baysearcher
Active member
Use Cherished Insurance and take your bus / bug abroad? Read on...
Right, I'm normally the first to recommend Cherished but this time they've got it wrong:
I renewed my insurance before Christmas and whilst doing so checked the usual things; excess, mileage etc. I also asked for confirmation that their European breakdown cover includes re-patriation costs in the event of a breakdown abroad, that cannot be fixed by a local mechanic. They confirmed this was the case, so I paid up and thought no more about it. I had the normal great service throughout the call.
The paperwork came through and as as I'm a bit cynical when it comes to insurance companies, I duly checked all the details.
To say the wording regarding European breakdown is wooly is an understatement, so I phoned for clarification. Again it was confirmed to me that re-patriation WAS included. Not convinced they were right I read the relevant section of the policy to them, at which point they said they'd need to do some research. A few days later they phoned back and stated that the breakdown cover provider (DAS who use AA) would not guarantee re-patriation but that they had followed this course of action in the past.... They won't put this in writing though, so basically I need to trust an insurance company. Really?
Basically, if you rely on Cherished to recover your bus to the UK in the event of a breakdown abroad, they may, OR MAY NOT, cover the costs. (If they do it will be contrary to their own policy document wording). Something worth bearing in mind if you go abroad.
The most disappointing thing about this is that Cherished are selling an add-on that they don't fully understand.
Cherished have since contacted me and thanked me for bringing this to their attention. Under FSA regs they now have to contact every classic policy holder with clarification that re-patriation is not specifically included.
May not be the end of the world but worth knowing if you're insured by them and thought you had comprehensive European breakdown cover.
Right, I'm normally the first to recommend Cherished but this time they've got it wrong:
I renewed my insurance before Christmas and whilst doing so checked the usual things; excess, mileage etc. I also asked for confirmation that their European breakdown cover includes re-patriation costs in the event of a breakdown abroad, that cannot be fixed by a local mechanic. They confirmed this was the case, so I paid up and thought no more about it. I had the normal great service throughout the call.
The paperwork came through and as as I'm a bit cynical when it comes to insurance companies, I duly checked all the details.
To say the wording regarding European breakdown is wooly is an understatement, so I phoned for clarification. Again it was confirmed to me that re-patriation WAS included. Not convinced they were right I read the relevant section of the policy to them, at which point they said they'd need to do some research. A few days later they phoned back and stated that the breakdown cover provider (DAS who use AA) would not guarantee re-patriation but that they had followed this course of action in the past.... They won't put this in writing though, so basically I need to trust an insurance company. Really?
Basically, if you rely on Cherished to recover your bus to the UK in the event of a breakdown abroad, they may, OR MAY NOT, cover the costs. (If they do it will be contrary to their own policy document wording). Something worth bearing in mind if you go abroad.
The most disappointing thing about this is that Cherished are selling an add-on that they don't fully understand.
Cherished have since contacted me and thanked me for bringing this to their attention. Under FSA regs they now have to contact every classic policy holder with clarification that re-patriation is not specifically included.
May not be the end of the world but worth knowing if you're insured by them and thought you had comprehensive European breakdown cover.