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Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 10:36 am
by Johnbailey84
I have been around the houses on the insurance companies to try and get a quote and it has been a nightmare!

The worst two companies have been 2gether Insurance and Lifesure, the two recommended on this site, neither of which were willing to insure me at all........

The best offer I have had so far has been from elephant which is £1100 a year for a Bongo bought for just over £3k this seems rather steep.

Any recommendations? The biggest stumbling blocks seem to be the fact that I live in London and the Bongo being the first car I have owned means I do not have any no-claims bonus (despite being claim free on my folks insurance for 10+ years!) Gah! Annoying!

Are there any insurance companies who would accept this type of scenario?

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 10:52 am
by scanner
Is it being parked on the road or driveway as well as being in London?

If so I think you have identified your problem.

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 10:55 am
by MountainGoat
You don't say if your Bongo is unconverted and still classified as an MPV or converted and reclassified as a camper. Sometimes this can make quite a big difference in insurance costs. In general campers are cheaper to insure as they are usually limited to about 5,000 miles per year considering that most of them are not used on a daily base. Lots of other factors also come into play. Driving record, location, where kept (on drive, garaged or on road) to mention a few. One reason MPV's are more expensive to insure is that they have 8 seats which can mean 8 cases of whiplash.

If you search the archives you will find many cases of owners with similar problems to your own with some good advice on how to overcome them.

Good Luck.

Tony

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 11:27 am
by Johnbailey84
Indeed it is still and MPV and yes its parked in a residential square (equivalent of a driveway).

I'll have a search through the history - interestingly if I insure it and keep it at my folks house in the West Country it comes down to £508 a year! London is just more expensive for everything, but that happens to be where I live and work!

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 11:38 am
by scanner
Johnbailey84 wrote:Indeed it is still and MPV and yes its parked in a residential square (equivalent of a driveway).

I'll have a search through the history - interestingly if I insure it and keep it at my folks house in the West Country it comes down to £508 a year! London is just more expensive for everything, but that happens to be where I live and work!
It has been noted in the past that Bongos and London do not mix that well. If it is viable to insure AND actually leave it at your parents house that is one possibility. But do not be tempted to just "say" it is left there and then actually keep it at your London address.

Your combination of London, drive/street parking and lack of NCB really does make yours a "worst case" scenario.

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 11:59 am
by Johnbailey84
Your combination of London, drive/street parking and lack of NCB really does make yours a "worst case" scenario.
I'm sure this is why so many people don't insure their cars in London, which in turn will drive the prices up, which in turn will lead to more people not insuring their vehicles..........

Someone ought to set-up a London insurance company - there must be huge potential to steal this corner of the market!

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:24 pm
by Simon Jones
Ask your parents if their insurer will issue you proof of no claims whilst on their policy. I had similar issue when I changed from company car to my own so I would have lost any evidence of being (relatively) claim free. Got the broker to issue a letter which allowed me to get a policy which took account of NCD.

It often works out cheaper to add a partner or another driver to your own policy, so perhaps enquire about adding your parents to your policy.

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 2:14 pm
by roosmith
I'm with Adrian Flux and have been with every vehicle I have had in the past 10 years or so, as they've always been the cheapest by a country mile. Give them a try, as they may be able to help. You speak to a real person and they take into account all factors and take a sensible view of it. For instance when I had two vehicles but only one lot of NCB, they still took it into account, as if I was using it on both policies. It saved me a huge amount.

I have heard a few people say they haven't got perfect customer service from them but I've never had cause for complaint (although I admit I've not made a claim).

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2014 5:22 pm
by Gasy
Life sure just sent me my renewal
Mines an MPV still
I'm peterborough

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Sat Apr 26, 2014 10:40 pm
by philpdr
Caravan and Camping Club are always worth a try.Went with them last year as their quote was half my renewal from my then existing company.Just had my renewal from C and CC for this year and it's exactly the same as last year.

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 5:38 pm
by the laird
Try Darren at aib ins first class service

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 5:21 pm
by Gasy
Thought I'd get a quote from caravan club as a few people rate them

Bloody hell they don't won't my business
£1660

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 5:47 pm
by Ian
The Caravan Club won't be interested. But the Caravan & Camping Club (different thing altogether) will be OK as long as you are a member and your Bongo is a proper campervan (shown as motor caravan on V5).

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2014 6:42 pm
by Gasy
^^^^^
Cheers that was the one
But me bongo is not yet registered as a motor caravan
I have ideas on the go to get it reregisterd

Re: Insurance Nightmare!!!!

Posted: Thu May 01, 2014 9:51 am
by rita
Ian wrote:The Caravan Club won't be interested. But the Caravan & Camping Club (different thing altogether) will be OK as long as you are a member and your Bongo is a proper campervan (shown as motor caravan on V5).

That is strange as they advertise on this site.

Quote from insurance adverts..

Caravan Club
01342-336610 Bongo campervans covered as long as you are a member of CC.