Caravan insurance.
It’s an old chestnut I know, but can anyone advise on good, reasonably priced mobile home insurance for a UK resident with a mobile home on a camping/caravan site in the south of France. It’s only been used by us/family but with escalation in site fees we are going to have to rent out to recoup some costs. Not looking to work it hard as a business, just to make our holidays affordable again.
Thanks
John
Hi @John_Blessington and welcome back to SF.
For insurance, @fabien is the SF guru - you can contact him by clicking on the insurance link in the top banner or he may just respond here as I have tagged him for you.
Thanks Graham, I’ll give Fabien a try.
While I’m querying insurance and benefitting from guru attention, is anyone aware of a good ‘existing conditions’ travel insurance? My daughter has active epilepsy and the premiums are horrid! Epilepsy is horrid too but she’s never called on any insurance anywhere or medical attention in France. Thanks again! John
Thanks JJ
All still quite expensive but worth a try. Guess it all depends what flavour of poorly you are. Epilepsy seems to scare the pants of insurers just like it does most other people and seems equally poorly understood.
Best
John
Hi John, unfortunately you won’t find such a policy in France as all travel insurance contract here either automatically exclude existing conditions or they’ll review the situation with only 2 possible outcome: either acceptation of the file with exlcusion or denial of the file. Only foreign can (potentially) answer that situation. The only other alternative in France would be to go for a fully private medical insurance which can cover you/her abroad but we’re talking of premiums in the thousands a year (potentially 300€+ per month).
I tried Staysure because I have asthma. All they were interested in was the amount of medication I was taking, not if I had my condition was stable.
They asked me if I could walk 100 yards, absolutely ridiculous.
They quoted a huge premium and I went on holiday without insurance.
Not to the USA I hope.
For the first time in 30 years I went back to the US some 5 years go, on a holiday, not for work. In all the times I went there I’d never had insurance [maybe the UK ad agency would have covered me. I’ll never know]
I thought “I’m now in my mid 60’s. I take b.p. pills. I’m going to the medically most expensive place on the planet. I’d better get insurance.” The US, plus hypertension and taking statins… the premium was stiff but I took it.
And it turned out I needed it. The 8 miles in the ambuance was US$800. That was the only bill I saw. Three nights in the I.C.U having every test known to man … I’d blacked out and they wanted to know why, but all test were negative including a cardiovascular video. The bottom line would have taken all my house in Bristol to pay but for that insurance policy.
But I’m done with the US.
Thanks Jane, yes I tried them. At least they did quote unlike many others but silly money. One site was quoting Phoebe £15, put in her medical details and it went to £430! This is for someone who has been to France for 20 of her 23 years without a claim or even a query. This is market failure and people shouldn’t have to travel with no insurance if their doctors think they are okay to travel.
Cheers
John
Thanks Fabien. If you could buy that health insurance by the month that would be very cheap compared with what I’ve been quoted, but as you suggest, it’s an annual thing.
Still keen on any suggestions for mobile home insurance though.
Best
John
A difficult situation and a disappointing outcome. But all of us have paid thousands over the years for insurances and never made a claim.
In 7 years of owning a small boatyard I never had to make a claim. We never dropped a boat off the crane - a common occurance with one of my competitors - and we never had a boat go astray on the river due to substandard mooring tackle - a common occurance with boats on the sailing club moorings contiguous with mine.
But right at the end of my time there, a very stupid mistake by an experienced man led to my PA having her front teeth knocked out and both jaws broken - are real mess.
Instead of going to the doctor or hospital, the subsequent tratment being free, she went to her dentist. That cost.
All those years of paying - but when I needed it, I needed it, big-time. My broker took over and I never heard another thing.
The same with my ‘nervy turn’ in the US. After a lifetime of travel to some very dubious destinations and no insurance, I paid +/- £180 for two weeks and ended up in the ICU of a very upmarket hospital in the very well-to-do town of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
@fabien and his industry can’t afford to lose at what is essentially gambling. Otherwise there would be no insurance for anyone.
The captain is right. And in most countries in the UE it’s even “worse” as this is mandatory by law for an insurance company to make money. In other words, if they loose money one year they have to make a profit the following year which will be done (most of the time) by increasing existing customer’s premium. That part of the business is tightly monitored (quarterly and per “type of contract” for each company).
New UE regulations made it even worse with the French application of it being known as “SOLVA 3” which enforce to all insurers that being profitable is not enough, they also need to have the equivalent of 3 years of premium in cash on a custodian’s account which means they have their pockets full of cash that they cannot legally use. That implies that they need to operate on money on top of that pile of cash which bears a huge impact on the premium (that also explains why it’s much more expensive in France by the way)… and I bet you know who is paying for all those regulations at the end of day? Hint: not the insurance company 
Good mobile home insurance available from Tolède in Royan - cover the whole country, and rental cover too.
https://assurancemobilhome.com/