We have seen a huge fall in claims for thefts in the first 9 months of this year, with 50% less incidents compared to 2009.
The decrease has been in both thefts of the motorhome itself, and where there has been a break-in to steal items inside. The fall in claims can, we believe, be attributed to the increasing number of motorhome owners fitting high-quality security devices such as alarm systems and satellite tracking devices.
Our Director, Chris Nettleton, says, “It’s great to see theft falling. We encourage our customers to invest in security – we offer up to 35% discount for various security devices including 30% off for tracking devices. We are also seeing a rise in motorhome owners improving the storage conditions for their motorhomes by fitting drive posts or locked gates at home or choosing high security storage sites.”
It’s not all good news though, during the same period we’ve seen accidental damage claims rise by 40%, this includes claims for accidental scrapes when parking, hitting low walls and reversing into bollards, to name but a few. We are very experienced at handling claims like these and as such can generally turn them around very quickly, it’s another reason why choosing a specialist insurer is important.
Chris explains “Accidental damage claims are by far the most costly types of claim in motorhome insurance. Accidents can happen to even the most experienced of drivers and it’s our job to get people back on the road as quickly as possible – almost 90% of our customers rate our overall claims service as exceptional or above average so we must be succeeding.”
We have also recently been named the UK’s number one broker for customer service at the UK Broker Awards 2010.
He continued, “We do however, reward owners with an insurance discount for fitting reversing cameras or sensors which may just help to avoid a few minor bumps.”
Visit our motorhome insurance discounts page for more information about the discounts we offer security conscious motorhome owners.
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Mr Thompson. Thank you for your very detailed explanation, I now understand the situation perfectly. Your colleague Nicola has been in touch by ‘phone also and I am more than happy that this had been explained to me.I realise now that the increase in my premium would be quite small and not, as I had imagined, a huge increase.I will be renewing my insurance with Caravan Guard and thanks again for the response.
Dear Mr Dipple,
We are sorry to hear of your disappointment and would like to respond to your question.
Protected no claims discount means just that – you are protecting the discount itself so that if you have a “fault claim” then you still retain the discount.
Base premiums, to which a no claims discount is applied, fluctuate throughout the year. So a protected no claims discount would never guarantee the same premium each year. The base premium takes into account numerous factors including claims, so a change in any such factor would result in a change to the base premium to which a no claims discount is applied. Therefore, if you had of proceeded with your claim the increase to your renewal premium would of been £22.
However, had you not protected your no claims discount then your insurance premium would have increased by £203 because your 67.5% discount for 8 years no claims would have been reduced to 40% (2 years) also. So protecting your no claims discount is still hugely advantageous.
If a motorhome owner makes a claim on our policy, we always recommend that they make insurers of any motor vehicles they drive aware of the claim. Failing to do so may result in that insurer not paying out in the event of a claim.
I hope this makes things clearer, but if you would like to further your complaint we do have a formal complaints procedure. Please feel free to call us on 01422 396 777 or email us at [email protected] for further assistance.
Kind Regards
Caravan Guard
I was somewhat dissapointed when I rang Caravan Guard to report a minor accident in my Hobby Motorhome, to be told that although I had 8 years no claims and protected no claims bonus, that my premium would increase as it was a ‘fault’ claim, and that I should inform any other insurances I may have as they would probably want to increase premiums also. I have decided to pay for the repair myself and will be looking to other Insurance companies for a quote when my insurance is due for renewal unless someone can give me an explanation as to what protected no claims bonus actually means.