Caravan Insurance, be vary wary.

[gefary]

As you may know my caravan was stolen at the begining of April.

It was locked in a compound.
The insurance have refused to pay out for the following reasons.

1. No security light above it.
2. A second entrance to the compound that was not "secure".

The second entrance that was not secure comprised of two chained, locked field gates and a barbed wire fence and a drive of about 600 meters across parts of 2 fields.

It's definitely worth checking the wording of your policy and finding somewhere "safe" if you store it.

My caravan was 11 years old, I thought only new ones got stolen !!

[CoOkIeMoNsTeR]

They steal anything now. That does sound very unfair, but the thieving bar-sools don't give a damn about you and me. This recession may have hit some of us very hard, but I haven't heard of an insurance company going bust:mood:

[HarryM1BYT]

As you may know my caravan was stolen at the begining of April.

It was locked in a compound.
The insurance have refused to pay out for the following reasons.

1. No security light above it.
2. A second entrance to the compound that was not "secure".

The second entrance that was not secure comprised of two chained, locked field gates and a barbed wire fence and a drive of about 600 meters across parts of 2 fields.

It's definitely worth checking the wording of your policy and finding somewhere "safe" if you store it.

My caravan was 11 years old, I thought only new ones got stolen !!

That seems very unreasonable, take it to the insurance ombudsman and include a Google map.

[gefary]

Have read through the insurance ombudsman website.
Got two choices,
pursue the claim and end up with at least an ulcer

or draw a line under it and get on with life.

at my age I can do without the ulcer.

[humphshumphs]

It was locked in a compound.
The insurance have refused to pay out for the following reasons.

1. No security light above it.
2. A second entrance to the compound that was not "secure".

The second entrance that was not secure comprised of two chained, locked field gates and a barbed wire fence and a drive of about 600 meters across parts of 2 fields.



I would go back to them with the reply, 'but the compound was adequate when you were taking the premiums!'

I had this with a customer many years ago, he hired one of my compressors, and then had his workshop broken in to, and when the insurance was called, they said it wasn't secure, so when I chased for the money of the compressor, was told that the insurance won't pay out. I told him the same to let them know that it was ok when they were taking the money..... and a couple of weeks later, they paid out.

I would try this with your caravan insurance... worth a go.

Richard.

[Kai Herb]

Doesnt the Compound have insurance ?

[ernst]

just out of interest who was the insurer,i have mine with caravan guard but have never read the small print,better have a look,what you should do is tell them you will be protesting outside the next big caravan show.there all the same take your money but when it comes to a claim squirm out of it,i feel for you mate, if mine was stolen i would be gutted, hope you get a result dont give up the fight.

[gefary]

The policy was with E & L.

Hope to go the compound owner in the next few days.

[yelnats]

I have accident insurance with e and l also, and recently made a claim for accident damage
.
Both quotations for the repairs are about the same and are £400 less than the write-off value offered.With my excess the difference is £500.
They propose writing it off which is going to cost them this extra money.
I want the van repaired,they are saying write-off.

They are pursuing the expensive option.

Am I missing something here? Do they have the last word?Can I insist on a repair?Who mediates if agreement is not reached?

Any comment or advice will be appreciated.Thanks.:confused:

[HarryM1BYT]

They are pursuing the expensive option.

Am I missing something here? Do they have the last word?Can I insist on a repair?Who mediates if agreement is not reached?

Any comment or advice will be appreciated.Thanks.:confused:

I would expect, the insurance ombudsman.

[Yella Fella]

As you may know my caravan was stolen at the begining of April.

It was locked in a compound.
The insurance have refused to pay out for the following reasons.

1. No security light above it.
2. A second entrance to the compound that was not "secure".

The second entrance that was not secure comprised of two chained, locked field gates and a barbed wire fence and a drive of about 600 meters across parts of 2 fields.

It's definitely worth checking the wording of your policy and finding somewhere "safe" if you store it.

My caravan was 11 years old, I thought only new ones got stolen !!


Check your policy.

Does the policy state it must be lit by security lighting?
If you can prove you took REASONABLE steps to ensure the safe storage of the caravan, then fight them!

[eurorover]

Write to them and tell them you are taking it to thr insurance ombudsman as once reported to them it costs the insurance comany a few hunderd quid when they get involved.

[Astra]

Dont know if it would cover a case like this but most insurance policies (motor Household etc) now have a legal expences section, claim on that to fight them!!

[yelnats]

Sorry about the delay,but only just got dack from France in the van (it is usable) did almost 3000 miles,2400 towing;good time,good weather,car never missed a beat.
Thanks for the advice.will keep you posted :).

[yelnats]

Deal with E & l at your peril !

Made a claim May 25th this year.
Finally reached agreement July 22 .
Still waiting for cheque despite 'phone calls and promises
P.S.
Relatives had similar problems with their horse insurance.

[yelnats]

The cheque? It's arrived,13 weeks after the claim was submitted.My claim was relatively small and straightforward,heaven knows how long it would take to sort out a significant amount.:mad:

[whitevanman]

Tell them that seeing as you've lost x£ on your caravan you feel that it is your civic duty to other fellow caravaners not to use them to insure their vans, This you feel is to protect them from unscrupulous companies hiding behind the infamous small print.

Also advise them that you will be writing to the various magazines and all the web forums to do with caravanning about this non-payment.

But then you could just check the small print first. I bet it doesn't mention security light and if it does i bet it doesn't say 'security light over your caravan'

We have a secure lit yard at work but no way can we get light into every part of it, we'd go out of business paying the leccy bill....

[gefary]

Thanks very much for very helpful sugestions.
Ended up buying an old but good[ish] Abbey caravan, nothing back from the insurance.
Did try many of the suggestions but went ill. From May till September was in hospital with GBS.
Still can't drive but hopeful that legs and feet will improve and I won't have to resort to an automatic.
An able to follow along in the forum, many are same old names [init], some missing and some new.
I expect "the missing" are on their three months in a warmer climate.

[craig8661]

have to vouch about e and l with regards to a horse

horse was ill phoned vet vet came out shot said horse and insurance refused for death as horse was shot with out there permision friend got pay out in the end but every one i kno will not use e and l

[chipsceola]

Really shows how times have changed, some years ago my 17ft Elddis spent most of it's time on a caravan site in Devon, situation changed and no longer needed so I took it back to Bristol and started thorough clean and maintenance programme intending to offer for sale in spring.

Spent a couple of weeks cleaning and polishing replacing all water pipes at same time and a few other things. One Sunday morning an old 'Gypsy' commented "that's nice van mister, a person could live in that" - one week later it almost finished and despite the hitch lock disappeared overnight.

Insurance not only paid for the van based on condition shown in pre-sale photo's and receipts, but also for various tools and equipment being used while doing the work.

Payout overall was slightly higher than what I expected to achieve by selling, and it all worked out over less than 4-weeks from reporting theft to getting cheque.

Incidentally, mine was parked in public car park on a private waterfront housing estate, couldn't get it into my private space due to height restriction.
Chips

[charlesdw]

Hi Chipcaoela!
Who were you insured with----they sound good !!:)

[chipsceola]

Prudential, not exactly cheap, but reliable, well established and I thought, cost effective.
Chips

[92 squadron]

Insurance is taken as a necessary EVIL and should be avoided at all costs.
Just look at the begining of this thread. The van was only worth £400, for goodness sake it's like throwing money down the drain to insure something of a low value. Look at how much you have paid for your car over the years you have owned it, prob paid more in insurance than what the car is now worth.
Take a look at what you are insuring. Our cars for instance are being written off by the ins. co's. cause they find it cheaper to pay out on resale value rather than what [I]you actually value it at at time of insuring. You would be hard pressed to get the value that you stated if written off.
They are now trying to faze out 3rd party insurance so every one has to pay higher premiums [3rd party insurance is nearly equvilant to fully comp]
Having a NCB doesn't mean what it says as your premimums are in most cases higher than the year before just take a look :- with 65% NCB and still paying £300 a year next year £350 with same NCB
Pay the bare minimum as you will only get the bare minimum out of the rip off b*****ds. I hate them . Rant over:getmecoat:

[chipsceola]

Your insurance is little to do with value of your car, it's to cover potential damage you do the the RR or Bentley etc. worth 6 figures, or the property / or people who suffer very large damage when you hit them: a 21 yr old graduate could earn more than a million in his working life, you destroy that life and your insurer has to pay suitable damages!