‘flexible’ manner to claims that, in the ‘traditional’ insurance world (as under AXA) may not have been considered. Furthermore, to allay any fears of the Club not having the funds to pay claims, we have set up a group policy which ‘sits behind’ the product and provides this protection. This is explained in the Cover wording, and is copied here:
"We have arranged a Group Insurance Policy in our name for the added protection of members with Caravan Cover.
The policy has been arranged with Builders Direct S.A. so that you can be sure that a valid claim will be paid if we do not pay. The Policy also means that you may be able to take a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service and enjoy the protection of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if Builders Direct cannot meet their obligations to you."
It’s important to note that this is in no way an attempt to reduce the protection provided to Members, nor is it part of a plan to pay fewer claims or reduce the amount of any settlements made.
Replacing a ‘pure’ insurance cover with the DM scheme is about continuing to service our Members to the best standard possible, while being able to put more of the proceeds back into the Club. Hopefully this gives the reassurance that we have done everything we can to protect our Members, while we increase the opportunity to develop and improve the product and service.
I’m sorry if you feel the changes weren’t made sufficiently clear. The move to DM was raised in the last two AGMs and has been referenced in the documentation throughout 2018 and into 2019.
Finally, it may be worth taking this opportunity to respond to some other contributors to clarify how our other products and services work. Currently, Caravan Cover is our only DM product. For the other insurance products we offer (such as our Motorhome, Car, Home and Motorbike policies), these are all still provided through our partner broker Devitt, who place the business with a panel of underwriters. Our Red Pennant overseas holiday and breakdown cover is provided by Alpha Underwriting Ltd who act on behalf of the underwriter, Astrenska. Our Mayday UK breakdown service is provided by Green Flag, who are a part of Direct Line Group. We work closely and continuously with all our partners to try and ensure our Members get the best products and service we can offer.
Kind regards
Dave
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This benefits the member from the change in operating model in so far as premiums and cover are now totally within the Club’s control.
I see no significant benefit to me David. Cannot say that I noted a significant saving to me and I prefer a clear cut contract and not an 'airy fairy' statement of intent In terms of claims payments. 'While the payment of claims is not guaranteed by the Club, one of the objectives of setting up the DM scheme was to be able to react in a more ‘flexible’ manner to claims that, in the ‘traditional’ insurance world (as under AXA) may not have been considered'.
I want clarity not best endeavours and so, after many years, my renewal will be elsewhere.
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I will add David that the delay in response despite reported posts smacks to me of taking time to come up with an attempted justification as to why members are benefited as apposed to any meaning full clarity in an unclear situation. I have not researched details of who to contact in case of disagreement between the 'insured' and the CMC and maybe you would clarify for any members still considering renewal. You say members MAY be able to take a claim against Builders Direct S.A. to the financial ombudsman but, as far as I am aware, members have no contract with said company and therefore what grounds for complaint might there be??
"We have arranged a Group Insurance Policy in our name for the added protection of members with Caravan Cover.
The policy has been arranged with Builders Direct S.A. so that you can be sure that a valid claim will be paid if we do not pay. The Policy also means that you may be able to take a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service and enjoy the protection of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if Builders Direct cannot meet their obligations to you."
if Builders Direct cannot meet their obligations to you
I thought that BD's obligation was to CMC?
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Don’t stress it ET, if it don’t do it for you-keep moving👍🏻
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Builders Direct's contract is with the club and covers the clubs liability if the club are unable to meet their liabilities. Basically this is re insurance which means you need to show the clubs policy is liable and if so Builders Direct would have to meat the claim.
As for both failing this is stretching things too far.
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IF there was not a saving then the club would not do it.
Any savings to members will be due to the club passing those savings on by reduced costs in order to attract more business.
Has anybody noticed any worthwhile savings as a result?
As for CC 'paying commissions' are you suggesting that the service was rub at a loss? Surely the caravan Club would have received commissions. Does the RAC run at a loss when they act as broker?
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