First time owner - a bit confused on insurance :)

[cally215]

Hello Everyone,

Next week we'll take delivery of our fist ever VW camper in the form of a 2026 Ocean TDI.

I have some questions about insurance, as, odd as it may seem, my quotes seem too 'cheap' compared to others

WIth the T7 (which I see is a contested designation as its not the van?) being technically a car platform, and factory built as a camper, do I have to worry that the likes of LV and Allianz don't 'miss' the fact that this is a camper and will be used as such, as well as being a daily driver?

I'm in my 40s with maximum NCB and quotes are well under the £400 mark - I can even get it under £300 if I take a big excess (which I will avoid).

I have the correct number plate, the vehicle shows up correctly - Admiral even redirect me to Car insurance if I try Van (I just did this as a test)

Am I just overthinking here, and the more complex cases come via conversions?

Thank you, very excited to join this club!

 

[cally215]

Seems I can't edit this, but the big excess option is via LV which seems popular here. Excess is £1250 non negotiable (apparently) - £500 elsewhere, eg Allianz

The question is is the cover that much better to just accept the excess? I've never had so much as a supermarket carpark scrape.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

I doubt I'd make a claim for anything less than 1 or 2k as the future implications of prices would be dire. Particularly if you were unlucky and had a second one.

Just renewing LV for our 23 plate Ocean at £253

 

[Sad]

Seems I can't edit this

Need to be VIP to edit

I've always stuck with the specialist insurers, as then no doubt on what is being insured. The problem is you can't just go on the comparison sites, you have to call them individually.

 

[KGCali]

As a car insurance you won't be covered for camper accidents like cooking fires, wind damage to awning, loss of awning and camping accessories etc so check the cover limits carefully.

 

[cally215]

As a car insurance you won't be covered for camper accidents like cooking fires, wind damage to awning, loss of awning and camping accessories etc so check the cover limits carefully.

Hadn't thought of this

Any favourites in terms of specialists around these forums? Probably worth getting a quote

Is there a concept of a second policy that covers things like a camping related fire?

I'm not fussed about say to say to day cover for basic accessories though

 

[Up10]

Comfort, Safeguard, some people have success with LV but I couldn't comment, Howdens to name but a few.
Do a search on the forum as there are a huge number of comments regarding insurance issues.

 

[Souter]

We have a California Coast(T7) and are France based. Our insurance is through Allianz.fr. It covers us as a Camping-Car for private use and leisure purposes only(not business use). The cover is fully comp with various excesses depending on type os claim. System is different in France in that, included in the policy is breakdown/recovery, personal accident cover, equipment cover up to €3000, and cover throughout EU and UK. It works out at about £700/year but gives a far greater coverage in my opinion than UK cover which can vary considerably depending on which company you use. When you take into consideration that there’s no annual “Road Tax” in france it’s well worth the money.
I would say don’t skimp on your insurance, you pay a lot of money for your van, why run the gauntlet for the sake of a £100 or so. Check with your insurance company what you are actually covered for before you take out the policy. Due diligence costs nothing but can cost thousands if not done!

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

As a car insurance you won't be covered for camper accidents like cooking fires, wind damage to awning, loss of awning and camping accessories etc so check the cover limits carefully.

What in the terms and conditions excludes say a fire write-off caused by cooking? Any different to a fire caused by using a 12v appliance in a car?

LV know it's a campervan and insure it. Where I think there may be a small increase in risk is if someone breaks in through the opened pop top and equipment limits are probably a bit low but not enough to worry me.

 

[cally215]

So are you all paying £1000-£1250 excess on your LV policy?

@Souter I fully agree about not going cheap. Just trying to understand where to land on coat Vs cover Vs value

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

My LV is 400 compulsory and 300 voluntary. I would have adjusted this for risk / benefit.

I'd be comfortable up to at least 1k and it's amazing how much premiums come down when you accept a large excess and basically exclude low value claims. Not just car. Any insurance.

 

[Beeechke1]

May I suggest you go to someone like Camping & Caravan Club who have their own insurance specialist " Club Travel Insurance in partnership with Howden" www.myccc.co.uk/travelinsurance
We have been with them the last two years, they are easy to contact by phone and speak with a real person (in the UK), they are knowledgeable about campervans, you can tailor make a policy to cover your Excess, Insured value, Annual mileage etc. We have found them as competative as most.

 

[cally215]

My LV is 400 compulsory and 300 voluntary. I would have adjusted this for risk / benefit.

I'd be comfortable up to at least 1k and it's amazing how much premiums come down when you accept a large excess and basically exclude low value claims. Not just car. Any insurance.

Thanks for that. They said that for my vehicle, the compulsary excess was fixed at £1000. If i drop the voluntary, then the policy goes up to the same price as other companies with total excess around the £500 mark.

I'lll take a look at some of the specialist insurers over the weekend, i have time to decide.

Thanks for the input

 

[cally215]

May I suggest you go to someone like Camping & Caravan Club who have their own insurance specialist " Club Travel Insurance in partnership with Howden" www.myccc.co.uk/travelinsurance
We have been with them the last two years, they are easy to contact by phone and speak with a real person (in the UK), they are knowledgeable about campervans, you can tailor make a policy to cover your Excess, Insured value, Annual mileage etc. We have found them as competative as most.

Thank you!

 

[AdamsFamily]

We went with the Caravan and Motorhome Club when we bought new.
They have the most comprehensive cover and having spent almost 70k I figured paying 1% of the value to insure at its best was worth the investment - can't put a price on total peace of mind.

They have a handy comparison for all the major players about half way down that page so worth looking before deciding.

 

[cally215]

Thanks @AdamsFamily

I am leasing, so not a 70k investment, though the P11d value is around 79k so total loss cover is definitely of interest in case it gets stolen so I won't be out of pocket.

Appreciate the assistance in this thread and the links shared.

 

[Malky]

We went with the Caravan and Motorhome Club when we bought new.
They have the most comprehensive cover and having spent almost 70k I figured paying 1% of the value to insure at its best was worth the investment - can't put a price on total peace of mind.

They have a handy comparison for all the major players about half way down that page so worth looking before deciding.

Absolutely spot on. There are a lot of insurance options. I personally did not entertain a policy or provider that didn’t know what a VW California was or provided specific campervan cover. It’s simply not worth the risk in my opinion.
I phoned up LV and was explicitly told twice that they do not cover Campervans anymore. I know others have cover and that’s fine, but my experience, no thanks

 

[Scoobz1]

Absolutely spot on. There are a lot of insurance options. I personally did not entertain a policy or provider that didn’t know what a VW California was or provided specific campervan cover. It’s simply not worth the risk in my opinion.
I phoned up LV and was explicitly told twice that they do not cover Campervans anymore. I know others have cover and that’s fine, but my experience, no thanks

LV Insurance renewal

Well. I'm really confused and wondering if it's too good to be true. Just received my renewal from LV and the price has fallen from around £450 to £230.

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[stoobthealien]

I'm going with the big LV excess - as others have said it's probably better in the long run to sort out a £500 issue yourself anyway

 

[chockswahay]

Absolutely spot on. There are a lot of insurance options. I personally did not entertain a policy or provider that didn’t know what a VW California was or provided specific campervan cover. It’s simply not worth the risk in my opinion.
I phoned up LV and was explicitly told twice that they do not cover Campervans anymore. I know others have cover and that’s fine, but my experience, no thanks

Did you mention your specific van (I assume it is an original California?) as I spoke to them on Friday and after saying they don’t insure campervans they went on to say they do cover certain ‘factory campervans’ if they are on their approved list. I gave my van details and they confirmed definitely will insure it (as a campervan!). I even asked about the bacon butty test and they said yes, all covered.

 

[Rosie75]

We use Motor Vision, they cover Californias at a reasonable rate, without restrictions. Just need a yearly gas check to cover fire/explosions.

 

[Bulli WMS]

Hello Everyone,

Next week we'll take delivery of our fist ever VW camper in the form of a 2026 Ocean TDI.

I have some questions about insurance, as, odd as it may seem, my quotes seem too 'cheap' compared to others

WIth the T7 (which I see is a contested designation as its not the van?) being technically a car platform, and factory built as a camper, do I have to worry that the likes of LV and Allianz don't 'miss' the fact that this is a camper and will be used as such, as well as being a daily driver?

I'm in my 40s with maximum NCB and quotes are well under the £400 mark - I can even get it under £300 if I take a big excess (which I will avoid).

I have the correct number plate, the vehicle shows up correctly - Admiral even redirect me to Car insurance if I try Van (I just did this as a test)

Am I just overthinking here, and the more complex cases come via conversions?

Thank you, very excited to join this club!

This might be more of an anecdote than an answer, but …….. we had a non-california campervan for a good number of years, and at the end were insuring through the Caravan and Motorhomes Club - as other posts say, they were helpful and efficient, and we thought competitive compared with what we were getting before. 3 months ago we bought a California Ocean (T6 …not new), and upgraded the insurance for the Cali. Subsequently we’ve had a renewal notice from the CAMC, and joined the Cali Owners Club. So, seeing that Safeguard is the first Cali Club mentioned partner, we sought a quote from them. CAMC was about £530, Safeguard was £450 ….. but, they wouldn’t release any of the details (t+c’s etc) until I paid, when they would send everything through. I hoped that I’d got everything noted from our telephone conversation, but thought this was a risk and unreasonable. So, I tried the Cali Club’s alternative, Comfort, and have had a quote of £305, with cover through Aviva, and all the ‘draft’ documents supplied. There’s a couple of things I need to check with them this morning re mileage, second driver etc, but on the face of it, this looks the best option - at least for me. Hope this helps, but one of the reasons for posting this, is to see if anyone else out there has had any issues with Safeguard?

 

[Malky]

Did you mention your specific van (I assume it is an original California?) as I spoke to them on Friday and after saying they don’t insure campervans they went on to say they do cover certain ‘factory campervans’ if they are on their approved list. I gave my van details and they confirmed definitely will insure it (as a campervan!). I even asked about the bacon butty test and they said yes, all covered.

Hi, that's exactly what I did. Tried to insure my standard California with them last March. They mentioned they didn't cover campervans any more so I explained more than once the Cali was a factory built campervan from Volkswagen. They weren't interested. That was my experience. I phoned them twice to discuss, even querying that I'd heard of others having insurance on their California. I gave up and decided they wouldn't get my business. It would have been easier for me as I have two car policies with them already.

 

[Luke Sharp]

I went through the same thought process a year ago when I bought my first California. Initial quotes were over £1,000! As suggested you need to ring around and in the end I went with Comfort and paid around £450. Very knowledgeable about campervans, and helpful over the telephone which gave me a lot more confidence than some others.