Camper Insurance

YourName

Ok so its the age old problem of someone under 25 who can't get camper insurance.

The story is, I have my eye on a 1984 VW T25 that I would love to buy. Can I possibly insure the van normally, not as a camper, and pay what I would normally pay for my car???

The problem I see with the above is that its registered as a Camper so I probably can't insure it as something else, however the camper is empty anyway so technically its just a van, can you reregister it as a commercial vehicle and insure it as a van perhaps, and of course by law you would be using it as a commercial vehicle???

The other way around this would be to have my mother being the registered owner, she can get camper insurance, and would it be possible to have an under 25 as a named driver on the policy??? (Again keeping things above board here, my mother would be driving the vehicle 99% of the time)

Another way around this might be to be insured on my own car as normal, which I have open insurance with quinn, my mother would have camper insurance on the T25, and could I drive the T25 every now and again with my open car insurance???


There must be a way around this horrible rule that stops me from being insured, I am not trying to cheat anyone here, or break the law, everything will be done correctly, but hypothetically speaking can I drive a camper legally at all????

spaceHopper

YourName wrote: »

Ok so its the age old problem of someone under 25 who can't get camper insurance.

The story is, I have my eye on a 1984 VW T25 that I would love to buy. Can I possibly insure the van normally, not as a camper, and pay what I would normally pay for my car???

The problem I see with the above is that its registered as a Camper so I probably can't insure it as something else, however the camper is empty anyway so technically its just a van, can you reregister it as a commercial vehicle and insure it as a van perhaps, and of course by law you would be using it as a commercial vehicle???

The other way around this would be to have my mother being the registered owner, she can get camper insurance, and would it be possible to have an under 25 as a named driver on the policy??? (Again keeping things above board here, my mother would be driving the vehicle 99% of the time)

Another way around this might be to be insured on my own car as normal, which I have open insurance with quinn, my mother would have camper insurance on the T25, and could I drive the T25 every now and again with my open car insurance???


There must be a way around this horrible rule that stops me from being insured, I am not trying to cheat anyone here, or break the law, everything will be done correctly, but hypothetically speaking can I drive a camper legally at all????

Try posting on type 2 ireland, they are vw fans win will have had this problem before, maybe search their forum as well.

Try calling a broker, if your family uses one call them, you could also try Brittions in donegal or Glennons in dublin.

Give Dolmen a call and Stuarts they both do camper group schemas so may be able to get you cover off the group scheam.

Either way get them to write to you stating why you were refused.

Then way you can go to a main stream insurance company and when they say no we don't do campers go to xyz you can back up that they won't inusre you then got to the regulator/ombudsman

One you must try is AXA as the Dolmen group scheam is with them if you go to the regulator/ombudsman they my force axa to insure you but it won't be cheap.

YourName

Ok I have been doing a good bit more research on the above and I now relise that I really can't be insured in a camper if it still a camper (per se)

So I seen somewhere that a camper is only a camper if it has a 2 ring cooker and a seperate compartment for a gas bottle, so what is this vehicle classified as if it doesn't have these, is it just a private vehicle with a load of junk in the trunk.

So if I imported a vehicle (lets say a T25) from the UK, Pulled out the cooker and gas etc., then registered it as a private vehicle, and taxed and insured it normally, and went through my NCT each year. Do you think it woudl work???

The simple question is, what constitutes a camper and if it is missing these then what is it???

spaceHopper

YourName wrote: »

Ok I have been doing a good bit more research on the above and I now relise that I really can't be insured in a camper if it still a camper (per se)

So I seen somewhere that a camper is only a camper if it has a 2 ring cooker and a seperate compartment for a gas bottle, so what is this vehicle classified as if it doesn't have these, is it just a private vehicle with a load of junk in the trunk.

So if I imported a vehicle (lets say a T25) from the UK, Pulled out the cooker and gas etc., then registered it as a private vehicle, and taxed and insured it normally, and went through my NCT each year. Do you think it woudl work???

The simple question is, what constitutes a camper and if it is missing these then what is it???

Before you do that go onto type 2 ireland and see if they know of a way they will have seen this before.

peteb2

not that simple! Any insurer will ask you whether there has been any modification to the vehicle from the manufacturers original specs. You tell a porky, and you are wasting your money even insuring it as there will be no cover!

YourName

peteb2 wrote: »

not that simple! Any insurer will ask you whether there has been any modification to the vehicle from the manufacturers original specs. You tell a porky, and you are wasting your money even insuring it as there will be no cover!

OK true, but surely having added a bed, table, press and fridge wouldn't raise the price of private insurance, and it still wouldn't classify it as a camper.

I get what your saying though, everything would be declared, however it may become fairly sticky and confusing trying to get insurance, but still not a complete impossibility, like camper insurance.

YourName

spaceHopper wrote: »

Before you do that go onto type 2 ireland and see if they know of a way they will have seen this before.

I have searched their forums and several people have posted on there asking the same questions with no response.

I have heard someone saying that the forum has a sense of elitism and the thought of an under 25 driving a Classic VW, would turn their stomach.

However I will give it a try, no harm in asking, thanks.

YourName

peteb2 wrote: »

not that simple! Any insurer will ask you whether there has been any modification to the vehicle from the manufacturers original specs. You tell a porky, and you are wasting your money even insuring it as there will be no cover!

Out of interest, when anyone on here changes around something in their camper, or replaces the presses etc. do they notify the insurance company.

Also how do you know what the exact manufacturers original specs are when you havn't owned the bus or camper from day 1??? Obviously something is replaced or removed here there and everywhere over time, does this fall into manufacturers specs???

I always took that question to mean engine wise, as in did I add an exhaust or change the engine etc., not did I remove the cooker.


Interesting takes on the question:

Link

Link


Seems like a gray area for insurance that could hop up and kick you in the ass if you need to claim some day.