VW INSURANCE

[Tim&carolsvan]

We have just had our insurance renewal policy from VolksWagen Financial services it has gone an extra £121 from last year its for a 2 year old California with a tracker, has anyone any recomandations for insurance companies? our renewal was just under£900
The camping and caravan club has quoted us £1094. even higher
We welcome any suggestions

 

[The Little Red Cali]

LV are reasonable. Never paid above £500.

 

[newboldi]

We have just had our insurance renewal policy from VolksWagen Financial services it has gone an extra £121 from last year its for a 2 year old California with a tracker, has anyone any recomandations for insurance companies? our renewal was just under£900
The camping and caravan club has quoted us £1094. even higher
We welcome any suggestions

Just insured with LV - £350 fully protected NCD, etc

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

Try Caravan Guard. They insure my Motorhome for less than my beach was as a car. Including lots of european cover

 

[brcas64]

Another for LV.

 

[Polomint]

LV but make sure the insurance is as a motor home as this covers fixtures inside, normal insurance doesn’t.

 

[chockswahay]

I spoke to LV yesterday and they confirmed to me that they do NOT offer specific motorhome cover but do give an extra £1000 cover for personal possessions. I asked what would happen for example, in the event of a fire caused by cooking or a fault with the heating...... answer was NOT insured for that!

I think this is a minefield quite frankly. Yes they will insure my van but ONLY as a car and therefore all other risks are excluded.

Elsewhere on the forum this is referred to as 'the bacon butty test'....... in LV's case it failed.

 

[ChrisE]

I’m with Comfort Insurance - £500 for 199 4Motion.

 

[BeagleMum]

We have just had our insurance renewal policy from VolksWagen Financial services it has gone an extra £121 from last year its for a 2 year old California with a tracker, has anyone any recomandations for insurance companies? our renewal was just under£900
The camping and caravan club has quoted us £1094. even higher
We welcome any suggestions

Used to be with LV moved to Comfort 2 years ago.

 

[chockswahay]

I have just come off the phone with Comfort Insurance. They have turned out to be the most helpful and most accommodating of any insurer I have dealt with these last couple of days. Their cover is full and very comprehensive and certainly passes the 'Bacon Butty Test'. And if that is not enough also the most competitive of all the specialist campervan insurers.

Once I have calmed down from all this excitement and had a lie down in a dark room for a while I will order the insurance.

Edit: when i asked about adding the tow hook, lowered suspension and solar panel they said these are to be expected on the van and as long as I have included their value in the total van value on the quote then all good. It almost felt too easy!

 

[WelshGas]

I have just come off the phone with Comfort Insurance. They have turned out to be the most helpful and most accommodating of any insurer I have dealt with these last couple of days. Their cover is full and very comprehensive and certainly passes the 'Bacon Butty Test'. And if that is not enough also the most competitive of all the specialist campervan insurers.

Once I have calmed down from all this excitement and had a lie down in a dark room for a while I will order the insurance.

Edit: when i asked about adding the tow hook, lowered suspension and solar panel they said these are to be expected on the van and as long as I have included their value in the total van value on the quote then all good. It almost felt too easy!

Are you OK with their 48hr rule?

 

[Polomint]

Seems odd, we have motorhome policy for our Ocean with LV

 

[chockswahay]

Are you OK with their 48hr rule?

Good point WG, I forgot to ask about that so I just rang them and they said that in the event of leaving the van 'unattended' anywhere but the registered address I would have to call them and let them know, if they (Aviva) consider the place acceptable then no problem and no charge (Gatwick carpark as an example is OK)

So yes, I'm OK with it

 

[The Little Red Cali]

Seems odd, we have motorhome policy for our Ocean with LV

Me too. It seems some LV staff do give out mixed messaging at times.

 

[Baldrick]

Plus one for Comfort. Passes the gas on board and therefore the bacon butty tests. They seem sensible for example I received clarification that if you’re at a hotel and grab your beach stuff from the ‘Van daily it’s not viewed as unattended.

 

[nickalifornia]

Good point WG, I forgot to ask about that so I just rang them and they said that in the event of leaving the van 'unattended' anywhere but the registered address I would have to call them and let them know, if they (Aviva) consider the place acceptable then no problem and no charge (Gatwick carpark as an example is OK)

So yes, I'm OK with it

Thanks for clarifying - I wasn't aware of the detail of the "48hr (unattended and not registered address, check with insurer) rule". About to renew with Comfort, £482, £47 cheaper than last year - happy with that.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Me too. It seems some LV staff do give out mixed messaging at times.

Appreciate that this is from a couple of months ago, but having double-checked my documentation, I don't see the insurance on mine as Motorhome; It's just a Car although the Cali details are correct.

I've searched the LV site high and low and I can't see that they provide specific "Campervan" insurance...

 

[chockswahay]

I have just come off the phone with Comfort Insurance. They have turned out to be the most helpful and most accommodating of any insurer I have dealt with these last couple of days. Their cover is full and very comprehensive and certainly passes the 'Bacon Butty Test'. And if that is not enough also the most competitive of all the specialist campervan insurers.

Once I have calmed down from all this excitement and had a lie down in a dark room for a while I will order the insurance.

Edit: when i asked about adding the tow hook, lowered suspension and solar panel they said these are to be expected on the van and as long as I have included their value in the total van value on the quote then all good. It almost felt too easy!

I forgot about this...... in the end I went back with NFU....... can't quite remember why but I think it was due to a max time limit abroad or less than 10000 miles per year...... either way both no use to us.

As for LV ....... they advised me not covered as a Campervan (fail the bacon butty test).

Insurance! feels like an evil necessity sometimes

 

[SusiBus]

We've just switched from Comfort (Aviva) after having been with the for 12 years to LV. Better price and no tracker required.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

We've just switched from Comfort (Aviva) after having been with the for 12 years to LV. Better price and no tracker required.

Did you see my comment above....

Appreciate that this is from a couple of months ago, but having double-checked my documentation, I don't see the insurance on mine as Motorhome; It's just a Car although the Cali details are correct.

I've searched the LV site high and low and I can't see that they provide specific "Campervan" insurance...

 

[KevH]

We've just switched from Comfort (Aviva) after having been with the for 12 years to LV. Better price and no tracker required.

Reading between the lines, in your position I would be checking my cover very carefully to determine what is and what is not insured on an LV policy.
Fingers crossed that you have got what you thought you paid for.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Reading between the lines, in your position I would be checking my cover very carefully to determine what is and what is not insured on an LV policy.
Fingers crossed that you have got what you thought you paid for.

So my LV Insurance is described as a Car and there is one reference to motorhome.

"Personal belongings - we’ll pay up to £300 for personal belongings in your car or up to £1,000 in your motorhome, if
lost or damaged due to accident, fire, theft or attempted theft."

Having looked at the policy document for the Caravan and Motorhome club, the wording is much the same.

CAMC Fire section:
What is covered If your Motorhome/Campervan is lost or damaged as a result of theft, attempted theft, fire, lightning, or explosion, we will: • pay to have the damage repaired; or • pay a cash amount representing the cost of the damage. We will decide how we settle your claim

LV
Fire and theft - if your car and/or its accessories (even in your garage) are lost or damaged by fire, lightning,
explosion, theft or attempted theft, we'll either:
• pay for it to be repaired; or
• replace what's damaged; or
• pay the market value of your car if it's a total loss (and when we've agreed this with you, your car will become our
property).

Neither policy really states further whether there might be "different" types of fire maybe camping related... I could ask but maybe it's just creating a whole bunch of grief and the rep on the phone line isn't going to know...

They pulled the correct description for the vehicle from the databases; they know it's of type Motor Caravan and they refer to Personal belongings in their policy. Tricky.

 

[chockswahay]

I asked, they said “No”

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

I asked, they said “No”

I asked "
Morning Leah. My vehicle is insured with you guys. It's a VW California. There was a thread on the California forum discussing motor insurance and several people claimed that LV don't insure VW Californias


"

They said:

We only insure standard motorcaravans now. Am I able to just confirm that I'm chatting with the Policy Holder today?

Me

The log book defines it as a Motor Caravan and it's not a conversion

I call it a campervan as opposed to the large boxy white motorhomes

They said:

Thank you - this renewed in May 2025 so you're okay for this year. I think that is one that we would still cover but I'm not 100% sure. You would get something before your renewal if we weren't going to insure it.

Me

OK so it's covered for all eventualities then.

They said:

Yes, we still insure them
Correct yes.
Just checked with my colleague.

 

[WelshGas]

I asked "
Morning Leah. My vehicle is insured with you guys. It's a VW California. There was a thread on the California forum discussing motor insurance and several people claimed that LV don't insure VW Californias


"

They said:

We only insure standard motorcaravans now. Am I able to just confirm that I'm chatting with the Policy Holder today?

Me

The log book defines it as a Motor Caravan and it's not a conversion

I call it a campervan as opposed to the large boxy white motorhomes

They said:

Thank you - this renewed in May 2025 so you're okay for this year. I think that is one that we would still cover but I'm not 100% sure. You would get something before your renewal if we weren't going to insure it.

Me

OK so it's covered for all eventualities then.

They said:

Yes, we still insure them
Correct yes.
Just checked with my colleague.

But they still haven't defined whether damage when camping is covered.
eg ;
Awning deployed , roof up, sudden unexpected gust of wind , awning flung up into roof struts and buckles them. ?? Covered
Frying bacon on gas cooker, flames, underside of roof bed catches fire. ?? Covered

These are camping accidents not vehicle accidents.