Caravan and motorhome club insurance

ShockedFox

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Hello all
I have owned my campervan for over 8 years now and have insurance via caravan and motorhome club, it is underwritten by DEWITT insurance brokers and insured with AXA...I have unfortunatly had my drivers licence revolked due to health reasons which took 3 years for DVLA to issue me a "medical drivers licence" so in reality I have not driven for 3 years...you can imagine how happy i was to get my medical drivers licence which is only valid for 12 months so booked my MOT and ferry tickets ASAP.
All the time my campervan has been parked on my driveway always taxed and insured... heres the thing...
I booked a MOT at the same station that has done it for the last 6 years and while I had parked my camper outside the MOT station at 8.30am so i beat the traffic, I went to grab a coffee as MOT opens at 10am...it was stolen during the 90 min that I was away...,it was locked with a factory fitted alarm immobiliser and a after market steering lock....No evidence of broken glass on the road where she was parked....
AXA insurance now claim they will not be settling my claim as the van did NOT have a valid MOT certificate...surely the fact that i booked it in and was parked outside waiting for them to open shows intent to get a MOT...she was in perfect condition and had always passed the MOT in the past as only400 miles covered since last MOT...
Please advise as I am totally flabbergasted here....

"Carloss"
 
a vehicle cannot be parked on a public road, even outside an MOT station, if it does not have a valid MOT, unless it is being driven directly to or from a pre-arranged MOT test. Leaving it on the public road is illegal and could result in fines, as it is considered "using the road". You must leave the vehicle on private property until the MOT can be completed.
 
Worth initially checking your precise policy wording and if appropriate raising an official complaint with your insurers. For example, my policy states:

Your motorhome must be taxed where applicable and registered in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man and where required, must have a current Department of Transport test certificate (MOT).

In your case, the words "where required" would be key, particularly if the vehicle was not in fact taxed but had been SORNed. The DVLA state:
"You can only drive a vehicle with a SORN on a public road to go to or from a pre-booked MOT or other testing appointment." https://www.gov.uk/sorn-statutory-off-road-notification
Therefore, under these specific circumstances a current MOT certificate is not required. If your policy wording is similar, it would be worth raising this with your insurers.
 
Pudsey Bear said:
a vehicle cannot be parked on a public road, even outside an MOT station, if it does not have a valid MOT, unless it is being driven directly to or from a pre-arranged MOT test. Leaving it on the public road is illegal and could result in fines, as it is considered "using the road". You must leave the vehicle on private property until the MOT can be completed.
Click to expand...
Even leaving the vehicle off-road does not exempt you from having a valid MOT (subject to vehicle age) and tax and insurance unless you have SORNed the vehicle.
 
It is an unfortunate fact that some factory-fitted door locks, alarms and immobilisers can easily be circumvented (the Ford Transit Mk7 is a case in point) and some aftermarket steering locks are more effective than others. I hope that you are able to achieve a suitable resolution with your insurers.
 
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