Insurance for MH newbies

SiLo
SiLo Forum Participant Posts: 11
edited March 2022 in Motorhomes #1

Hi Everyone,

We're very excited to be collecting our 'new to us' MH in two weeks. One of the main tasks for us to do before then is to arrange for some MH insurance. Our plans are to spend a year travelling round Europe from July 22. We're both late 40's with no claims bonus for MH's. 

Can anyone recommend an insurance company which are helpful to deal with and don't cost over £1000? We have heard/read good things about CMC insurance but the cost is prohibitively expensive. Is it reasonable to expect a cost of £700 plus for a MH valued at 46K driven through Europe with expected mileage in the region of 15K?

Thanks for listening and hope to meet some of you when we book our first camping trip next month.

Cheers

Simon

Comments

  • eribaMotters
    eribaMotters Club Member Posts: 1,193 ✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2022 #2

    It really is a case of shopping around as all of our circumstances differ. I know for us Lifesure have provided good quotes for a caravan at about 1/2 the cost of the C&MC.

    One thing to consider is your ncd will probably start from scratch as you already use it on your car. With this in mind it may be an idea to look at multi vehicle policies. 

    Adrian Flux have traditionally been very good on insuring any vehicle that is not a normal car policy.

     

    Colin

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,829 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2022 #3

    Simon, Will you be applying for long stay visas for your European year as well as insurance covering that length of time? Few insurances will cover a full year overseas,  but without  a long stay visa you have a  limit of  90 days in 180 days in the Schengen area.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,135 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2022 #4

    I think insurance companies will likely view a 12 month trip abroad as a huge risk and I’d expect the premium to be hefty. Just how hefty remains to be seen.

  • Kasspa
    Kasspa Forum Participant Posts: 359
    edited March 2022 #5

    Have you tried contacting Comfort Insurance?

  • SiLo
    SiLo Forum Participant Posts: 11
    edited March 2022 #6

    Morning Guys,

    Thanks for getting back. 

    Some useful points raised -  I hadn't thought of a multi vehicle policy, from the perspective of NCD. However, we will be looking to sell the house/car etc before we go.

    Our intention is to travel through Europe (both Shengen and non-Shengen areas) 90 days in/90 days out sort of thing. No long stay visa's.

    We will keep looking and make a point of trying Comfort Insurance and LifeSure.

    Cheers again and have a great day :-)

    Simon

     

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,829 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2022 #7

    Simon,  you say you will sell your house before you set off but Comfort insurance says that the policy holder must retain a permanent UK address - and spells out what they mean by that. 

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,135 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2022 #8

    I think the same applies to all insurers. A UK residential address is required.

  • SiLo
    SiLo Forum Participant Posts: 11
    edited March 2022 #9

    So I wonder if that could be a c/o address? Yes, we found out that Comfort does require you to have a UK address.

    I wonder how the guys who live permanently in their vans get around this? You'd assume they don't have a UK address.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,135 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2022 #10

    I believe there are forums for full timers. Why not search them out?

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,829 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2022 #11

    Simon  I think those are questions you need to ask the Comfort insurance company - whether they will accept a friend’s or family member’s address,  and whether you have to change your driving licence, vehicle registration and other documents to that address.

    And at the same it would be wise to tell them where you intend to go for your time outside the Schengen area and ask them to confirm that they will provide comprehensive cover for those countries, not merely third party cover.

    Good luck.

  • SeasideBill
    SeasideBill Forum Participant Posts: 2,112
    1000 Comments
    edited March 2022 #12

    This seems to be an informative post if you’ve not already seen it - covers plenty of issues. However, seems  you’re already connected to the most relevant brokers, Comfort & Adrian Flux.

  • SiLo
    SiLo Forum Participant Posts: 11
    edited March 2022 #13

    Cheers guys for all those helpful pointers.

    Since we're not heading off immediately on the 'big trip', we have found some competitive insurance (from Adrian Flux) for the UK only, and before we have sold the house. This should give us time to suss out all the legalities/ gotcha's of obtaining 'van life' cover.

    Have a great day

    Simon

      

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