Trying to feel the 'Comfort' of my Comfort Cover

[Jaydub]

we took out comfort insurance last night.

 

[CaliPuds]

I have been called by Aviva this morning by my Claims Handler who is a genuinely lovely Chap, to say that the original garage who was going to have it on Tuesday, didn't take it originally because for some reason the instruction didn't get through. The second time they were contact by Aviva, they said that they wouldn't take the vehicle as it is a camper van. This garage have now been talked in to taking it by Aviva, but they cant pick it up until Monday.

I have been warned that there is a technical hitch for parts being delivered by VW so this repair could take some considerable time to be carried out. Apparently this is down to VW having changed their courier people and the new ones are letting them down. I'm not sure that at this point I really want to know that but I suppose I appreciate the honesty..

I questioned the whole Aviva/Comfort thing, and apparently Comfort (not his words, but this is how I interpret it), is the broker with a glossy web site with pictures of camper vans, which lulls you to take it up with them, but I am assured that Aviva always deal with the claims... the ones with the 5 * rating who dont deal with camper vans.

My Claims Handler is being sympathetic and tells me that how this is being carried out is being taken up and highlighted with Management. In the meantime my vehicle is sat in the office car park facing on to a road taking a poking from anyone wanting to see the inside of a front of the cali, and theres absolutely nothing I can do about it.

Is your vehicle driveable? Can you not take it to a repair company of your choice (this is your legal right).... a couple of years ago I asked Breeze in Poole who they would recommend for Cali repairs and they said Poole Accident, which is very near to you. They have a lot of experience of Californias (and other high end vehicles). Maybe worth a chat with them whilst you are waiting for Aviva to sort themselves out?

 

[Georgiegirl]

If the Insurance section of the forum is sponsored by Comfort can someone from the company give us a definitive answer to the question of whether a California ocean is covered? Getting decidedly nervous about the policy I bought yesterday for the new vehicle I’m collecting next week!

 

[GrannyJen]

If the Insurance section of the forum is sponsored by Comfort can someone from the company give us a definitive answer to the question of whether a California ocean is covered? Getting decidedly nervous about the policy I bought yesterday for the new vehicle I’m collecting next week!

A California is covered. Your insurance certificate when you receive it will confirm that.

The insurance product offered by Comfort is underwritten by Aviva same as the insurance product you buy from any other broker will be underwritten by one of the major insurance companies. I have recently had two quotes via the Caravan club, one underwritten by Aviva, another by Axa!

I have had my vehicles insured by Comfort for the last 5 years and I have no need to be concerned that my vehicle is not covered.

What is the issue here is that the handling of this claim appears to have been a total mess.Why the insured is having to talk to the underwriting company and not the broker is unclear and unsatisfactory. Why she has not been directed swiftly to a VW approved bodyshop is also unclear and unsatisfactory. As an individual customer of Comfort I am not happy.

This is not the way it should have happened, it is reflecting very poorly on them but of course they cannot discuss or report on individual claims with anyone else but the insured, quite rightly.

 

[leightonjthomas]

Slightly off topic but I thought I'd share with you something that happened just the day before yesterday.
We were heading up into the south downs via the B2141 near Chilgrove when two fully grown deer leapt in front of us. I slammed on and managed to avoid the first one but there was no chance with the second which I hit broadside on with my near side front wing. I ran back to the poor animal which was taking its last breaths in the road. A woman travelling the other way stopped and quickly gave me the number of her husband who works at a local farm. She couldn't stay for more than a couple of minutes as she had children in the car but it seemed like good advice so I rang her husband and left a voicemail. Eventually I spoke to him and he reassured me that it happens all the time and that he would ring the park rangers who would remove the deer. (It was still there three hours later when we passed it going home.)
And now to the damage.....I dreaded going round the front to look at my beloved Cali but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a couple of panels hanging out but no damage to wheel, windscreen, headlight, sensor, underneath etc.
I felt that I ought to report it so I rang Comfort and spoke to Aviva(!). I wasn't surprised as I had already assumed that Comfort were just acting as brokers. Details were taken and I said that I would take it to a trusted local body shop (my choice) for an estimate. My excess is £200 and I said that, if the damage was less than or close to this, I would ring back and cancel the claim. Had there been damage to specialist equipment I would have contacted Breeze VW Vans.
By the time I got to the body shop later that day I had managed to press back the panels with no gaps in between, leaving just one panel that needs to be replaced. The body shop owner couldn't believe how lucky I was - the previous day he had dealt with a similar incident where the cost was over £2k. So, the cost will be less than my excess and I will pay for it myself.
However, when I rang Aviva to cancel the claim he was unable to assure me that this would not affect the cost of any future premiums as the information was now on a national data base, accessible to all companies. He advised me to ring Saga, who insure my Golf, to let them know. Saga confirmed that it would not affect my premium with them as I was a current customer but, if I left to use a different company, or if my policy with them lapsed, the accident might well have an effect on future premiums.
Normally I would not have been so quick to report the accident but, as I had killed a very large animal, I suppose I felt I needed to tell someone - my mistake! So, if you are involved in an accident with another vehicle you should notify your company (I know that in practice many claims are sorted out privately). But, if there is no other vehicle involved, do NOT report it unless you are certain that you intend to claim i.e. get a rough estimate first.
I'm annoyed with myself for jumping the gun because the entry on the data base is an indicator that I am now more of a risk than I was two days ago, which is ludicrous. Mostly though, I'm grateful that no-one else was hurt and that it is a straightforward repair.

 

[leightonjthomas]

Slightly off topic but I thought I'd share with you something that happened just the day before yesterday.
We were heading up into the south downs via the B2141 near Chilgrove when two fully grown deer leapt in front of us. I slammed on and managed to avoid the first one but there was no chance with the second which I hit broadside on with my near side front wing. I ran back to the poor animal which was taking its last breaths in the road. A woman travelling the other way stopped and quickly gave me the number of her husband who works at a local farm. She couldn't stay for more than a couple of minutes as she had children in the car but it seemed like good advice so I rang her husband and left a voicemail. Eventually I spoke to him and he reassured me that it happens all the time and that he would ring the park rangers who would remove the deer. (It was still there three hours later when we passed it going home.)
And now to the damage.....I dreaded going round the front to look at my beloved Cali but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a couple of panels hanging out but no damage to wheel, windscreen, headlight, sensor, underneath etc.
I felt that I ought to report it so I rang Comfort and spoke to Aviva(!). I wasn't surprised as I had already assumed that Comfort were just acting as brokers. Details were taken and I said that I would take it to a trusted local body shop (my choice) for an estimate. My excess is £200 and I said that, if the damage was less than or close to this, I would ring back and cancel the claim. Had there been damage to specialist equipment I would have contacted Breeze VW Vans.
By the time I got to the body shop later that day I had managed to press back the panels with no gaps in between, leaving just one panel that needs to be replaced. The body shop owner couldn't believe how lucky I was - the previous day he had dealt with a similar incident where the cost was over £2k. So, the cost will be less than my excess and I will pay for it myself.
However, when I rang Aviva to cancel the claim he was unable to assure me that this would not affect the cost of any future premiums as the information was now on a national data base, accessible to all companies. He advised me to ring Saga, who insure my Golf, to let them know. Saga confirmed that it would not affect my premium with them as I was a current customer but, if I left to use a different company, or if my policy with them lapsed, the accident might well have an effect on future premiums.
Normally I would not have been so quick to report the accident but, as I had killed a very large animal, I suppose I felt I needed to tell someone - my mistake! So, if you are involved in an accident with another vehicle you should notify your company (I know that in practice many claims are sorted out privately). But, if there is no other vehicle involved, do NOT report it unless you are certain that you intend to claim i.e. get a rough estimate first.
I'm annoyed with myself for jumping the gun because the entry on the data base is an indicator that I am now more of a risk than I was two days ago, which is ludicrous. Mostly though, I'm grateful that no-one else was hurt and that it is a straightforward repair.

I forgot to mention that I didn’t leave the deer in the road. I dragged it onto the verge for obvious reasons. I hope it’s been collected by now.

 

[ArunAlec]

I forgot to mention that I didn’t leave the deer in the road. I dragged it onto the verge for obvious reasons. I hope it’s been collected by now.

If it's a Highways Dept route, they are pretty quick at removing large roadkill, if notified. I found a deer in the verge of the A27, gave them a call and it was removed.

 

[Open_road!]

Is your vehicle driveable? Can you not take it to a repair company of your choice (this is your legal right).... a couple of years ago I asked Breeze in Poole who they would recommend for Cali repairs and they said Poole Accident, which is very near to you. They have a lot of experience of Californias (and other high end vehicles). Maybe worth a chat with them whilst you are waiting for Aviva to sort themselves out?

The Cali is not drivable in (my opinion), but Aviva haven't inspected it, so I have had to continue to insist on a tow. I could gaffer tape the body work infront off the offside wheel to be able to make it move, but I'm not confident that there isn't something else wrong with it. The need for a tow has never been questioned by them, its the problem of not having a garage on their list content to work on a camper van.
In hindsight, yes, I should have just left the vehicle blocking the lane where it was hit. If this was to happen again, I wouldn't try and be helpful to anyone and I'd just leave it in situ.
The vehicle is being collected on Monday, (between the hours of 1 and 4) - so, not working Monday, I have to entertain my three year old in the office until the tow truck turns up - just a minor annoyance in the whole thing!
I run my own business with a 3 year old at home. Life's pretty busy! - I personally have decided to stick with Comfort, (cough, Aviva), as thats who I chose to insure the van. I dont have the time to be dealing with a number of people on what is really a minor crunch on a T5. They should be able to deal with this in a timely manner. Thats their day job. If I go somewhere else then Aviva wont stand accountable for the standard of repair. I'm not having that with my pride and joy. I happily admit to giving it a hug and a kiss on the roadside, and telling the other driver that beyond my Daughter there was probably nothing in life I love more.....
I'm expecting it to come back gleaming from its garage trip.
The other driver has only passed her test in the last year. Yes, it was completely her fault and thats not disputed, but theres no way that I will be pressing for replacement like for like vehicles or anything like that. Thats just mean on the girls future insurance.
Im not an unreasonable person, and certainly not a keyboard warrior! - just reporting it as it happens.
I'm sure that from Monday they will be keeping in touch and returning it just as soon as they can.

 

[CaliPuds]

Sorry if I wasn‘t clear in my post: I was basically recommending a local (to you) repair company who I know have experience of Californias and who are also recommended by the local VW Commercial Van Centre and who do very high quality work. I mentioned them because in one of your earlier posts you were asking for suggestions as to who could deal with your repair (I think; apologies if I misunderstood). All this is separate to your insurance company, who obviously you have to stick with for insurance as they are who you are insured with, but you do not have to go with their choice of repairer, they are legally obliged to let you choose.

Anyway, good luck for Monday, and I hope you get your campervan back as good as new.

 

[GrannyJen]

I'm missing something.

From what I understand for the benefit of this claim it is not a camper van, it is a VW Transporter. I don't know how many approved VW bodyshops there are in the country but there must be dozens and dozens dealing every day with loads and loads of shunts and dings happening to delivery vans, works vans, builders vans etc etc.

If I am dealing with an insurance company, and Aviva are one of the biggest and most respected, surely it can be sorted out better than this.

 

[Open_road!]

Sorry if I wasn‘t clear in my post: I was basically recommending a local (to you) repair company who I know have experience of Californias and who are also recommended by the local VW Commercial Van Centre and who do very high quality work. I mentioned them because in one of your earlier posts you were asking for suggestions as to who could deal with your repair (I think; apologies if I misunderstood). All this is separate to your insurance company, who obviously you have to stick with for insurance as they are who you are insured with, but you do not have to go with their choice of repairer, they are legally obliged to let you choose.

Anyway, good luck for Monday, and I hope you get your campervan back as good as new.

Fingers crossed! I’m sure it will be!!

 

[Cali-on-Camping]

An interesting thread. Here is our experience......

We were hit by another vehicle earlier this year. We are insured with the Caravan and Motorhome Club (underwritten by AXA) and the vehicle that hit us was insured by Aviva. The damage was limited to the baseline vehicle and had no effect on the camping components of the Cali.

The incident happened on a Sunday afternoon and when we returned home, immediately reported it to our insurance company which, was somewhat painful as it was an out of hours service. That said, i expected a call first thing on Monday morning acknowledging my claim and guidance on the next steps. It was Wednesday before we heard from our insurance company; however, Aviva were in contact by 0930 on the Monday accepting full liability on behalf of their driver.

Aviva arranged for the vehicle to be picked up and repaired by the Apollo group who are an approved VW specialist. There was never any question of the vehicle type that required repair and the service provided by Aviva was excellent. I raised a complaint with my insurance company due to their time to respond to my first report of the incident.

It's true that you never know how good your insurance company is until you need them. We were with Elephant before we had the Cali and when we had to pursue a claim, they were excellent. We moved to the C&MHC because we believed that we needed specialist cover by a company that knew the vehicle we have. Now we're not so sure that is the case. We're considering dropping the 'Motorhome Specialist' insurance providers and either go back to Elephant or possibly Aviva since our experience in their handling of claims has been excellent.

Has anyone had an incident where they needed the Camper aspects of the Vehicle repaired and claimed through their insurance company?



Follow our Blog: www.Cali-on-Camping.com

 

[BikerGran]

I went with Safeguard partly because they were recommended by the dealers I bought my used Cali from, and partly because my daughter who lived in her campervan for several seasons in the French alps recommended them. She had an incident in France, with a German driver, and didn't want to get it fixed till she came back to UK as the van was her home
Safeguard were fine with all that and the repair was dealt with once back in the UK with very little intervention on her part.

But I think sometimes you just happen to get someone who hashes up the original report and it all goes wrong from there. If you continue to have problems I suggest you check on the Companies House site for the name of the CEO of Comfort or even Aviva, then email them direct, marking it 'for the personal attention of'. I've known several people do this with various problems and it's usually very effective!

 

[Comfort Insurance]

Aviva have selected comfort as a working partner to provide all their campervan and motorhome policies due to them having over 25 years in this niche market. We would like to personally assure our customers that at Comfort we take the repair of your cherished vehicles very seriously and offer a choice of repairers. Most customers told us they prefer to use their own repair services rather than one being pre-selected. For customers that don’t have a preferred choice of repairer Aviva and comfort have worked together for a period of time and have been able to develop a specialist repair network.


We apologise for any inconvenience that this garage has caused on this occasion. We have informed our partner Aviva of the situation and they have put measure in place to review this garage.