MountainGoat wrote:Ron do you think that this could be the reason why Liverpool Victoria refused dandywarhol and myself insurance last month. I told them that my Bongo was both professionally converted to a campervan and also a Grey Import and was refused insurance on grounds that it was a Grey Import. Liverpool Victoria currently insure both my house and my Jeep Cherokee and I was hoping for a second car discount.
Tony
Hi Tony
I think it depends first on whether you were trying to insure it on their general car policy, which will doubtless only cover UK type approved/EC listed vehicles - or on a dedicated motorhome/motorcaravan policy, if they offer one.
Then, as in the case of Saga, referred to in one of the links, not even all motorhome/motorcaravan insurers fully recognise that "grey import" is irrelevant in the case of motorcaravan-first-registered vehicles.
To be honest though (and on further reflection), I only came a cropper with Saga because another owner told them that their Bongo motorcaravan was a grey import - and maybe it was, as I don't think we were told its first UK registration status. Anyway, I remember now that Saga's system was imperfect because their Motorhome Policy's online application did not ask for details of the base vehicle's origin, and whether it was UK type approved - or whether it was an exemption-qualifying, motorcaravan-first-registered, vehicle. It just assumed the latter, until told otherwise.
As I said elsewhere, motorcaravans first UK registered as such are vehicle manufacturer type approval exempt, and are UK approved directly between the converter and VOSA, without then featuring in EC-wide type approved vehicle lists, for licensing and insurance purposes.
The problem then was simply that Saga's clerical admin people of course got cold feet as soon as grey import/not type approved was mentioned, even though it was irrelevant, in my case at least - and so they decided no Bongos at all, without ever taking proper account of their first UK registration status. At that point, I felt that their left hand didn't know what their right hand was doing (apparently normal for Saga), and decided not to waste any more time with them.
Imperial recommended me to instead go to (much smaller) Safeguard, whose staff do understand what's what.
Cheers
David