On Monday we enquired about caravan insurance for our soon to be built van. We told the RACQ, that it would be stored in a secure gate locked area in the local caravan park, which is setup for van storage... We wanted to use the RACQ, as all of out house and vehicles are already insured with them, thinking it better we keep all insurances together.. But they told us that unless the van is kept under cover in a locked shed, or behind our house with locked gates, then they cannot insure this... We do not have the room to park the van at our house, and at this stage cannot find a storage shed.... So I guess we will have to look around at other insurance companies... Just thought I would share this to see if any other van owners out there, have had issues..
That sounds very strange. Do you live in a high risk area ? I'm with RACQ for all my vehicles and our teardrop. Your post prompted me to check our info so I checked we have the latest docs from RACQ insurance then read and re-read our policy and PDS. The only mention of being garaged or not is in the section on things that effect premiums. The only mention pf storage is when RACQ pay for towing and storage. The only mention of security in general, is the insured's responsibility to "keep your caravan in good condition and take reasonable care and precautions to keep it safe and secure and protect it from loss or damage" (from the PDS). It will interesting to read other replies.
No we are not in a high risk area (Cooroy).. They just told the wife, they were more concerned now with theft of caravans.. But as she explained to them, it will be under lights and security cameras at the local caravan park.. but they would not accept that, even with a hitch lock, or wheels locks... Its very strange to me also... So now we are looking around to find a storage shed, but at what cost I don't know...
Plus we get a huge discount as we have advised QBE that our vanis not on the road during 5 months of the year, that being Nov. Dec. Jan& Feb & March. Van sits in the front of our home under a van cover.
I wonder how many Insurance Co. have a policy like this.
also had 2 awnings replaced and repairs done,no questions asked. However they do not have a nil excess on Caravans.
Many thanks Jay.. yes as I said it does sound strange to us also, we also told them we have an ALKO Anti Theft Tracker installed on the van.. But it made little difference.. hut may have to look at QBE.... We have never made a claim with RACQ I the 30+ yrs we have been with then, we are Gold members..
Does sound strange, could be worth asking to see the policy T&C's to cross check? No such demands are being made by RACV, in fact our van is insured with them and kept in a secure caravan storage facility out in the open. RACV & RACQ have always operated pretty much in parallel, so I'm really surprised.
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Cheers,
Tony
"Opinion is the medium between ignorance and knowledge" - Plato
Get a quote from Youi on all your insurances - you will be surprised
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I have all insurances with RACQ,[Inc my van] as per my avatar pic, my van sites on driveway also, they have even insured my firearms when traveling with no questions asked
On Monday we enquired about caravan insurance for our soon to be built van. We told the RACQ, that it would be stored in a secure gate locked area in the local caravan park, which is setup for van storage... We wanted to use the RACQ, as all of out house and vehicles are already insured with them, thinking it better we keep all insurances together.. But they told us that unless the van is kept under cover in a locked shed, or behind our house with locked gates, then they cannot insure this... We do not have the room to park the van at our house, and at this stage cannot find a storage shed.... So I guess we will have to look around at other insurance companies... Just thought I would share this to see if any other van owners out there, have had issues..
Branchie
Might be worth a second phone call. As happened to us a few times, you talk to a person in a call centre or the equivalent
and find that on another occasion, same enquiry yields a different answer. Most notorious are places such as Dept of Transport. Two emails
same enquiry two different answers. The response you were given is strange enough to warrant another chat.
If thats the case, if you have house insurance it might be worth checking if the following is covered in your policy. Fences, trees {that might fall on neighbouring property), shed, pergola, steel open car port, security screens, garden. Good luck. aami is excellent.
-- Edited by the rocket on Friday 7th of June 2019 12:56:02 PM
I've heard of this before & my son went through a similar situation when he had his house demolished/rebuilt.
While the house was in the lockup situation, no-one except the NRMA would insure it as "there was no-one living in it" even though he was renting across the road!
His builder conveniently went bust - but son had to pay again to have a garage door fitted so that the house was secure. He'd had a gutful at that stage with the B.....d builder, let alone the extra 6 month's rent & insurance companies.
Branchie, I would be looking for someone better when your renewals are due.
I have my car & van with RACQ & my house/contents were as well but after TC Yasi, I swapped to Suncorp as they use the majority of local tradesmen. RACQ use "cheapies" from Sydney. Hence after the cyclone, people were still living in sheds, under tarps for up to two years! RACQ asked why I dumped them - took my explanation like it was an everyday experience.
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Warren
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If you don't get it done today, there's always tomorrow!
I've heard of this before & my son went through a similar situation when he had his house demolished/rebuilt. While the house was in the lockup situation, no-one except the NRMA would insure it as "there was no-one living in it" even though he was renting across the road! His builder conveniently went bust - but son had to pay again to have a garage door fitted so that the house was secure. He'd had a gutful at that stage with the B.....d builder, let alone the extra 6 month's rent & insurance companies.
Branchie, I would be looking for someone better when your renewals are due.
I have my car & van with RACQ & my house/contents were as well but after TC Yasi, I swapped to Suncorp as they use the majority of local tradesmen. RACQ use "cheapies" from Sydney. Hence after the cyclone, people were still living in sheds, under tarps for up to two years! RACQ asked why I dumped them - took my explanation like it was an everyday experience.
Thanks for your very informative post. aami have been amazing.
Thanks to all for your feed back.. the wife did actually sit in the RACQ office with the office manageress at the time, she stated that as there have been an increase in van thefts, this is why the underwriters have now put these restrictions on vans. We arec also told now that Ken Tane insurance are increasing their policy's, for the same reason. Lets hope its not a trait for all insurance companies from here on...
Anyway we have now found a secure undercover storage shed in Nossaville that can take our van.. But not at a cheap cost either... But better be safe that not I guess..
Well if it is true, then RACQ has lost the plot. How on earth can a van stored "behind your house with locked gates" be considered more secure than at a proper caravan storage facility with locked gates and probably (as in my case) electronic entrance requiring a PIN number for access. Not to mention the hitch locks & wheel clamps etc. that we all use. If RACV starts being this silly then they will lose me and all my policies.
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Cheers,
Tony
"Opinion is the medium between ignorance and knowledge" - Plato