Getting full motorhome insurance for a DIY or self-build motorhome can be difficult. There are only a few insurance companies in the UK that will provide full motorhome insurance cover for DIY conversions.
Some people will say “why not just insure your self-build campervan / motorhome as a van”?
This is a bad idea, for several reasons – both legal and practical:
- Van insurance is generally more expensive than motorhome insurance.
- Your van won’t be a van anymore – one look inside will show that it is a motorhome. Van insurance may be invalid if you pretend it is still a van, especially if you have re-registered your vehicle as a motor caravan with the DVLA.
- If you have genuinely converted your van, you will have made a lot of permanent modifications to it. All of these will need to be declared on a van insurance policy. Many van insurance companies will refuse to cover your modified van or will charge you a lot more.
- As well as insuring the base vehicle, you want to insure the value of the motorhome conversion – often thousands of pounds. Van insurance is unlikely to do this.
- Most motorhomes only require Class 4 MOTs (the same as cars). Vans with a maximum permitted weight of over 3,000kg require Class 7 MOTs. These often have to be done by commercial vehicle garages and are longer and more expensive than Class 4 MOTs.
- UK van speed limits are lower than UK motorhome speed limits.
The only solution is to have proper DIY conversion motorhome insurance. These are the UK insurance companies offering the service that I know about – if you know of any others, let me know and I will add them to the list*:
Insurance Choice can provide cover for three months while you convert your van to a motorhome. At the end of three months, you must have converted your van and re-registered it with the DVLA as a ‘Motor Caravan’.
Other companies offering this service include:
- Shield Total Insurance
- Adrian Flux
- Caravan Wise
Shield Total Insurance and Adrian Flux will insure your base vehicle when the conversion is in progress and then insure it as a motorhome once the conversion is complete. You will need to provide them with photos and receipts to prove you have converted it, however*.
Caravan Wise will only insure a finished conversion but will accept DIY conversions*.
Each company has its own requirements, which give you a good idea of what is required for a recognised conversion.
For more information on the DVLA’s conversion requirements, visit our DIY van conversion guide.
*All information regarding insurance services was believed to be correct at the time of writing. However, no responsibility can be taken for current or future accuracy. Please check before you buy.
