Nationwide FlexPlus Breakdown cover flawed

Vangirl

A friend told me about his experiences of the UK and Europe breakdown cover provided by the Nationwide FlexPlus account. He has a self-built camper van, which it turns out is not covered by the breakdown policy - he found this out after he was left stranded by them in Europe! There is nothing in the policy wording to suggest self-built campers are excluded. I eventually got out of them that "the reason self built camper vans are not covered is because they would not be maintained within the manufactures guidelines. This is covered in section 3. B. If the van had been professionally modified and receipts could be provided they could then cover you in the event of a breakdown. " Do you think this means that any vehicle where the owner has done their own oil changes etc is not covered?

I have tried to investigate this, and have been told that even a van with a mattress in the back will count as a self-built camper van, so will not be covered. The bed in my van is a simple wooden structure, so I asked if my van broke down and I removed the bed if I would be covered, apparently I would be! I thought this was totally ridiculous! At what point does a wooden structure in the back of a van turn from a piece of wood that I am carrying around, to a bed which invalidates the policy? I asked if the self built camper had to be registered as a camper with the DVLA, apparently this is not the case.

I wondered if this rule was widely known and if I am late to this party, or if no-one else has come across this, in which case is there a way we can get it on the main website, to warn others of this exclusion? I imagine a lot of people who want a camper, but also like to save money, will have built their own camper van and then got a bargain packaged bank account from Nationwide, not knowing that they are not covered for breakdown cover!

Any thoughts anyone?

Motormad

I remember reading that our motorhome needs to have the service history recorded and up to date or it will not be covered.

stockton_2

Is this an exclusion that would be applied by the RAC/AA and other breakdown services or is it just specific to the breakdown cover allied to Nationwide?

A friend of mine has breakdown cover supplied via her car insurance. I seem to recall that someone posted a complaint about it. You are not considered a direct customer and have to prove your insurance details.

Anyone who has breakdown cover via their bank or insurance company would be well advised to have a good look through their policies.

mgdavid

Never understand why people mess around trying to get something on the cheap rather than DYOR and use a specialist. Wife and I are covered for the motorhome and two cars throughout UK and Europe for €90 per year with ADAC.
That's £6.50 a month, which is cheaper than paying for many bank accounts.

Vangirl

mgdavid, probably because the account offers a large range of features - worldwide travel insurance, breakdown cover, decent interest on first 2.5k, etc. From reading all the documents there is no mention of the fact that self built campers are not covered for breakdown. To be honest I've always read all the other breakdown policies I've had, and never seen any mention of it on them either, I wonder if they all do it (as stockton mentioned!))
motormad, maybe they just have a thing about camper vans then! Strange!

MyOnlyPost

I haven't read the policy so I cannot pass factual comment.

I would assume however that most policies include some kind of wording that it must be a production vehicle and any modifications must be notified on the policy. I could of course be wrong

mgdavid

Vangirl wrote: »

mgdavid, probably because the account offers a large range of features - worldwide travel insurance, breakdown cover, decent interest on first 2.5k, etc. From reading all the documents there is no mention of the fact that self built campers are not covered for breakdown. To be honest I've always read all the other breakdown policies I've had, and never seen any mention of it on them either, I wonder if they all do it (as stockton mentioned!))
motormad, maybe they just have a thing about camper vans then! Strange!

Have you tried claiming on the travel insurance? Have you read the exclusions in the small print on that policy?
Plenty of places to get good interest on £2.5k without paying £120 per year for the privilege - but I guess it proves that marketing works some of the time! Each to their own....

Vangirl

Hi mgdavid, yes, the fact we know someone who has thoroughly used the travel insurance was one of the things that appealed to us. A broken back in the middle of Germany, he was fully taken care of, including vehicle repatriation - and that was a self built camper, so clearly not all insurances dislike them! ;-)

jimjames

I think you need to be realistic and check things like that before setting off if you have something non standard. For 99% of customers the cover will suit, very few people have custom built campers that they need to use so it seems reasonable to cover 99% of customers that have standard vehicles.

I have the Nationwide breakdown cover that I have used twice. Both vehicles are ones that some other companies will not cover but Nationwide had no issues with either. One was fixed by the road and the other recovered to a garage. In both cases I was very happy with the service provided.

teddysmum

stockton wrote: »

Is this an exclusion that would be applied by the RAC/AA and other breakdown services or is it just specific to the breakdown cover allied to Nationwide?

A friend of mine has breakdown cover supplied via her car insurance. I seem to recall that someone posted a complaint about it. You are not considered a direct customer and have to prove your insurance details.

Anyone who has breakdown cover via their bank or insurance company would be well advised to have a good look through their policies.

We had free breakdown cover from Saga (offered two months after the policy began, so not part of the insurance deal).My husband is the first named driver on the policy, but I had to make a call out while alone.


The callout was AA, excellent and given priority as I was a lone female . I did not have to provide any information except for the policy number, which was on the cover letter kept in the car with the callout card.