Terrible Campervan Insurance claim experience! First time post :)

[Calikan]

Hi guys first time poster long time lurker for the last 6 months - first off thanks for the amazing info on this forum has really helped me in buying and now owning my 1st Cali!

I thought i'd just post an unusual / poor experience with campervan insurance situation i've had after buying my first '22 California Coast at the end of March 2024.

Basically we were very happy with our lovely new camper we picked up from Peterborough VW at the end of March - what a machine. From someone who wasnt sure and who likes his fast cars I decided to trade-in my fast and thirsty Merc c43 AMG for a more leasurely experience and have Zero regrets

I decided to opt for Admiral as my insurers for my van - which i now majorly regret and wanted to share my experience. Long story short after less than 2 months I was involved in a no-fault accident and my campervan was written off as a Cat S. Although I was insured with Admiral i decided to claim entirely through the 3rd party that rear-ended me - which turns out was also insured through Admiral.

The experience has been terrible from start to finish. Even though they do their own Campervan insurance they have NO idea how to deal with California claims. I spent the first week, hours on end trying to get a temporary replacement / rental campervan which they could not do, even if they wanted to (long story here alone!). After a whole week (luckily the AA provided me a temp rental during this period) Eventually they provided me a horrible Nissan SUV. By this point they had ground me down so much I went with it. Also due to the fact we had Glastonbury with Campervan tickets booked, and only by escalating right up to the Head of 3rd Party claims on LinkedIn did i finally get them to pay for a rental van for this period when we were away. All the while they spent weeks messing me and my family around and with no settlement figure etc - again because they have no idea how to value Californias - even though as we all know they are a standard factory build 'car'! Worst thing is if they had any common sense they would have saved themselves literally thousands of pounds not having to pay for my replacement hire car and campervan and a whole host of other expenses, and saved me LITERALLY hours of phone calls with agents that have NO idea and are not skilled at all.

Good news is it is finally resolved (though they are still standing by that my van is worth £1500 less than I paid for it less than 2 months ago!) and I am now a proud owner of a California Ocean as a replacement - managed to get a newer 2023 van, with lower mileage, higher Ocean spec and 204hp engine with pretty much every option on PCP for a similar monthly price due to the price drops that have been commented on in the forum

I have now opted for Comfort Insurance - and quoting experience was superb and very quick - and they seem to know what they are talking about. In addition the insurance was also CHEAPER than the Admiral policy I had on my previous Coast! Looking forward to a 2 week trip with my wife and two young kids at the end of July in our new Cali - named Shania after seeing her at Glastonbury )

So TLDR - I would persomally avoid Admiral for campervan insurance - cant comment on general car insurance but can confirm they are NOT setup at all for campervan claims if/when something bad happens. I've spent weeks of my life even though common sense should have prevailed, and so far I would recommend Comfort as an alternative.

Hope this helps people make their minds up on insuring our pride and joys!

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Hi guys first time poster long time lurker for the last 6 months - first off thanks for the amazing info on this forum has really helped me in buying and now owning my 1st Cali!

I thought i'd just post an unusual / poor experience with campervan insurance situation i've had after buying my first '22 California Coast at the end of March 2024.

Basically we were very happy with our lovely new camper we picked up from Peterborough VW at the end of March - what a machine. From someone who wasnt sure and who likes his fast cars I decided to trade-in my fast and thirsty Merc c43 AMG for a more leasurely experience and have Zero regrets

I decided to opt for Admiral as my insurers for my van - which i now majorly regret and wanted to share my experience. Long story short after less than 2 months I was involved in a no-fault accident and my campervan was written off as a Cat S. Although I was insured with Admiral i decided to claim entirely through the 3rd party that rear-ended me - which turns out was also insured through Admiral.

The experience has been terrible from start to finish. Even though they do their own Campervan insurance they have NO idea how to deal with California claims. I spent the first week, hours on end trying to get a temporary replacement / rental campervan which they could not do, even if they wanted to (long story here alone!). After a whole week (luckily the AA provided me a temp rental during this period) Eventually they provided me a horrible Nissan SUV. By this point they had ground me down so much I went with it. Also due to the fact we had Glastonbury with Campervan tickets booked, and only by escalating right up to the Head of 3rd Party claims on LinkedIn did i finally get them to pay for a rental van for this period when we were away. All the while they spent weeks messing me and my family around and with no settlement figure etc - again because they have no idea how to value Californias - even though as we all know they are a standard factory build 'car'! Worst thing is if they had any common sense they would have saved themselves literally thousands of pounds not having to pay for my replacement hire car and campervan and a whole host of other expenses, and saved me LITERALLY hours of phone calls with agents that have NO idea and are not skilled at all.

Good news is it is finally resolved (though they are still standing by that my van is worth £1500 less than I paid for it less than 2 months ago!) and I am now a proud owner of a California Ocean as a replacement - managed to get a newer 2023 van, with lower mileage, higher Ocean spec and 204hp engine with pretty much every option on PCP for a similar monthly price due to the price drops that have been commented on in the forum

I have now opted for Comfort Insurance - and quoting experience was superb and very quick - and they seem to know what they are talking about. In addition the insurance was also CHEAPER than the Admiral policy I had on my previous Coast! Looking forward to a 2 week trip with my wife and two young kids at the end of July in our new Cali - named Shania after seeing her at Glastonbury )

So TLDR - I would persomally avoid Admiral for campervan insurance - cant comment on general car insurance but can confirm they are NOT setup at all for campervan claims if/when something bad happens. I've spent weeks of my life even though common sense should have prevailed, and so far I would recommend Comfort as an alternative.

Hope this helps people make their minds up on insuring our pride and joys!

What a bad experience :-(
Some insurance companies/claims are really poor. Many years ago (late 1970’s) when working in Southwark, I parked my Volvo 245 behind the offices of Theatre Projects in Marshalsea Road. When somebody opened a window on the 4th floor, it was caught by the wind, banged against the brickwork, the glass came out and fell onto my car. So much damage! Anyway, when the insurance assessor came to check my vehicle, he wanted to see the spare wheel. I asked why and he said that if it had been illegal, the claim would not have been paid - Unbelievable!

 

[Grigio Van Grigio]

What a poor experience :-(
Some insurance companies/claims are really poor. Many years ago (late 1970’s) when working in Southwark, I parked my Volvo 245 behind the offices of Theatre Projects in Marshalsea Road. When somebody opened a window on the 4th floor, it was caught by the wind, banged against the brickwork, the glass came out and fell onto my car. So much damage! Anyway, when the insurance assessor came to check my vehicle, he wanted to see the spare wheel. I asked why and he said that if it had been illegal, the claim would not have been paid - Unbelievable!

Your experience in the 70’s, while poor, isn’t relevant to how claims are dealt with today. Contrary to popular belief, insurance companies are not trying to avoid paying valid claims. Their main aim in claims assessment is to treat customers fairly, pay valid claims promptly and ensure fraudulent claims are not paid. But some insurers are definitely better than others. The OP certainly had a poor experience here and hire car costs are one of the things driving all our premiums up. It’s certainly worth seeking out campervan specific insurance so you’ve got less chance of this kind of issue.

Thanks for sharing your experience @Calikan .

 

[Californication69]

Hi guys first time poster long time lurker for the last 6 months - first off thanks for the amazing info on this forum has really helped me in buying and now owning my 1st Cali!

I thought i'd just post an unusual / poor experience with campervan insurance situation i've had after buying my first '22 California Coast at the end of March 2024.

Basically we were very happy with our lovely new camper we picked up from Peterborough VW at the end of March - what a machine. From someone who wasnt sure and who likes his fast cars I decided to trade-in my fast and thirsty Merc c43 AMG for a more leasurely experience and have Zero regrets

I decided to opt for Admiral as my insurers for my van - which i now majorly regret and wanted to share my experience. Long story short after less than 2 months I was involved in a no-fault accident and my campervan was written off as a Cat S. Although I was insured with Admiral i decided to claim entirely through the 3rd party that rear-ended me - which turns out was also insured through Admiral.

The experience has been terrible from start to finish. Even though they do their own Campervan insurance they have NO idea how to deal with California claims. I spent the first week, hours on end trying to get a temporary replacement / rental campervan which they could not do, even if they wanted to (long story here alone!). After a whole week (luckily the AA provided me a temp rental during this period) Eventually they provided me a horrible Nissan SUV. By this point they had ground me down so much I went with it. Also due to the fact we had Glastonbury with Campervan tickets booked, and only by escalating right up to the Head of 3rd Party claims on LinkedIn did i finally get them to pay for a rental van for this period when we were away. All the while they spent weeks messing me and my family around and with no settlement figure etc - again because they have no idea how to value Californias - even though as we all know they are a standard factory build 'car'! Worst thing is if they had any common sense they would have saved themselves literally thousands of pounds not having to pay for my replacement hire car and campervan and a whole host of other expenses, and saved me LITERALLY hours of phone calls with agents that have NO idea and are not skilled at all.

Good news is it is finally resolved (though they are still standing by that my van is worth £1500 less than I paid for it less than 2 months ago!) and I am now a proud owner of a California Ocean as a replacement - managed to get a newer 2023 van, with lower mileage, higher Ocean spec and 204hp engine with pretty much every option on PCP for a similar monthly price due to the price drops that have been commented on in the forum

I have now opted for Comfort Insurance - and quoting experience was superb and very quick - and they seem to know what they are talking about. In addition the insurance was also CHEAPER than the Admiral policy I had on my previous Coast! Looking forward to a 2 week trip with my wife and two young kids at the end of July in our new Cali - named Shania after seeing her at Glastonbury )

So TLDR - I would persomally avoid Admiral for campervan insurance - cant comment on general car insurance but can confirm they are NOT setup at all for campervan claims if/when something bad happens. I've spent weeks of my life even though common sense should have prevailed, and so far I would recommend Comfort as an alternative.

Hope this helps people make their minds up on insuring our pride and joys!

What a nightmare.
That’s why stay away from Admiral.
Daughter had same experience with house break in. They are awful.
I enjoy paying a little extra with Comfort and NFU for the peace of mind if something happens they are decent companies.

 

[Grigio Van Grigio]

Unfortunately Comfort won’t insure me, I suspect mainly because I have to park on the road. Got a quote through Safeguard this morning. Half the price of the VW renewal quote following the 12 months free but still around £900. I used Safeguard for 10 years to insure my previous van. Excellent claims and customer service. I would recommend them.

 

[Corradobrit]

When both parties are covered by the same insurer that could mean there are some conflicts. Ultimately if comes down to effective processes and personnel in the Claims Dept.

 

[Mehdime]

When both parties are covered by the same insurer that could mean there are some conflicts. Ultimately if comes down to effective processes and personnel in the Claims Dept.

Would that not make it easier? It means that no matter who “wins”, it’s Admiral who has to pay anyway - so might as well skip to the end?

 

[Corradobrit]

Would that not make it easier? It means that no matter who “wins”, it’s Admiral who has to pay anyway - so might as well skip to the end?

Yes, but they may put up more obstacles to a 'fair' settlement, as appears to have been the situation here.

 

[Pegsinho]

Good news is it is finally resolved (though they are still standing by that my van is worth £1500 less than I paid for it less than 2 months ago!) and I am now a proud owner of a California Ocean as a replacement - managed to get a newer 2023 van, with lower mileage, higher Ocean spec and 204hp engine with pretty much every option on PCP for a similar monthly price due to the price drops that have been commented on in the forum

Not to take anything away from what definitely seems like a bad experience in the replacement hire car department, but what you are saying in the section quoted above is that you disagree that the value of your vehicle has dropped after two months, despite being able to acquire a vehicle two months later at a substantially lower price than what you paid originally?

In any case hopefully you'll have some trouble free motoring for quite some time after that!

 

[Agnes_Cali]

I spent half an hour on the phone with Admiral, who couldn't understand that they have California categorised as a car, not a van or motorhome. It was extra difficult, because they couldn't pull it up by plate, since it wasn't registered yet.
I was told, I will get courtesy car for 7 passengers in case of accident.
I don't really care for getting replacement campervan, because I have 4x4 which works as my trip car too.

I chose Admiral, because it was very flexible with parking location, commuting, business use, etc. All other camper specialists were more expensive and less flexible.

 

[ArunAlec]

I spent half an hour on the phone with Admiral, who couldn't understand that they have California categorised as a car, not a van or motorhome. It was extra difficult, because they couldn't pull it up by plate, since it wasn't registered yet.
I was told, I will get courtesy car for 7 passengers in case of accident.
I don't really car for getting replacement campervan, because I have 4x4 which works as my trip car too.

I chose Admiral, because it was very flexible with parking location, commuting, business use, etc. All other camper specialists were more expensive and less flexible.

I had similar difficulties when I was with Admiral, they didn’t give me any confidence that the understood “campervans” and any potential claim for a “camping “ accident….. so back to Comfort!

 

[Ch1pbutty]

I had a different experience with Admiral. Got rear ended outside our house whilst turning into our driveway (60mph road). BMW pushed a Corsa into the back of the Cali.

Called Admiral, shared the dashcam footage (as the g-sensor recorded the rear impact, but showed we were doing 2mph). They said the claim would go against the corsa, who would claim against the BMW.

They asked if we wanted to claim off our policy, or the third party. Told them ours as then the van would be fixed immediately, and would reclaim cost back later from third party. Didn’t need a hire car as we have a 2nd car.

VW approved repair company called same day and asked for photos, picked van from the house following Monday and delivered back to us a week later.

For me it was good service.

 

[KevH]

Specialist vehicle demands specialist insurer in my view.

 

[Calikan]

Not to take anything away from what definitely seems like a bad experience in the replacement hire car department, but what you are saying in the section quoted above is that you disagree that the value of your vehicle has dropped after two months, despite being able to acquire a vehicle two months later at a substantially lower price than what you paid originally?

In any case hopefully you'll have some trouble free motoring for quite some time after that!

Good point on valuations to be fair i'll take that!

The major frustration was nobody would take ownership and listen (albiet quite a unique scenario with a holiday booked in a campervan) with common sense - and because the way their contact centre is setup you end up going through the same story over and over again and getting passed from one agent to another - very poor customer experience. Nobody took any ownership until I had to escalate up to the top!

Anyway hope this at least helps people in their 2nd most important decision when buying/owning their Cali!

Loving the forum by the way, particularly liking the person who is currently doing a blog on their tour of France very useful for us in a few weeks

 

[Californication69]

Good point on valuations to be fair i'll take that!

The major frustration was nobody would take ownership and listen (albiet quite a unique scenario with a holiday booked in a campervan) with common sense - and because the way their contact centre is setup you end up going through the same story over and over again and getting passed from one agent to another - very poor customer experience. Nobody took any ownership until I had to escalate up to the top!

Anyway hope this at least helps people in their 2nd most important decision when buying/owning their Cali!

Loving the forum by the way, particularly liking the person who is currently doing a blog on their tour of France very useful for us in a few weeks

The forum is a plethora of knowledge

 

[Peter & Christine]

Hi guys first time poster long time lurker for the last 6 months - first off thanks for the amazing info on this forum has really helped me in buying and now owning my 1st Cali!

I thought i'd just post an unusual / poor experience with campervan insurance situation i've had after buying my first '22 California Coast at the end of March 2024.

Basically we were very happy with our lovely new camper we picked up from Peterborough VW at the end of March - what a machine. From someone who wasnt sure and who likes his fast cars I decided to trade-in my fast and thirsty Merc c43 AMG for a more leasurely experience and have Zero regrets

I decided to opt for Admiral as my insurers for my van - which i now majorly regret and wanted to share my experience. Long story short after less than 2 months I was involved in a no-fault accident and my campervan was written off as a Cat S. Although I was insured with Admiral i decided to claim entirely through the 3rd party that rear-ended me - which turns out was also insured through Admiral.

The experience has been terrible from start to finish. Even though they do their own Campervan insurance they have NO idea how to deal with California claims. I spent the first week, hours on end trying to get a temporary replacement / rental campervan which they could not do, even if they wanted to (long story here alone!). After a whole week (luckily the AA provided me a temp rental during this period) Eventually they provided me a horrible Nissan SUV. By this point they had ground me down so much I went with it. Also due to the fact we had Glastonbury with Campervan tickets booked, and only by escalating right up to the Head of 3rd Party claims on LinkedIn did i finally get them to pay for a rental van for this period when we were away. All the while they spent weeks messing me and my family around and with no settlement figure etc - again because they have no idea how to value Californias - even though as we all know they are a standard factory build 'car'! Worst thing is if they had any common sense they would have saved themselves literally thousands of pounds not having to pay for my replacement hire car and campervan and a whole host of other expenses, and saved me LITERALLY hours of phone calls with agents that have NO idea and are not skilled at all.

Good news is it is finally resolved (though they are still standing by that my van is worth £1500 less than I paid for it less than 2 months ago!) and I am now a proud owner of a California Ocean as a replacement - managed to get a newer 2023 van, with lower mileage, higher Ocean spec and 204hp engine with pretty much every option on PCP for a similar monthly price due to the price drops that have been commented on in the forum

I have now opted for Comfort Insurance - and quoting experience was superb and very quick - and they seem to know what they are talking about. In addition the insurance was also CHEAPER than the Admiral policy I had on my previous Coast! Looking forward to a 2 week trip with my wife and two young kids at the end of July in our new Cali - named Shania after seeing her at Glastonbury )

So TLDR - I would persomally avoid Admiral for campervan insurance - cant comment on general car insurance but can confirm they are NOT setup at all for campervan claims if/when something bad happens. I've spent weeks of my life even though common sense should have prevailed, and so far I would recommend Comfort as an alternative.

Hope this helps people make their minds up on insuring our pride and joys!

I have renewed my insurance via APlan (Holden). They were recommended by VW commercial vans in Woburn and were very easy to deal with . They understand campervan insurance and work as a broker to get you the best price. I haven’t made a claim but they did give me confidence it was there area of expertise AND you speak to a person.

I was insured by Admiral and getting to speak to someone In renewal process was impossible. Made me walk away and pleased now that I did - thank you for sharing your experience

 

[Autumn]

I spent half an hour on the phone with Admiral, who couldn't understand that they have California categorised as a car, not a van or motorhome. It was extra difficult, because they couldn't pull it up by plate, since it wasn't registered yet.
I was told, I will get courtesy car for 7 passengers in case of accident.
I don't really care for getting replacement campervan, because I have 4x4 which works as my trip car too.

I chose Admiral, because it was very flexible with parking location, commuting, business use, etc. All other camper specialists were more expensive and less flexible.

When I talked to them about insuring,as soon as I asked if they were aware my van has gas permanently on board, they refused to quote.

 

[mattydon]

Hi guys first time poster long time lurker for the last 6 months - first off thanks for the amazing info on this forum has really helped me in buying and now owning my 1st Cali!

I thought i'd just post an unusual / poor experience with campervan insurance situation i've had after buying my first '22 California Coast at the end of March 2024.

Basically we were very happy with our lovely new camper we picked up from Peterborough VW at the end of March - what a machine. From someone who wasnt sure and who likes his fast cars I decided to trade-in my fast and thirsty Merc c43 AMG for a more leasurely experience and have Zero regrets

I decided to opt for Admiral as my insurers for my van - which i now majorly regret and wanted to share my experience. Long story short after less than 2 months I was involved in a no-fault accident and my campervan was written off as a Cat S. Although I was insured with Admiral i decided to claim entirely through the 3rd party that rear-ended me - which turns out was also insured through Admiral.

The experience has been terrible from start to finish. Even though they do their own Campervan insurance they have NO idea how to deal with California claims. I spent the first week, hours on end trying to get a temporary replacement / rental campervan which they could not do, even if they wanted to (long story here alone!). After a whole week (luckily the AA provided me a temp rental during this period) Eventually they provided me a horrible Nissan SUV. By this point they had ground me down so much I went with it. Also due to the fact we had Glastonbury with Campervan tickets booked, and only by escalating right up to the Head of 3rd Party claims on LinkedIn did i finally get them to pay for a rental van for this period when we were away. All the while they spent weeks messing me and my family around and with no settlement figure etc - again because they have no idea how to value Californias - even though as we all know they are a standard factory build 'car'! Worst thing is if they had any common sense they would have saved themselves literally thousands of pounds not having to pay for my replacement hire car and campervan and a whole host of other expenses, and saved me LITERALLY hours of phone calls with agents that have NO idea and are not skilled at all.

Good news is it is finally resolved (though they are still standing by that my van is worth £1500 less than I paid for it less than 2 months ago!) and I am now a proud owner of a California Ocean as a replacement - managed to get a newer 2023 van, with lower mileage, higher Ocean spec and 204hp engine with pretty much every option on PCP for a similar monthly price due to the price drops that have been commented on in the forum

I have now opted for Comfort Insurance - and quoting experience was superb and very quick - and they seem to know what they are talking about. In addition the insurance was also CHEAPER than the Admiral policy I had on my previous Coast! Looking forward to a 2 week trip with my wife and two young kids at the end of July in our new Cali - named Shania after seeing her at Glastonbury )

So TLDR - I would persomally avoid Admiral for campervan insurance - cant comment on general car insurance but can confirm they are NOT setup at all for campervan claims if/when something bad happens. I've spent weeks of my life even though common sense should have prevailed, and so far I would recommend Comfort as an alternative.

Hope this helps people make their minds up on insuring our pride and joys!

Sorry to hear about this painful experience. Can I ask what premium you are paying for your insurance? I have a '22 Ocean and think my insurance is high but I have not found many insurers for campervans

 

[soulstyledevon]

Unfortunately Comfort won’t insure me, I suspect mainly because I have to park on the road. Got a quote through Safeguard this morning. Half the price of the VW renewal quote following the 12 months free but still around £900. I used Safeguard for 10 years to insure my previous van. Excellent claims and customer service. I would recommend them.

I’ve been insured with Comfort for 6 years.
Ended a policy with them last September, went to start another in May.
Wouldn’t insure me.
15 years+ no claims, no points on my license, vehicle kept on a driveway behind access controlled gates.

Ended up insuring with caravan guard.

 

[derek_j_buchanan]

Hi guys first time poster long time lurker for the last 6 months - first off thanks for the amazing info on this forum has really helped me in buying and now owning my 1st Cali!

I thought i'd just post an unusual / poor experience with campervan insurance situation i've had after buying my first '22 California Coast at the end of March 2024.

Basically we were very happy with our lovely new camper we picked up from Peterborough VW at the end of March - what a machine. From someone who wasnt sure and who likes his fast cars I decided to trade-in my fast and thirsty Merc c43 AMG for a more leasurely experience and have Zero regrets

I decided to opt for Admiral as my insurers for my van - which i now majorly regret and wanted to share my experience. Long story short after less than 2 months I was involved in a no-fault accident and my campervan was written off as a Cat S. Although I was insured with Admiral i decided to claim entirely through the 3rd party that rear-ended me - which turns out was also insured through Admiral.

The experience has been terrible from start to finish. Even though they do their own Campervan insurance they have NO idea how to deal with California claims. I spent the first week, hours on end trying to get a temporary replacement / rental campervan which they could not do, even if they wanted to (long story here alone!). After a whole week (luckily the AA provided me a temp rental during this period) Eventually they provided me a horrible Nissan SUV. By this point they had ground me down so much I went with it. Also due to the fact we had Glastonbury with Campervan tickets booked, and only by escalating right up to the Head of 3rd Party claims on LinkedIn did i finally get them to pay for a rental van for this period when we were away. All the while they spent weeks messing me and my family around and with no settlement figure etc - again because they have no idea how to value Californias - even though as we all know they are a standard factory build 'car'! Worst thing is if they had any common sense they would have saved themselves literally thousands of pounds not having to pay for my replacement hire car and campervan and a whole host of other expenses, and saved me LITERALLY hours of phone calls with agents that have NO idea and are not skilled at all.

Good news is it is finally resolved (though they are still standing by that my van is worth £1500 less than I paid for it less than 2 months ago!) and I am now a proud owner of a California Ocean as a replacement - managed to get a newer 2023 van, with lower mileage, higher Ocean spec and 204hp engine with pretty much every option on PCP for a similar monthly price due to the price drops that have been commented on in the forum

I have now opted for Comfort Insurance - and quoting experience was superb and very quick - and they seem to know what they are talking about. In addition the insurance was also CHEAPER than the Admiral policy I had on my previous Coast! Looking forward to a 2 week trip with my wife and two young kids at the end of July in our new Cali - named Shania after seeing her at Glastonbury )

So TLDR - I would persomally avoid Admiral for campervan insurance - cant comment on general car insurance but can confirm they are NOT setup at all for campervan claims if/when something bad happens. I've spent weeks of my life even though common sense should have prevailed, and so far I would recommend Comfort as an alternative.

Hope this helps people make their minds up on insuring our pride and joys!

Have always used the club insurance. My father in law had a great experience with saga when he majorly messed up his parallel parking. He got more for the car than he’d have got selling it before the accident and he had the cash within a week.

 

[Grigio Van Grigio]

I have renewed my insurance via APlan (Holden). They were recommended by VW commercial vans in Woburn and were very easy to deal with . They understand campervan insurance and work as a broker to get you the best price. I haven’t made a claim but they did give me confidence it was there area of expertise AND you speak to a person.

I was insured by Admiral and getting to speak to someone In renewal process was impossible. Made me walk away and pleased now that I did - thank you for sharing your experience

A-Plan (now Howden) are an insurance broker and it can pay to speak to brokers who know their stuff and have access to multiple insurers in the market. Do you know who your insurer is?

 

[Corradobrit]

When I talked to them about insuring,as soon as I asked if they were aware my van has gas permanently on board, they refused to quote.

Were they aware the gas storage was not permanently attached to the vehicle like an LPG tank? I would consider a Campingaz bottle to be classed as removable and therefore not subject to the restriction.

 

[Autumn]

Were they aware the gas storage was not permanently attached to the vehicle like an LPG tank? I would consider a Campingaz bottle to be classed as removable and therefore not subject to the restriction.

If they are insuring campervans, they should be aware of why we have gas canisters. They knew it is diesel, so why would I have permanent LPG. But it as if it is permanent as I never travel without it fully attached and piped in, although turned off. I did not want to a contract with them. Because it is clear they'd not know what theyare insuring. I talk about the gas and the kitchen area with anyone I approached and am happy with Comfort, and was also with Safeguard

 

[Pengranger]

As someone who has worked in insurance, always buy legal cover. If you’re not at fault, always let your insurer deal with repairs or valuations, as you have clearer rights to approach the Ombudsman. Whilst I HATE credit hire firms, they will have got you a hired campervan and charged the earth for it, and that’s likely to make the insurer focus on a quick outcome. Having the same insurer for both parties is unlikely to have helped you, but ultimately it sounds like poor processes were against you from the start. Admiral are a good company, but they just didn’t deliver.

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

Please try Caravan Guard, motorhome specialists....I have and I was pleasantly surprised