New van - yay - insurance cost - ouch!

[apforrest]

Hi all,

I have read around a few threads on insurance. Most seem to favour LV which I've been looking at, but for our new van that we're picking up this coming Saturday (wahoo), the quote is coming in around £1000! This is quite a jump from what we pay for our car.

This will be our only vehicle for a while, perhaps that's adding to the cost. Is this typical, what are others experiences?

Thanks
Andy

 

[colintfcolintf]

Hi Andy, some of it may come down to where it is parked and how many miles.
iM classed as on road parking, 15,000 miles a year (as main vehicle) and I’m paying a similar amount sadly…..

 

[RockinNRollin]

A touch steep but remember it’s an expensive vehicle. I am paying roughly 50% more on the Cali (new) than I did for my previous car which was half the cost, which makes it almost seem better value!

 

[This_one_goes_to_eleven]

Yeah did your car cost £75k ?

I got mine down to cheaper than what I pay for a Tesla. And then bumped it higher again by lowering it

 

[Hawthorn37]

We’ve found Annual mileage is a big influence on premium, up to 12k miles. Beyond this the premium typically stays the same. At 6k p.a you’d pay around 50% the premium of 12k, which sort of makes sense. In the first year we covered 12k, but dropped to 8k last year and it made a big difference. You may get discount (5% to 10%) if you have an approved tracker installed. Obviously parking off road of you can will lower the cost. But not parking in a garage, which is a bit bizarre. On our last renewal for a car, the company said it would cost more if we kept it in the garage! The possibility of self inflicted damage etc. !

If you read the threads, you’ll find theres half a dozen specialists for campervans and mo-homes. Just give them all a call.

 

[finchy168]

I've just renewed mine and went with CAMC, I was previously with LV who wanted £1100, CAMC came out at £900.

 

[RockinNRollin]

The other thing worth noting is insurance premiums have been notching up quite steeply in recent years; if the base premium has hiked by 20% since last year, that will make the increase seem even more pronounced as you're comparing your last insurance premium (which granted might have been fairly recently, but might also have been nearly a year ago) to one now.

 

[apforrest]

Helpful replies, thanks all. I also wonder whether it's more because this is going be our primary and only vehicle. We have considered getting a small city run around. Trying to predict yearly millage is always a guess.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

I'd say be very careful not to underestimate your annual mileage, if your car is involved in an accident and the mileage is over the insurer can decline to pay.

 

[Rhubarb]

I found that using the web sites I was coming out £1000 to £1200. I then spoke to a few companies on the phone and I ended up with about £700 with Comfort (who are underwritten by Aviva). So my summary is that I needed to put a bit more work in to get a decent quote than I do with the car.

 

[ArunAlec]

When searching and comparing make sure the cover is going to insure the habitation aspects of the van and any claims resulting from camping related damage…. cooking fire etc.

 

[Velma's Dad]

I'd say be very careful not to underestimate your annual mileage, if your car is involved in an accident and the mileage is over the insurer can decline to pay.

What is your evidence for that please? (And I don't mean the blather than insurance brokers put on their websites, and/or in the tabloids, which includes a whole bunch of tosh). Insurers can only decline to pay out in cases of deliberate misrepresentation by the policyholder.

It's sufficient to give a reasonable estimation of annual mileage when you take out the policy. You don't need to 'pad' the estimate to cover all conceivable eventualities. If you find you are going way beyond your initial estimate during the year, you can then just let the insurer know at that point.

 

[Corradobrit]

My premium in Germany was already high at 725 euro fully comp with 500 euro deductible. Several years NCD. Saw an additional 10% increase for 2024. Seems UK premiums are beginning to normalize with the industry in other markets.

 

[Corradobrit]

What is your evidence for that please? (And I don't mean the blather than insurance brokers put on their websites, and/or in the tabloids, which includes a whole bunch of tosh). Insurers can only decline to pay out in cases of deliberate misrepresentation by the policyholder.

It's sufficient to give a reasonable estimation of annual mileage when you take out the policy. You don't need to 'pad' the estimate to cover all conceivable eventualities. If you find you are going way beyond your initial estimate during the year, you can then just let the insurer know at that point.

I agree. You just pay the higher premium if you happen to exceed the annual mileage in any given year. At least thats what a broker in germany said.

 

[KevH]

Another factor may be NCB, which may not count if not earned driving a camper.

 

[WelshGas]

What is your evidence for that please? (And I don't mean the blather than insurance brokers put on their websites, and/or in the tabloids, which includes a whole bunch of tosh). Insurers can only decline to pay out in cases of deliberate misrepresentation by the policyholder.

It's sufficient to give a reasonable estimation of annual mileage when you take out the policy. You don't need to 'pad' the estimate to cover all conceivable eventualities. If you find you are going way beyond your initial estimate during the year, you can then just let the insurer know at that point.

I gather Insurance companies will allow a + 10% milage variation without notification .

 

[WelshGas]

Helpful replies, thanks all. I also wonder whether it's more because this is going be our primary and only vehicle. We have considered getting a small city run around. Trying to predict yearly millage is always a guess.

Having a 2nd vehicle will normally reduce the premium.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

if you have an approved tracker installed. Obviously parking off road of you can will lower the cost. But not parking in a garage, which is a bit bizarre. On our last renewal for a car, the company said it would cost more if we kept it in the garage! The possibility of self inflicted damage etc. !

The annual tracker premium will most likely exceed the cost of the insurance discount.

Bit like the discount in home insurance for having an house alarm fitted. We have an alarm but we dont dislose it as it would force us to pay an annual service fee (£100 approx), its visonic wireless so you only need to perform a system test and check battery level. Plus you normally need to prove from the alarm logs that it was turned on at time of a break-in to not compromise cover....how
Many times do people pop to the local shop and leave the alarm off.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

I gather Insurance companies will allow a + 10% milage variation without notification .

Easy for an insurer to check mileage on older vans from MOT history.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

What is your evidence for that please? (And I don't mean the blather than insurance brokers put on their websites, and/or in the tabloids, which includes a whole bunch of tosh). Insurers can only decline to pay out in cases of deliberate misrepresentation by the policyholder.

It's sufficient to give a reasonable estimation of annual mileage when you take out the policy. You don't need to 'pad' the estimate to cover all conceivable eventualities. If you find you are going way beyond your initial estimate during the year, you can then just let the insurer know at that point.

My first job was as a car insurance broker, so I have some experience of this happening in claims.

Most insurance companies are pragmatic and if you're slightly over then they are likely to overlook this. But if mileage is grossly underestimated then of course they will see that a deliberate.
If you think about this it's just common sense otherwise policy holders could say they expect to drive 5000 miles when they knew it would be 30,000. I couldn't put numbers on it, but there is a tipping point where underestimates become non disclosure.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

I gather Insurance companies will allow a + 10% milage variation without notification .

I'd guesstimate that's probably about right, but it'll vary from insurer to insurer. Also the underwriters would take mileage into consideration with other factors in the event of a claim.

 

[ArunAlec]

Easy for an insurer to check mileage on older vans from MOT history.

Unless the numpty doing the MOT entered the wrong mileage! I speak from experience…. They can do a correction within so many days after that they have to get it done by the DVLA. Luckily I spotted the error as it would have gone well over my annual estimate.

 

[Hawthorn37]

The lady at Comfort did mention about not to be worried if slightly over the mileage, and if we went significantly over, to call them and they’d just bill the difference. No percentage limit advised - if they did that folks would just factor it in.

 

[Wannabecamperman]

The other thing worth noting is insurance premiums have been notching up quite steeply in recent years; if the base premium has hiked by 20% since last year, that will make the increase seem even more pronounced as you're comparing your last insurance premium (which granted might have been fairly recently, but might also have been nearly a year ago) to one now.

Indeed, my car quote went from £680 to £900! I then looked at a salary-sacrifice Tesla Model 3 with 20,000 business miles and they wanted almost £2.5k !!! Soon changed my mind on that one!

 

[Neuromancer11]

Hi all,

I have read around a few threads on insurance. Most seem to favour LV which I've been looking at, but for our new van that we're picking up this coming Saturday (wahoo), the quote is coming in around £1000! This is quite a jump from what we pay for our car.

This will be our only vehicle for a while, perhaps that's adding to the cost. Is this typical, what are others experiences?

Thanks
Andy

collecting mine Saturday too, best quote is LV £750 for me in business use, other option is CMC at about £800. Better cover but no business use allowed, which is annoying