Insurance

[Katie]

just put down deposit for new mp - yikes!
Where do people go to get insurance ? - I quickly tried a comparison site and the mp did not feature on their list of vehicles
Many thanks
Katie

 

[BabaJen]

Katie,

You might want to look at some of the specialist broker products for motorhomes.

There is the Caravan club product, details available from their website... Comfort, which insures a lot of california's, LV have been very active, safeguard offer a motorhome specific product. Those are the ones most often mentioned by California owners. I'm sure there are others also.

If you need any help digging out addresses etc then I will see what I can dig up.

 

[BabaJen]

I also forgot to mention Admiral.

All the companies mentioned are familiar with camper vans,

 

[Katie]

Many thanks
I did not realise there were certain companies specialised in camper vans
We are actually still members of the caravan club and my car is insured with lv, so I'll try them first - perhaps in a little while as I don't think I'll get the mp until March probably - however, nothing like being prepared in advance
I guess the price will be fairly high considering the cost of the van, but hopefully not more than my car and caravan together plus I will save £500 a year on storage fees

 

[Katie]

PS I wonder if they will know about the mp as the Cali has been around in the uk for a lot longer

 

[BabaJen]

PS I wonder if they will know about the mp as the Cali has been around in the uk for a lot longer

They are sure to. At the end of the day it's a camper van, they know camper vans. As a guide I pay £360 for my Cali, unlimited mileage, with Comfort, but that includes home and european recovery which on a new vehicle with manufacturer warranty would not be necessary.

 

[Dundry]

Hi, delivery imminent. I just looked at Comfort insurance website and for the value of the van it states "A vehicle of this value must have a category one or a two to one alarm upgrade or a Thatcham Category 5,6 or VTS Approved tracking device installed."

I don't think the MP has this (I haven't speced any extras for tracker/alarms etc) but does anyone know the spec for the alarm. Is it best just to call them?

 

[Katie]

All recent Mercedes V class vehicles have alarms are thatcham 1 rated - I checked on the Thatcham website.
I m insured with Comfort who advised me to get the dealer to confirm this on my invoice, which he did
I think the problem for Comfort is that the mp is not listed separately, unlike the VW California.
The mp does not come as standard with a tracker though

 

[Dundry]

thanks Katie, that's really helpful.

 

[funkyegg]

With Comfort, please note for their exclusion clause that you cannot park your vehicle outside your home unattended for longer than 2 days without notifying them first. This won't be an issue for me but it might caught some people out so make sure you are okay with this.

 

[pumpsmynads]

I went on comparethemarket and chose v class long amg 250 (the engine and trim of the Marco Polo I’d get). This gives an idea which insurers are most likely to favour you insuring a vehicle of that make and type.

Then after getting all the comparison quotes, starting at the top, went into each quote and amended the vehicle to Marco Polo (if it was there). If it wasn’t I just went to the next.

Fortunately for me esure was second, I couldn’t amend the vehicle by clicking through from comparethemarket, set up a new quote. Came out at a reasonable £475 for a £60k vehicle.

 

[ishi051]

I think you need to be careful using comparison websites. I have found that just because Marco Polo comes up for a particular insurer some insurer databases still think that a Marco Polo is just a V Class. For me Tesco came out cheapest so I accepted the policy, but I then called them to be absolutely clear I was covered. When I told them the MP was a camper van Tesco said (after 24 hours referring my query to the underwriting referral team) that they did not insure them and my policy was cancelled.

My view is that you are better off going with one of the established camper van insurance products from the insurance companies listed on this forum. (Caravan Club, Comfort etc).

Finally - the strict definition of a camper for insurance purposes.... I found out a “camper van” needed to have 3 things: running water, cooking facilities and a bed! Most standard motor insurers won’t insure campers as they are an extra set of risks. This got me thinking about the free 7 day insurance I got when I drove off the forecourt which has just expired.... I am not 100% sure the insurance was valid! (And I have told my MB dealership to check for future customers!!)


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[mptripsaway]

My MP is coming up for insurance renewal. I have return to invoice GAP insurance for three years and this past year have had fully comp insurance through LV.
I have been shopping around as you do and on contacting Comfort insurance I was told that for them to insure it I would need to re-register it from its current MPV class on the V5 to motor caravan as the vehicle type. Has anyone experience of this and what vehicle type are your MPs registered as?

 

[Katie]

Mine is registered as an mpv and I am with Comfort insurance. There was no problem with them re this but they were a bit reluctant to accept it as Thatcham class 1 initially, although we got there in the end. To be fair, the person I dealt with said it was the first Marco Polo she had insured and it wasn’t on their standard list

 

[BabaJen]

I would suspect that as Comfort are offering a product called a motor caravan insurance they are being a bit pedantic and wanting the vehicle registered as that. I'm sure with a bit of debate, as Katie points out, they will forego that requirement.

 

[Eric Robinson]

I received an online quote today from Comfort that was very competitive, so thanks for the recommend. The quote from the Caravan Club was much more expensive with very similar cover and excesses.

 

[Steven rhodes]

Tried to insure through comfort and the answer is they will not cover unless your log book say motorcaravan and any owners who insure with them in the event of a claim they will not pay out as it's void,I tried to debate the need and it's very black and white so comfort no good it seems

 

[BabaJen]

Why does your log book not say "motor caravan"?

You might want to check the vehicle classification and it is an "M" and not an "N".

 

[Steven rhodes]

No it's says mpv where on the v5 does it say classification? I can't see it

 

[GeorgeG]

Tried to insure through comfort and the answer is they will not cover unless your log book say motorcaravan and any owners who insure with them in the event of a claim they will not pay out as it's void,I tried to debate the need and it's very black and white so comfort no good it seems

Hi Steven. You’ve got me worried as I’m insured with Comfort. I transferred my insurance last July from a Westfalia Columbus (Fiat Ducato based camper) and gave them the reg number and model and they quoted from their data base. There were no questions about the V5, which lists it as an MPV / Diesel Car. At the time I insured it I had no idea what the V5 listed it as - I assumed that Comfort, as a specialist motorhome insurer, would be aware of the vehicle type. I’m loathe to contact them in case they cancel my insurance, but on the other hand I’m going to France and Spain for 6 weeks next month and don’t want to be ‘technically’ uninsured.