Admiral not mod friendly

[acer]

Sorry if this is getting a bit , but I previously had the feeling that the most used insurer for us Cali forumites was LV. Has there ever been a poll I wonder?

 

[AdamsFamily]

I amazed that the likes of Admiral or even LV are covering these.... my experience was a nightmare last month.
I could quite easily go online to a comparison site and put in my Reg, correct Vehicle shows up (California Campervan) and get loads of hits starting at £38 a month!
However, clicking through some of them decided even after quoting they couldn't/wouldn't cover it.
My current (at the time) Insurer went pretty much all the way through to cover it and failed me when I said I wasn't keeping it in the garage.
Having done a lot of research it seems that these "normal" insurers might cover you, but they won't give you the cover a proper motorhome insurer will.
I even read somewhere of refusal to pay out because despite saying they'll cover it they actually don't.

I tried Motorhome Direct (AKA Howdens) only to find out they use Victor Millwell and Devitts - however, both came back more expensive.
I ended up biting the proverbial bullet and paying double what my old Volvo was costing me and forking out £700 with Caravan and Motorhome Club ( which turns out they use Devitts but cheaper than Howdens) - first time owner I wanted the most comprehensive cover, and out of the out of the 5 or 6 I called they had it.

There's a great Comparison Tool on their website where you can put all reputable Campervan Insurers in and see the immediate difference in cover level.

 

[Agnes_Cali]

I amazed that the likes of Admiral or even LV are covering these.... my experience was a nightmare last month.
I could quite easily go online to a comparison site and put in my Reg, correct Vehicle shows up (California Campervan) and get loads of hits starting at £38 a month!
However, clicking through some of them decided even after quoting they couldn't/wouldn't cover it.
My current (at the time) Insurer went pretty much all the way through to cover it and failed me when I said I wasn't keeping it in the garage.
Having done a lot of research it seems that these "normal" insurers might cover you, but they won't give you the cover a proper motorhome insurer will.
I even read somewhere of refusal to pay out because despite saying they'll cover it they actually don't.

I confirmed with Admiral, that all factory fitted hardware is covered, so camping bit is covered and for campervan, there's higher possession cover of £500. I do not tend to leave valuables in a car and if I leave them, they are covered by my home insurance.

As mentioned earlier, using Cali as a daily, disqualifies you from most specialist insurers.

 

[AdamsFamily]

I confirmed with Admiral, that all factory fitted hardware is covered, so camping bit is covered and for campervan, there's higher possession cover of £500. I do not tend to leave valuables in a car and if I leave them, they are covered by my home insurance.

As mentioned earlier, using Cali as a daily, disqualifies you from most specialist insurers.

I think being our first Camper I just wanted peace of mind, and having had a couple of knock backs from "car" Insurers I figured I get the best I could afford this year!
Interesting what you say about the Cali as a daily commute - ours is, although only on 8000 miles a year which is maybe why they were pricing us out on it.

 

[Agnes_Cali]

I declared 10K miles pa, but I'm sure I will exceed it and will have to add extra miles. I'm at 6000 miles after 4 months from collection.

 

[Kev56]

As asked earlier in this thread. Does having solar panels have to be declared to your insurer?

 

[acer]

As asked earlier in this thread. Does having solar panels have to be declared to your insurer?

Some have said on this thread that they had declared that they had solar panels fitted but that it made no difference to their premium.

 

[acer]

As asked earlier in this thread. Does having solar panels have to be declared to your insurer?

I recently added solar panels back to my new Ocean. LV added £3 to the remainder of my policy 2/3 months, saying it was viewed as additional ‘build kit’ - I think that was their term.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

Reading back on this thread when I had my Cali last year Admiral said they don't insure campervans! I asked the lady to check and she came back to me a few days later and said the definitely don't - bizarre!!!

I've been insured with Admiral Multicar for many years and other than the above I have to say they have saved me literally thousands on the cars I've insured with them. Made a few claims and found them really good there too.

 

[ArunAlec]

Reading back on this thread when I had my Cali last year Admiral said they don't insure campervans! I asked the lady to check and she came back to me a few days later and said the definitely don't - bizarre!!!

I've been insured with Admiral Multicar for many years and other than the above I have to say they have saved me literally thousands on the cars I've insured with them. Made a few claims and found them really good there too.

I had my California on an Admiral multi car but went back to good old Comfort as I never really got the impression that Admiral knew what they were talking about regarding cover for a campervan. Their database didn’t recognise the California as a model so my policy had it shown as a “Transporter”.
I would be interested to hear if anyone has had a claim with Admiral that related to the habitation/camping aspect rather than a straight forward driving/motoring claim.

 

[FivetonesCali]

I’m on LV multicar with mods declared on both vehicles (Ocean 150 T6 - lowered, bigger wheels, Mini Cooper SE, lowered, bigger brakes) . I think they’re a little pricy and I hope I never have to test their claims department but they seem ok to deal with so far.

Edit: used multicar to gain access to the no claims. After a break from owning two cars my second car no claims had lapsed. Obviously that’s a scam, the insurance industry keeps all these records and could easily check.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

I had my California on an Admiral multi car but went back to good old Comfort as I never really got the impression that Admiral knew what they were talking about regarding cover for a campervan. Their database didn’t recognise the California as a model so my policy had it shown as a “Transporter”.
I would be interested to hear if anyone has had a claim with Admiral that related to the habitation/camping aspect rather than a straight forward driving/motoring claim.

That's exactly my experience, as when I said California she originally wanted to list is as a Ferrari California as that's the only one they have on their database !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ArunAlec]

That's exactly my experience, as when I said California she originally wanted to list is as a Ferrari California as that's the only one they have on their database !!!!!!!!!!!

Guess the premium for the Ferrari option might have been interesting!
Although I don’t use Admiral for the van, I have 2 cars on a multi car policy, a Polo and Boxster. Just had my renewal through and it’s £125 cheaper…. So it’s not all bad.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

Guess the premium for the Ferrari option might have been interesting!
Although I don’t use Admiral for the van, I have 2 cars on a multi car policy, a Polo and Boxster. Just had my renewal through and it’s £125 cheaper…. So it’s not all bad.

To be fair I've found Admiral to be incredibly good value on cars, particularly for high performance/high value cars. They're probably just don't want to be in the market to insure vans.

 

[ArunAlec]

To be fair I've found Admiral to be incredibly good value on cars, particularly for high performance/high value cars. They're probably just don't want to be in the market to insure vans.

Ironically when I was struggling to get Admiral to confirm that they covered campervans and potential claims related to habitation they had an online article espousing “vanlife”.

 

[Agnes_Cali]

My Cali came up on their database correctly and I had no issues whatsoever. I will be adding extra miles to the policy, since I went over 10K declared.
Admiral also came up cheapest when checking my future car, so I guess, I will move to multicar policy and move NCD from Cali to other car. There was hardly any difference in price after applying 15Y NCD.

 

[Fast Freddie]

We too are with Admiral and the vehicle came up on their system as a California without us needing to prompt them at all.

 

[Agnes_Cali]

Just agreed renewal with Admiral. Got renewal price of £730, last year was around £630 and I added extra miles for £30 or so. Renewal quote was for 15K miles and they valued Cali at £64K which is nowhere near real value.

I took value down to £50K and changed miles from 15K to 10K and price went down to £550. A bit of negotiation on the phone and got discount for being loyal customer and total was £484.

Since I use Cali for commuting to two places of work, I need business use on a policy. When doing quotes, only Admiral group comes cheap and there's a few brokers at £2000. I didn't try any specialists, because they have too many restrictions. I expect delivery of another car in couple of months, so will add it to policy, as Admiral comes up as cheapest anyway.

 

[Stargazing]

One thing to consider should the worst happen to your vehicle is where will it be repaired? Will a non-specialist insurer have repair centres that will be able to repair a Cali? Will you then have to pay a non-approved repairer excess if you exercise your right to go to a repairer of your choice, where you would have to do all the groundwork yourself. Most of us would want it to go to VW or a trusted Indy-but where would the insurance company go? To a list or their approved repairers who are driven into the ground on cost cutting resulting in a sub standard repair. I shudder to think of mine sat in the paddock of ‘Joe Bloggs’s ’ repair centre with a spanner scratching his head.

 

[Californication69]

LV let me use VW Coventry repair shop as it was in their preferred list.

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

I firmly believe that this is the one aspect of VW California Ownership where your vehicle is a Motorcaravan. Stop trying to insure your vehicle with car insurers.
Use a specialist...a motorcaravan insurer, someone who understands solar panels, TV's, hot water systems.
The Caravan and Motorhome club is a good high end insurer to start with but there are better providers, I use Caravan Guard, and I get 6 months abroad every year and a premium that is very competitive, and the english call centre is excellent!

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

Just agreed renewal with Admiral. Got renewal price of £730, last year was around £630 and I added extra miles for £30 or so. Renewal quote was for 15K miles and they valued Cali at £64K which is nowhere near real value.

I took value down to £50K and changed miles from 15K to 10K and price went down to £550. A bit of negotiation on the phone and got discount for being loyal customer and total was £484.

Since I use Cali for commuting to two places of work, I need business use on a policy. When doing quotes, only Admiral group comes cheap and there's a few brokers at £2000. I didn't try any specialists, because they have too many restrictions. I expect delivery of another car in couple of months, so will add it to policy, as Admiral comes up as cheapest anyway.

Most commuting insurances cover for one place of work per day, Admiral has an upper limit on Value of Vehicle, so don't buy a new one with all the toys. £88K gets a "decline to quote" response

 

[Agnes_Cali]

I firmly believe that this is the one aspect of VW California Ownership where your vehicle is a Motorcaravan. Stop trying to insure your vehicle with car insurers.
Use a specialist...a motorcaravan insurer, someone who understands solar panels, TV's, hot water systems.
The Caravan and Motorhome club is a good high end insurer to start with but there are better providers, I use Caravan Guard, and I get 6 months abroad every year and a premium that is very competitive, and the english call centre is excellent!

In my case it's unmodified daily driver and there's no policy that beats Admiral for my requirements. Business miles is a must for me, even though it's not really business, just two different jobs.