Insuring your van conversion

If you've just finished building your home on wheels or have just purchased one then you may be looking for vehicle insurance fit to cover your beloved home on wheels.

A sad story I've seen too many times recently are ones where owners of vans that have been written off or stolen have left owners severely out of pocket. Partially this is down to the DVLA's refusal to re classify converted vehicles as motor caravans, this means vans are left classified as vans with windows or panel vans on the V5c, when owners come to claim on their policies they are getting offered the value of an empty panel van, not one of a motor caravan.

The insurance provider knows it's a converted van so surely they'd pay motor caravan prices?

This would be largely down to the insurer however I believe many brokers are profiting from insuring converted vans and accepting their modifications, this means you would not have insurance refused in the event of a claim because they are aware of the modifications but it does not guarantee they will offer market value for a motor caravan. This is something I've seen catch 3 friends out with recently.

Is there a way to ensure you're protected in the event you need to claim?

Yes, this isn't something all brokers offer but it's certainly worth considering, if you've not managed to achieve motor caravan status on your V5c logbook then I would strongly recommend asking your broker if they offer an agreed valuation, in this scenario you may be asked to provide photos, receipts and invoices so that an agreed value can be reached between you and the insurance underwriter, this service usually costs a little extra but provides a level of certainty around the settlement payment you would receive should the worst happen to your van conversion.

I'm not an insurance broker and I'm not trained to give insurance advice, I just wanted to share this post to hopefully save you the heartache of losing what could be your life savings should you need to claim on your insurance policy. Happy campervanning!