Insurance renewal
Just had the renewal notice for our Motorhome, Devitt are looking for a 100% uplift, no claims, no convictions, van a year older! I’ve had a quote from Aviva (Comfort) which matches last year’s premium and have gone back to Devitt for comment. Not sure the club and their broker are acting in the best interests of the members here!
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I'm about to trade in a 2022 Autosleeper Broadway EL for a 2024 Hymer MLT 580. CAMC insurance (Devitt) quoted £3400. Caravan Guard £1050 - and that includes UK and EU Breakdown. In my experience CAMC are always the most expensive quote we get, for only average features/benefits. Caravan Guard is always best coverage and best value. (And no, I'm not getting paid for that endorsement of Caravan Guard!)
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It has always surprised me that when you consider the potential pot of customers the club has, how expensive the insurance/cover is compared to you going it alone on the open market of suppliers.
Colin
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I renewed earlier this year. as it happens through Devitt who obtained the best Premium EVENTUALLY. I have used different insurers over many years mostly with Comfort and sometimes Devitt. To be clear Devitt (who have been the Clubs insurance agents continuously for decades) are brokers, they place insurance on behalf of their customers with different insurers. Comfort are an independent broker who do the same. Both Devitt on behalf of CAMC members and Comfort on behalf of their customer's have designed and agreed a "special policy" for motorhomes. I think in the case of Devitt that is used across all the insurers they use and with Comfort its Aviva which is their main MH insurer. Actually although their and many aspects of Devitts paperwork and service model that I intensely dislike the policy wording and consequently scope of cover is very good.
So two takeaways :-
1. Look very carefully at the package you are being offered and especially the policy wording and scope of cover. Premium is just one aspect. When I was being trained to ride a motorcycle my instructor advised trainees to buy a cheap helmet only if we had a cheap head.
2. In the world I used to inhabit no organisation would use the same organisation as a supplier for years and years and years without a re-tendering or review process. But this isn't in the case of Devitt One Man, Two Guvnors (the insured should be one of the Guvnors) its One Man, Three Guvnors.
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I've had the opposite experience - but with the Club's House Insurance, through Devitt's. I was a bit miffed to find that their quotation for renewal this year had gone up by about £140 based on last year. Decided to have a look around and got a quote from LV - being another company I trusted - and to me, that's more important than saving a few quid on the premium. They wanted almost three times what Devitt's had quoted - and yes - I did make sure it was like for like cover. Just can't be bothered to trawl through the comparison sites although I know I would find a cheaper quote. As I said - most important consideration for me is "Can I trust them to act in my interest if I have a claim" and past experience (with the caravan and this Club' cover) is a resounding "yes".
I suppose it's understandable really - given the massive increase in, for example, timber prices over recent years - that quotations will have risen due to higher rebuilding costs.
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Like many our last renewal quote with the Club had increased considerably year on year. When I spoke to them to ask what could be done to reduce the premium a couple of things that had a surprising impact on the cost was the projected miles for the coming year having other named drivers on the policy. With regards to miles covered in a year if you don't go abroad you are probably covered for doing far more miles than you need. Now second drivers. It almost becomes second nature to add a partner to the policy which is fine if they are going to drive the vehicle. However if you were in the same position as me where my wife would not drive the motorhome regardless of the circumstances why have them included on the policy?
David
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Every vehicle we own (4) has a stated mileage agreed by us to help keep insurance costs down. You can increase it it you need to as well, so it’s just a way of us trying to keep insurance as low as possible. Same with named drivers as well, although all vehicles are for both of us.
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Having always found the club insurance expensive I was in the habit of shopping around as most people do. Last year SAGA surprisingly was the best (not the cheapest). SAGA have now ceased providing Caravan Insurance and contacted the club to arrange an agreement whereby existing customers would be offered a renewal at last years price.
This week I contacted HQ and arranged my insurance, the cost as promised was approx £270. Just as a matter of interest I asked what it would have cost if I had not been a SAGA referral........dark room time..... approx £600!
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Not sure how Devitts got it so wrong but I do not think they use Aviva in their panel. There is nothing wrong with Aviva so I would take the quote.
No one insurer is the cheapest on all quotes and the Aviva figure could be far higher than from Devitt on a different set of details. Brokers like Devitt will normally be tied to one or a panel of companies and with he idea that this higher volume will get them a better deal. It does not mean they will always give you he best deal although the example here looks like a poor effort.
I have found Aviva very competitive through their General Accident alternative, being considerably lower than anything I could find on two comparison sites. As my house insurer More Than are giving up that business I am now going to try them for that.
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I too have had my caravan renewal quote, from Caravan Guard, but thought would see if I could find a cheaper but equivalent one. Through Eversure Caravan Insurance I have a quote for nearly £100 less with a company that I have no knowledge of, Binnacle Insurance. Have others heard of them and have any thoughts on their viability as a company?
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I've tried searching who the underwriter is not had no luck, also Defacto/Trustpilot reviews do not seem great.
Have you tried Lifesure. We are new for old on £31.5k of cover, £100x/s, 30 days European cover as standard, for £200.
I was also going to suggest Ripe but came across a thread saying they use a 3rd party to deal with claims and this was not working out well for claimants.
Colin
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Thanks, Colin. I will give them a look tomorrow.
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Binnacle were the insurers of a friends mobile caravan on a registered park near Ludlow. They were recommended by the park owner, a very large park. They, apparently, were set up in conjunction with BHA, the home park association or at least to be the main underwriter for them.
Personally they don't have enough longevity to either recommend them or keep clear. Don't know much else I'm afraid Nellie. Sorry can't help further.
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Thanks, WN, I will have a chat with Lifesure to see what their charge would be but am inclined to stick with Caravan Guard.
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We use Caravanguard. They are backed by RSA a major insurer and have an excellent reputation. Personally as someone who worked in insurance I would be very wary of cheaper quotes as the saving is normally down to cutting out something as the profit margin for insurers is very low. In general cheap insurance has to be at the expense of being tight on claims or service.
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Colin, I tried Lifesure but their policy supplier, whoever they are, won't insure anyone over 75 yrs of age!!😮 That counts me out so have stuck with CaravanGuard.
I do however feel that their insurers are being discriminatory and ageist, but I'm sure I can't do anything about it.
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Nellie
That sounds a bit odd? I could perhaps understand it if you were insuring a car or motorhome but can't quite get my mind around why it would apply to a caravan?
David
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Sounded odd to me too, but not going to argue. Perhaps WN, or anyone else with working experience in the insurance industry, could provide can explanation.
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Insurers statistics do show an increase in claims for drivers as they get past 75, but these tends to be more minor than with young drivers, but still increase the costs. Most companies will still quote, but a few will simply take the view they would prefer to avoid them. They are generally the ones who will not take on younger drivers and other higher risk people.
As with everything these days the cost is driven by computer statistics often with flaws in the system which throw up individual errors or just wrong figures. My son in law worked for one company just putting in random quotes to check they were correct and errors were common. Possibly the problem persists if you find a quote that looks wrong.
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Thanks, Wildwood. I thought that it might be something like that, but still think that it is ageist!😁
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Just a quick note to say that Caravan Guard say in their FAQs that they can carry on insuring you post 80 if you are an existing client.
Not sure whether the premium they quote will be acceptable of course but it is a factor to consider on one's annual trawl where relevant!!
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