UKC

Hi, can anyone recommend a cheap van insurer for private use? 

Im with Aviva and they've always been good but they want to jack the price up by£50 this year for no apparent reason.

Thanks

Frank

In reply to Frankie boy:

A camper van or a work van?

In reply to Frank the Husky:

It's a van with a basic fitout so not a work van but not quite a camper. Just private use. I know there's been threads on here in the past but figured things may have changed since then.

In reply to Frankie boy:

Been with HIC for years now, converted VW T5, my premium generally stays the same or goes down:

https://www.hertsinsurance.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5NnbBRDaARIsAJP-YR_jXeeju8A0w...

Another common one is Adrian Flux, not used them but they are popular on the T5 forums

In reply to Frankie boy:

I have a transit LWB that I changed to camper with dvla- much cheaper when you do if you can... Insured fully comp with shield insurance at £260/yr

 

In reply to Frankie boy:

How basic?

If you've got a bed, a seat that is fixed (or can be fixed for the purposes of getting registered) to the floor or a wall, a table and a cooker that is fixed (or can be fixed for the purposes of getting registered) to the floor or a wall and some sort of fixed storage (plywood sides to the underside of bed or seat will do), right you should be able to get it re-registered as a campervan.

A few years back they were a bit more strict about it looking like a camper, but they changed their minds after a lot of complaints - the regulations are supposed to be about ensuring it's being used as a camper, and not as a works van with units you lift in and out at the weekend, so they're working more to the spirit of that again.

In reply to Ciro:

You missed out the side window

From the DVLA site 

Motor caravan minimum features

In order for a converted vehicle to qualify as a motor caravan it must have certain minimum features:

a door that provides access to the living accommodation

a bed, which has a minimum length of 1800mm or 6 feet - this can be converted from seats used for other purposes during the day but must be permanently fixed within the body of the vehicle

a water storage tank or container on, or in, the vehicle

a seating and dining area, permanently attached to the vehicle - the table may be detachable but must have some permanent means of attachment to the vehicle. It is not good enough to have a loose table

a permanently fixed means of storage, a cupboard, locker or wardrobe

a permanently fixed cooking facility within the vehicle, powered by gas or electricity

at least one window on the side of the accommodation

If the vehicle has all of these features present, permanently fixed and installed properly, then it is a legal requirement to have it reclassified as a motor caravan on the V5C.

In reply to Frankie boy:

Apart from possibly cheaper insurance, though it will still be a matter of shopping around each year and maybe changing insurer to get the best deal, one advantage of campervan registration can be having the same speed limits as a car.

I still have not worked out if my Dispatch is a car derived van or van derived car or what  the deal is with speed limits, easier just to assume its the lower option.  Will probably save more time ( and money ) going steady than trying to sort through the legalities or arguing a speed ticket.

In reply to Dark-Cloud:

Hi, thanks for that, Ive already applied for a quote with Adrian Flux and will call the other guys for a quote.

In reply to natetan:

My last policy with Aviva was 235 for a standard private van and previously was about £200ish. This time its over £300, but its too much hassle (or more likely the vans not worth it), to convert it to a registered camper.

 

In reply to Ciro:

Its just an insulated van with a bed and storage underneath. Its not worth spending the time and money to convert it for what I'd gain back out of it (and I'm not sure how long I'll have this van so not sure if it's worth it).

In reply to Frankie boy:

I use, 'More Than'. Always competitive, been with them for a few years for 2 work vans.

JD

 

In reply to Dark-Cloud:

Be careful if you go with Adrian Flux - I had a similar conversion in a caddy and when someone drove in the back of me and wrote it off they were awful to deal with and I lost out by a few £k. 

They offer a top up policy to guarantee a certain price in the event of a total loss - if you use them make sure you buy the top up! It took nearly a year to sort properly.

In reply to Rick Graham:

Cheers - must have added that requirement since I did mine, noted for the next one

In reply to Rick Graham:

It'll say on your V5, then Google what that means. That, ultimately will be what dictates the speed limits you are subject to.

 

In reply to Stuart (aka brt): I use A Plan. Despite starting from max no claims, the premium goes down a few quid each year.  And their breakdown cover is a steal. 

 

In reply to Frankie boy:

We've just put our vans with the NFU. You have to deal with them on the phone and they want to know all about any conversions you've done (however minimal), but once we'd gone through all that the quote was substantially less than anyone else we'd found.

But we're both old farts enjoying that 'purple patch ' of cheaper insurance due to our 'life experience' before they start ramping it up again because we're old.

In reply to Frankie boy:

Adrian flux

In reply to Jim Lancs:

Thanks, I'll give them a call.

In reply to JohnBson:

Yep, I tried them but their quote was still higher than my current quote with existing insurers. Oddly, even though they ramped it up this year for no reason, they are still coming out considerably cheaper than all other quotes.