Bongo Fury

I switched my insurance from my old Passat that had finally gone to the big breaker in the sky and transferred it to the Bongo. Nice lady said 'no extra charge' and also 'ah I see its a campervan' I didn't contradict her as there was no extra cost. Now I am curious that reading other posts people have done conversion work to be insured as a campervan. How is this defined these days? (soz if this has been asked a thousand times)

Mine is listed on the V5 as a Motor Caravan..

It's generally easier / cheaper to insure than a standard eight seater ..

I am insured with the Camping and Caravan Club who have a specific criteria to determine it's a Motor caravan before they would insure it ..

Here's an article detailing what's required by VOSA to be able to redefine/reclassify an 8 seater as a campervan

http://www.campervanlife.com/building/legal

As Mike says, have a look at your V5 and it should detail motor classification and number of seats.

It doesn't need to be registered as a motor caravan on the V5 to be regarded as a campervan for insurance purposes. Typically, it need to have a sink, cooking facilities, storage, a table and seats that can be used as a bed. They would expect the conversion to be fitted all the time rather than a unit that sits behind the seats and can be easily removed. I know that some people use removable units on the basis they can tell the insurers it's converted and then take it out for everyday use. That's treading on dodgy ground in my opinion.

One of the main reasons campervans are cheaper to insure than MPVs is that the number of passengers that can be carried is lower which reduces the potential pay-outs for death or personal injury claims.

In my experiance it depends on the insurer, each tend to have a different criteria, I struggled a few years ago as mines a camper with 8 seats but I did get it in the end for £200, mine asked for a bed, sink and hob.

I would share your concern about trying to push the definitions for an insurer as they can find excuses not to pay out if you have not accurately described the vehicle. Minor upgrades can be considered modifications and modified cars are a greater risk I guess because they are usually driven by young men in the highest risk age range.

My V5 doesn't say that the Bongo is a campervan - I was intrigued that the nice lady said it was without quizzing me on what equipment of facilities it had.