Hello, I know there may be other websites for this question but as a subscriber here, I thought I would ask.
We are thinking of going touring / full time for possibly two years and was wondering if anyone knows how I would go about having insurance cover on the campervan ie: being legal!
Initially I would have my home address, but when it's sold how would I stand with the law as regards to
insurance checks etc?I know there are services where I could "hire" an address for a specific time but I'm pretty sure that you have to be living at the address for insurance purposes.
It's all a bit grey to me, it seems there must be a way as people are out there doing it, any help / information
I think that what you will need to do is to get a trusted friend, maybe a relative who is willing to permit you to use their home address as a "care of" address. Letters don't have to be written "care of" that address. I am using the term to mean that your friend is taking care of your post. That friend would have to be willing to vouch for you if ever called upon to do so by anyone checking your credentials.
As you are selling your house you will need to notify DVLA that your new address is that friends home. Then your driving licence will provide evidence of your address for a whole range of things. Do the same for your Passport (although they may ask some searching questions to make sure that this is not some kind of identity scam). Then you can run everything via that address.
Your friends will have to let you know when post arrives and they can send it on to whichever site you are at. Just let them have your pitch number. They could even scan letters into their PC and email them as attachments if you are carrying a laptop.
A downside could arise when you enter into any dealings with organisations who may need to check that you are who you say you are. e.g Passport.
A usual way of checking folk is via the electroal register. For those with no permanent home they can register under what is known as "Special category Electors." Special category electors require annual renewals to be completed in order to remain registered. These will be sent by the Electoral Registration Officer to your last notified address (so you can use your friends address) up to three months before any current registration expires. To be registered you will need to sign a Declaration of Local Connection indicating that you are homeless. In that declaration you would give your present address as one that you have lived at in the local area. You would also be required to give a postal address in the area. Its that easy. Best to go along to your local Town Hall and have a chat with one of the electoral registration officers
Hope it all works out
Phil
------------- If you're not on a fell your wasting your feet and for 2014 it's.......Feb Castleton Mar North Yors Moors; Apr Sutton on Sea; May Thirsk; Jun Clapham/Riverside (Lakes); July Wharfedale; August Crakehall; Sept Knaresborough; Oct Wirral Park/Clitheroe
How would you answer the usual insurance question of "Where is the vehicle kept overnight?" if you were using a friend's address, without telling a porkie
I think you would be best speaking to a broker - as you say, there must be a way of doing it.
How would you answer the usual insurance question of "Where is the vehicle kept overnight?" if you were using a friend's address, without telling a porkie
The address you use is just an address. You tell them that you store the camper van on a caravan site overnight.
My wife was a financial advisor and amongst other things dealt with insurance sales. She tells me that it was fairly common for folks with no fixed address to use a care of address in the manner I suggested.
Phil
------------- If you're not on a fell your wasting your feet and for 2014 it's.......Feb Castleton Mar North Yors Moors; Apr Sutton on Sea; May Thirsk; Jun Clapham/Riverside (Lakes); July Wharfedale; August Crakehall; Sept Knaresborough; Oct Wirral Park/Clitheroe
What a lot of balava, we did it for a year and 8 months, ok we did give my son's address as ie. living there not as C.O. and that was it, as my driving licence its still got my old address on it although we been in Liverpool for almost 5 years now, You are who you are and if you have NOTHING TO HIDE THEN WHATS THE PROBLEM? ok we did comeback to the UK. twice in a year re. campers MOT and a full service, renew insurance and sorted some banking details out, see our kids and grandkids and within 3 weeks we were off again. JUST DO IT
Load of Balava ...but you did you set up an address before you went rambling.
Phil
------------- If you're not on a fell your wasting your feet and for 2014 it's.......Feb Castleton Mar North Yors Moors; Apr Sutton on Sea; May Thirsk; Jun Clapham/Riverside (Lakes); July Wharfedale; August Crakehall; Sept Knaresborough; Oct Wirral Park/Clitheroe
Yeah i did, but, thats all you have to do! an address, that is all is required to remain legal with the insurance. We did'nt bother with vehicle breakdown or even personal insurance, in my mind its a waste of good (restaurant meals) money.
Quote: Originally posted by wineciccio on 18/2/2011
What a lot of balava, we did it for a year and 8 months, ok we did give my son's address as ie. living there not as C.O. and that was it, as my driving licence its still got my old address on it although we been in Liverpool for almost 5 years now, You are who you are and if you have NOTHING TO HIDE THEN WHATS THE PROBLEM? ok we did comeback to the UK. twice in a year re. campers MOT and a full service, renew insurance and sorted some banking details out, see our kids and grandkids and within 3 weeks we were off again. JUST DO IT
Indeed just do it, your answer to the op's quite reasonable question is just soddit all, go & just hope he dosen't get a £100k claim that might bear some investigation by assessors. He does not appear to have a relative at whose house he could pretend that he is living, hence his question.
The reality is that you still need a UK adress. To make it watertight you would need the full cooperation of those at the adress at which you were pretending to be living. You would need to change licence/passport/van reg doc/bank etc to that adress & perhaps some sort of 'rent' agreement.
The occupants would need to add you to the electoral register when the form came around, if your van was too big for the drive you would need to insure 'parked in road' at extra cost.
In fact, the way winecicco suggests, but with somewhat more attention to detail. This way would be ok for insurance purposes, I think.
All the fulltimers I know still have houses so they are not really fulltimers, even if they are, so to speak.
It isn't about pretending that you are living at a house. It's just about having an address for communication/contact, (for service of summonses for speeding !) for those cases when there is a need to check you out. Then you need the owner to be willing to pass letters on to you. OP just wants to do it right
Phil
------------- If you're not on a fell your wasting your feet and for 2014 it's.......Feb Castleton Mar North Yors Moors; Apr Sutton on Sea; May Thirsk; Jun Clapham/Riverside (Lakes); July Wharfedale; August Crakehall; Sept Knaresborough; Oct Wirral Park/Clitheroe
If you are not actually living there than you are indeed pretending. The way I described it is how fulltimers who sell up do it, generally using the adress of a close relative, but attention to detail is important, not 'just soddit & go' as the other poster was suggesting.
Too right - Did you know that if you are stopped by the Police and you claim not to have an adddress, or they check the address you have given and there is no evidence that you have any link to it then, by virtue of Section 25 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 you can be arrested on the grounds that they reasonably suspect that you have committed a non-arrestable offence and serving you with a summons is inappropriate because they cannot establish your address.
So its best to make sure you have an address and that all your paperwork indicates that address. For e.g they just pull you over to check your weights. Something as innocent as that.
Phil
Post last edited on 19/02/2011 20:08:09
------------- If you're not on a fell your wasting your feet and for 2014 it's.......Feb Castleton Mar North Yors Moors; Apr Sutton on Sea; May Thirsk; Jun Clapham/Riverside (Lakes); July Wharfedale; August Crakehall; Sept Knaresborough; Oct Wirral Park/Clitheroe
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: legal insurance
see our kids and grandkids and within 3 weeks we were off again. JUST DO IT 
