Insurance for homemade caravans - help needed

[gvf]

Hi - can anyone advise of a company that insures homemade caravans in Australia? Not an old manufactured caravan that has been done up - a fair dinkum built from scratch caravan? Help greatly appreciated.

[firefighter]

give this mob a ring.......ryno insurance in Qld 0413433438
I take it you are talking about an old van ( home made ) not a new home made one they insurance old cars as well
f/f ;D ;D ;D

[Flattop]

I have had a quote for an old van's insurance from Shannons, they did mention that they normally do not cover vans, but as I was a customer with old cars covered by them, they would cover the van as well. Have you got cars insured by Shannons? 13 4646

[JBJ]

hi Flattop,

Most of us that cars with Shannons have been thru the inability of Shannons to decide wether they want to cover vintage vans or not. I had one insured, & when I tried to cover my Sunliner they had changed their mind & said no. many others found out the same thing. I've had my Sunliner with AAMI for nearly a year, & still have 2 cars with Shannons.

Hmmmm, might check Shannons again come renewal time.

JBJ

[kingy]

I've had no probs with shannons re. vans. Mentioned recently that i was about to bring another vin van back onto our roads and they said no probs.
BUT it certainly depends on who you talk to at shannons - i've had silence derrr...when i've mentioned vin. vans before.
Kingy
( had the 1st. bondy insured with them first before the EH)

[JBJ]

Hi All,

Like I thought, Shannons left hand has no idea it even has a right hand, let alone knowing what it might be doing.]

I got my AAMI renewal today. Jee I wouldnt have thought it was 12 months since I registered the Sunliner.

So I rang Shannons. Kylie was nice, but said she had been told NO caravans. She took the details, I told her what AAMI had it covered for, & she said she would talk to her bosses & ring back.

So she rang back & said Shannons policy would be available to cover a caravan if it was for display purposes only, but NOT if it was to be towed & used as a normal purpose caravan. There could be no cover on the annex & contents. She had records of my previous efforts at insuring vintage vans with them, & said she checked several van policies they had covered, but they were for display purposes only.


If I insured it & had an accident in normal use, I would not be covered.

Pretty useless policy for a caravan I reckon.


So a word of advice to those of you that think your vintage van is fully covered by Shannons. I would be faxing a letter to my insurance representative, asking for confirmation in writing that your caravan is covered for normal road & accomodation use.


The policies useless unless it covers normal useage.. I trust insurance salespeople like I trust Bank Managers, Solicitors, Vacuum Cleaner & Insulation Salesmen, ETC. I always check all off my body parts are still there after I have to deal with any of them.

I'm sticking with AAMI. $289 for $9000 on van & $2375 on annex /contents is OK in my eyes. Includes $20 million 3rd party property damage. That could have been useful when the towbar nearly came off my dodge last year going to Coledale.


JBJ

[humpty2]

My Sunliner is insured with GIO, and had no problems getting the insurance.

[1954homemade]

Hi gvf,

We are also with GIO and have found them to be great.

We were with Shannons and like some of the others when it came up for renewal we were told that Shannons would not longer insure it.

We went to GIO and they worked out to be much cheaper than Shannons were.

We have since up'd the price of the van and now also have the annex and all the contents listed and covered.

Regards
Di

[cobber]

Vintage Caravan insurance ................again!!

Because I have the FJ and Ol' 36 insured with Shannons, and because of the negative feedback they get on this forum I discussed the subject with them ............ again .

Points to consider:-

(1) Shannons don't pay fees to brokers, so a broker probably won't recommend Shannons.

(2) If you don't have a car insured with them they won't insure your caravan (and that probably means a Vintage / classic Car).

(3) The caravan (and the car for that matter) should not be used for a full day more than twice a month... averaged out over a period of twelve months. (see note below).

(4) If you intend using your caravan to go on holidays i.e. Not part of a vintage caravan rally, they won't insure you.

(5) If your 'van is not vintage they won't insure it, and that's were it gets real iffy... 1969 ain't vintage, they make the decision as to what is vintage on a one on one talk with you.

(6) You must declare at the beginning what your 'van's construction materials are and what it's age is.

(7) Personal contents in the 'van will only be insured up to $500

Regarding (3) above-- I have a policy that has an “Extreme Limited Use” cover.
A fourteen day trip to Mount Gambier to attend a vintage caravan rally would be OK, so long as you haven't used it more than another ten full days in the previous twelve months. They say “trust us--- we trust you” .

You are dealing with Shannons on a one to one basis, caravan insurance is not their prime market but they will accommodate you if they judge that you are a fair dinkum enthusiast.

It gets down to how much you feel you need insurance and how much insurance you feel you need.

I've had house insurance, car insurance, 'van insurance, health insurance for yonks, I'm starting to get a bit of the health insurance money back ..... the rest has been money down the drain.. so far .

I spoke to a “supervisor” at GIO, I was told that they don't insure caravans over 30 years old, I mentioned I had heard of at least two people who had insurance with them on caravans over 30 years old. She said they would honour those contracts.. but if they ever identified those caravans as being over 30 years old the contracts would be cancelled.

Until the next chapter.....

Cobber.

By the way..... are you still there gvf... have you done any good getting insurance on your "home made van" is it new home made or old home made .

[neilncheryl]

I insured my Vauxhall with Shannons about 5 weeks ago.
While I was talking to the Shannon's rep he asked if he could help with anything else.
Asked him if he would insure my Rowvan which would be used on runs approx 4 times a year with other V Vers and a National Run once every two.

He wanted to know the year and whether it had LPG.
Insured it no problem & can even insure my unregistered old cars in the shed.
Very helpful & well priced - hopefully don't have to find out how they are on a claim

Neil

[fcdriver]

Hi Neilancheryle
We have had the misfortune to have to claim Shannons twice.
Once for our modern car and once for a windscrean.
Quote... Shannons were fantastic.
On both occaisions we could not have asked for better service.
We can recomend Shannons.
ALL of our Insurance is now through Shannons.
No we dont't work for Shannons, just feel they deserve a rap.
Bruce And Jan

[JBJ]

Hi All,

I'm not knocking Shannons, or any Forum members. I have 2 cars insured with Shannons, & had Groovin insured with them until we sold her. .

I've had claims, & Shannons service is as good as you could wish for. And I've been with them since mid 90's. I convinced my daughter to insure her HK with them.

But I just posted what I was told by them when I tried to insure my van with them

Surely there isn't anything wrong with posting what an insurance company tells you, that is backed up by what Cobber posted??

Or is it better not to post anything?


JBJ

[firefighter]

link to past insurance discussions

vintagecaravans.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=108

2 pages of discussions back in 2007.... looks like nothing has changed at shannons your at there whim if you get vintage van insurance or not
I have mine with shannons ,due in a couple months might change and go along with JbJ and try A A M I
shannons told me when I took the policy out ...could only tow vintage van behind the vehicle insured with them and could not be towed by a modern vehicle .....and van could only by used for displays ...........no holidays in the van

another link re van insurance

vintagecaravans.proboards30.com/index.cgi?board=general08&action=display&thread=2827


geoff ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[kingy]

This insurance thing with shannons is becoming a bit of a joke, i rang the other day after reading Cobbers post and i asked '' what if on the spur of the moment i decided to hook up and take off for a few days with the van to no particular place and with no particular group'' - his answer - absolutely nothing, ''your covered''
Like i've said before, we need these policys in writing, but when i mentioned this i got no reply
AGAIN, depends on who you talk to at shannons - i don't know whether to stay or go

[earlee]

I don't have extra insurance on my vans for the following reasons:

- any registered trailer / caravan is automatically covered for third party property damage when it is / was being towed by an insured car. ie any third party property damage is covered-


there is a component of the queensland annual registration fee which covers the CTP ( compulsory third party) ie any third party person injury is covered check your own state for clarification.


- I dont think that anyone is going to steal my valuable caravan - ie it is not worth much and I dont tend to leave it unattended at the local shopping centre or railway station


Very Importantly, I always make sure that my cars are insured - either comprehensively or with TPPD.


Another issue with problematic old caravan insurance is the disclosure clause - some insurance companies are willing to play ball and accept your premium, but tend to play a different game when it comes to payout time.

Just for interest, I am definitely not anti-insurance - I have 4 cars insured with Shannons ( plus 4 others elsewhere) and am very happy with their service, premiums and claim process.


earlee.

[cobber]

Thanks for reminding us about that top link f/f/ ;D ;D ;D ;D

This discussion does go around and around..... usually stirred up by a new member who must get as confused by all the “help” we old hands give 'em as we ourselves get.

I would like to hear the experiences people have had making a claim on the various insurance companies.
We've already had a couple of positive endorsements about Shannons.

AAMI won't insure Ol' 36 because I can't give them a manufacturers name, and then they go on to say they don't insure cars or caravans made before 1960... so that rules “Driftwood” and the FJ out too.

GIO (as I mentioned above) intimated that the only reason caravans over 30 years old would be insured with them is because the “consultant” didn't ask the right questions. They reckon they would still honor any claims made but as soon as they became aware that the 'van was over 30 years old they would refuse to insure it further.

With Shannons you can get cover for “Extreme Limited Use” ....... “Limited Use”.....or “Unlimited Use” on a car.... but they won't do “Unlimited Use” on the caravan.

I think I'll stay with Shannons because, if I'm going to have faith in any insurance company doing the right thing when push comes to shove I reckon I might have a better chance with them.

I would feel real nervous about making a claim on a company who had given me insurance “no questions asked” because you can bet they'll ask questions when it comes to making a big payout.

I researched all this useless guff.... and when it came to posting it earlee's very logical and bloody obvious outlook on the issue had been posted beforehand..... so I promise... I ain't ever going to get involved in this stupid discussion about which insurance company will or won't insure which or what caravan if and when the subject gets raised again which it most likely probably will maybe someday without a doubt will be.

Cobber.

[Deleted]

What bloody good is a policy that only insures you for a 1 full day event a couple of times a year.


Why Bother insuring at all??

If all we where gunna do is take the vans out a couple of times of year and mothball em the rest of the time it would be better to just spend the money earmarked for insurance and hire a tilt tray truck and cart the bloody show pony along to the display.
Like... these old vans are meant to be used , not paraded around like some side show freak for the amusement of others.

Look at the whole issue of insuring vintage vans from the insurance co perspective.

Wobbly old van possibly carrying a mix of metho, kero and or LPG on board. Highly flammable canvas annexe with naked flame cooking activities going on within. . Next to no security of contents in an annexe and a flimsy door securing the contents in the van... and to top it all off we are hauling the whole show down the road with old tow couplings which where superceeded years ago with newer safer devices.

Is it any wander they arent keen to take on the risk .

True they do insure a lot of old cars and bikes etc but a good percentage of these are on Historic rego through a c#ub.
Therefore the conditions of use are imposed by the clu$ itself.
We ... being the disorganised rabble that we are arent subject to clu3 constitutions and gazetted runs and events.
Therefore the insurers are a bit reluctant to take us on.

I put my 2 bobs worth in on this subject in the forums previuos life. I think my final words where.. Would it not be better to ask... "Has anyone had any bad experiences when they made a claim against thier insurance co after an incident involving thier old van??

Tis not untill you have the "Unfortunate event" " that you are alerted of the fine print . Told you arent covered and your years of trust in an insurance co goes down the gurgler.


Just be warey of brokering sweetheart deals over the phone.
A mouthfull of promises over the phone from an insurance consultant/ agent is worth Jack if it isnt spelt out in black and white somewhere on a company policy before you hand over the hard earned $$$$.
Lines like .. " I will check with the boss" should be enough to make your alarm bells start ringing.

Reddo.

[minicamper]

Guys, i have contacted Shannons (as an existing customer) and asked for an explanation for their behaviour. I have also mentioned the negative publicity that they are receiving here to help prompt them to act.

Will keep you posted.

As far as whether to insure or not and with whom, I always insure to protect myself from the behaviour of others and having been a rating 1 since i was 21, the only claims i have ever made have been because of the stupidity of others. I expect something in return for being a 'good customer'. If i don't get it in writing, i go elsewhere..

[minicamper]

Guys, I have an update

I have spoken to Shannons at length and have agreement from them to forward my request to the appropriate people.

The basics are:

Shannons will insure a vintage caravan. There are conditions around this and not necessarily 'restricted' use.

You should speak to the person quoting and get a clear understanding of what is covered and make sure it is clearly documented but, it basically follows the features and benefits of their car policies.

The case against insuring vans is if the contents of the van exceed the value, so for example, you stack it with a fridge, tv and or dvd, all your clothes etc into a van valued at $2000 or $3000 then potentially the van is a write off if the worst happens because of the ratio of contents value to van value.
Same goes for sticking a $2000 stereo in a $500 bomb car and who could blame them for knocking it back.

Now I'm not one for having all the mod cons in a VV, kind of defeats the purpose, so i wouldn't have a problem. But they tell me as insurers, it is illegal for them to offer a product to someone, knowing that most wouldn't be covered if a claim was made. Perhaps this is why there are different answers, not because of who was spoken to, but rather the info that was provided to them.

I have provided Anthony at Shannons with links to this site and in particular, the insurance threads, that he can use as a case for Shannons investigating the demand for a dedicated product. If they can insure houses (which aren't directly related to classic and vintage cars other than where they are stored) then why not vans that are used and showcased with the cars.

I pointed out to Anthony that in almost all cases, the van interest stemmed from an interest in classic cars and many people are either own or are searching for one or the other or both and they are missing out on, or worse upsetting a large commercial market.

I have started a separate thread with a voting poll of whether you would consider a product from Shannons (or anyone else for that matter) that was dedicated to VV's please have a look and place your vote.

Hope this helps

Cheers
Chris