Admiral insurance

[VWTOM]

Hi,

We should be getting our first California SE later this week.

Firstly, thanks to the forum for providing a very useful source of information.

Secondly, I am trying to work out what insurance to get.

Admiral have provided the cheapest quote and it is c. £200 cheaper then the specialist alternative. I get the fact that specialist providers will cover the extras in the back of a California but I am not sure why I would need this cover?

Admiral have confirmed that in the event of the vehicle being written off they would pay us the market value of a replacement, hence we do effectively have cover for the camping items in the back (because they would be included in the market price of a California).

In the end I will pay extra for the specialist cover if there is a solid reason to do so but don't want to pay £450 vs £250 simply on the logic of you get what you pay for.

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[Kirk]

Our quote was only £240 with Safeguard via club discount, when we tried Direct Line they said nothing behind the drivers seat would be covered so if there was a fire in the kitchen area for example they would not pay out.

Not worth this risk TBH, the Cali is a specialised vehicle at the end of the day and it is worth getting the correct insurance.

 

[Andy]

If you have an own fault accident that damages the kitchen Admiral will not pay for those repairs. Only the van.: The kitchen / wardrobe unit is very expensive.
Comfort, Safeguard etc will pay for all to be repaired.
Your choice.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[snowy55]

Can't understand when people spend best part of £50k and then want to "save" a couple of hundred quid on insurance that may or may not be correct! !
And thats coming from a Yorkshire man.

 

[VWTOM]

OK, thanks both.

My interpretation is that admiral would cover me in full for the worst case situation of a crash and written off California.

But they won't pay out for various other scenarios in which we damage the camping part of the van.

Safeguard gave me a very high quote of over £800. Despite being in my late 30's I have never owned a vehicle or had insurance in my name as our car has always been in my wife's name. Admiral (£250) and Caravan Guard (£450) will both consider the fact that despite having zero no claims, I have never claimed as a named driver.

 

[VWTOM]

Can't understand when people spend best part of £50k and then want to "save" a couple of hundred quid on insurance that may or may not be correct! !
And thats coming from a Yorkshire man.

My point of view is that a couple of hundred pounds is a lot of money to spend if there is little reason to do so. Hence my question, I am trying to understand what additional benefit I will get for the higher premium.

Thanks

 

[johnyboy]

post removed by poster having re read!!!

 

[blakeley]

My point of view is that a couple of hundred pounds is a lot of money to spend if there is little reason to do so. Hence my question, I am trying to understand what additional benefit I will get for the higher premium.

Thanks

I guess a lot of the time you will only find out when you come to put a claim in. If I was insuring with a non specialised insurer I would ask for something in writing to say the habitation side of things is covered.

You need to think to yourself,what if I have small prang and a dent needs to be removed from the nearside? This could involve removing the whole kitchen, or maybe what if you have a rear shunt and it cracks the wardrobe? would Admiral pay for this?

 

[VWTOM]

I see what you mean Blakeley. I can appreciate how it could get complicated with an insurer that doesn't cover the habituation side.

Suppose it is a judgement as to whether to self-insure against such scenarios, but at least have the comfort that one isn't going to suffer a total loss if the vehicle is written off whilst being driven or stolen.

 

[WelshGas]

Have you tried the Caravan Club. They know what the California SE is, unlike some insurers, and everything is covered including all the camping extras, awnings/sleeping bags etc:

 

[VWTOM]

Thanks all for the advice.

 

[briwy]

We were with Admiral last year on a multi car policy. They paid up with no fuss when we had a prang with a bollard in Spain and let me use my preferred body shop. I looked very carefully at the policy and nowhere did it state that any part of the van wasn't covered so as far as I was concerned it covered the habitation part as well. I think they would be on sticky ground to refuse unless the policy specifically states it's not covered.
However on renewal the policy shot up £250 even though my no claims was protected. The others cars on the policy also went up dramatically so as usual we shopped around for a better price and ended up with Lifesure.

 

[Martynl123]

From memory the admiral policy does have a clause that they only cover £500 worth of non standard items in the habitation area including your camping gear. As the habitation fittings are all standard then these should be covered.

 

[Mags21]

We are insured with Zurich - premium about £250. I have been through the policy with a fine tooth-comb and nowhere does it say that any part of the vehicle is not covered. Only exclusion is any non standard fittings/accessories not part of manufacturers normal spec for the vehicle.They know surely, or they should do, if they are offering to insure these vehicles what a California is and therefore what is inside the vehicle. There are no endorsements to the standard policy wording so I can't see how they can refuse a claim no matter how it arises.Only restriction is personal effects at £250 which is low but our home insurance policy would pick up here in the event of a claim.

 

[Andy]

Despite policy not saying habitation equipmet is excluded they will not pay for it to be replaced by stating it is insured as a van. You will ha e a fight on your hands. I have claimed on admiral & they were useless, draged their heals & i had to push ring them daily.
possibly could end up paying for replacema.t kitchen & fitting yourself 1000s of £. Not where i want to be.

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[Mags21]

I hear what you say and I have had some concerns about this since I took out the policy in March. I think Zurich would have a case to answer in the event of a claim, they are quite clearly covering a VW California which they should know is not a van.I have not misled them and they should know what this vehicle is - that's what their underwriters get paid to do - calculate a fair and reasonable premium for each vehicle depending on its value, repairs costs, usage etc etc. I think I will phone and clarify with them - although that could open up a can of worms. Best find out now though I guess and they can void the policy "ab initio" if they are unable to state clearly what is/is not covered.

 

[craig j]

I checked with admiral on Friday when I was getting a quote and they confirmed that they cover the habitation as it is part of the standard vehicle.

 

[Mags21]

Thanks for the info, I hope Zurich do too!

 

[Cadhay]

I went with Admiral in May as an existing customer and took multi car policy as cheapest. Worse decision of my life!

We have had the worst 2 weeks of fighting with Admiral after the theft of our Cali in October (I'm the Burton theft).

Admiral will pay market value for the van and standard factory accessories. If you add anything like dealer fitted items like we did (bike rack for example), then get separate cover as a modification. Admiral wont cover these. I fought hard and they eventually upped market value as I had said at time they were there but Admiral had not disclosed them in the Policy

Admiral only cover £500 for anything else so empty your van. Luckily my home insurance covered a lot of household contents as theft from garden but not the specific campervan related items like Cali topper / gas bottle as home insurance say this is car related.

If you have VW GAP insurance they will then shaft you as the market value payout for the van including accessories from the insurer is then taken againt the net invoice price excluding dealer fitted accessories, so you then loose all value on these items. Recommend you find an alternative GAP insurer than VW

 

[WelshGas]

Caravan Club offer 2 years GAP insurance on new vans. Use the Dealers Invoice for Vehicle Value and a significant camping contents valuation. Not the cheapest but one of the best in my opinion.

Some years ago bought a 7 berth, 25' new caravan. End of season. First trip out it was side swiped on the M4 by a coach. Written off. CC replaced with the new year model, direct from manufacturer. All camping gear that couldn't be recovered/re-used was replaced under their GAP Section.

Look on the bright side. You are all ok. You can get a new T6 or nearly new T5.

 

[zoki]

Having been in the car industry myself, GAP insurance earns very high commission when a vehicle is sold, it has also had very very bad press within the automotive press over the last few years . If you are really set on taking out GAP insurance I suggest you ask what the insurer has paid out under the freedom of information act.

 

[Freeley]

Comfort are always the lowest price for me come renewal time and cover everything so seems like a no brainer.
Price has stayed exactly the same for the last 2 renewals as well, always annoys me when premiums go up every year.

Sent from my Galaxy S6

 

[Ewan]

Having tried to get a quote from Admiral today they informed me that they won't insure the Cali SE. I told them that others were insured by them ... but the system said "no" !

I have been with Scenic but they now say that they won't provide any cover if you leave the van at a secure airport carpark for over 24 hours (won't even give permission if you notify them in advance). So that's a non-starter.

Safeguard won't insure colleagues if I take them in the van when on business (and were significantly more expensive) so it's back to Comfort for me.

 

[DebsWhite]

Thanks for the heads up on the bike rack. I have just insured with admiral, they confirmed all standard fittings are covered and that contents are covered up to £500.

 

[Meoncoast]

freedom of information act.

I thought this only applies to government departments