Red Pennant cover policies

We haven't used RP for the last 2 years as it doesn't cover the trailer which or trike is carried on. We have cover through both Saga which is in with our insurance and we also have cover free with our Nationwide flex plus account, time will tell how good they are if we have to use them.

In the past the Club have said that Red Pennant starts the day you leave home. The reason surely is that if you have a medical incident or major breakdown before you get to the port of your UK departure  you will be covered for any expenses like crossings or sites booked and that is why you are being asked to cover the period from the date you leave home. Now some might not be too bothered by that but many will. I suspect they are trying to offer a policy that suits the greatest cross section of members and that is how it is underwritten. If they do allow you to cover just the overseas part of the trip the UK part will be at your own risk.

David

Thank you for your reply - and for all of the other replies. My question is not one of absolutes but, as has been remarked upon, one of flexibility.

If I left home for a month's UK tour (not impossible), before the Europe leg, RP seems to require me to have cover for the whole period. RP insurance does not appear to make any discrimination and applies the same amount of cover for the whole period.

That approach is not, apparently, meeting the needs of all caravanners - or it is finding the way to generate more cash for RP little additional risk.

I acknowledge that accidents can happen on the way to the boat, but the consequent riska are significantly less in terms of cover on this side of the channel and the further away the date of sailing is. There appears to be no recognition of this in the way the Caravan Club (through Red Pennant) applies its cover policy for overseas trips.

That is not right in actuarial terms so, surely, it cannot be right in how it is applied to caravanners booking their holidays via RP?

David GH

It does seem an odd way to do things. Although now back in the UK we are still technically covered as they said they might as well make the end date the end of the bracket, as it would not be any cheaper if we put an earlier date, because we were still in excess of the shorter period. I suppose it would have been useful if we were stuck in France, although I am not sure I am covered for anything here. We have Mayday in any event.

It would be a better system if they charged for the exact number of days, rather than specific periods. Or at the very least less dramatic jumps between periods.

I would imagine that the vast majority of members that go abroad and take out Red Pennant do just that. Leave home and depending on where they live take a day or three to get to the port and off they go on their overseas adventure, the same on the way back. That is how the policy is designed and priced. As such a door to door requirement is perfectly logical as it applies to the majority of members buying the product. Now I don't particularly understand the requirement on the return journey as once you are back in the UK nothing can affect the overseas part of the trip and assuming you have alternate UK cover and I would agree that perhaps that needs a rethink from the Club. However there is a great deal of logic in insisting on the policy starting from the point of leaving home as the risks are far greater. Perhaps Red Pennant can't suit all, we are all free to look for alternatives if it doesn't meet our individual requirements?

Some years ago the Club started to think about a combined UK/Europe breakdown cover which might overcome some of the issues raised but nothing seems to have come of that.

David

David, I accept your comments except that we are not really dealing with Red Pennant as such but with the Caravan Club. The Club, in my view, should be looking to provide the sort of flexible policy that members want and which help members to make flexible choices.

In my case I am staying for well over a week within a few miles of the port both before and after my overseas jaunt.

I accept I could break down on the way to/from the port on the day of sailing, but the risk is minimal.

I agree, it would make sense if Mayday (or another) could offer some form of Europe cover in much the same way as other motoring organisations do (although I suspect these days it is all insurance/actuarially driven [pun not intended] by all these organisations).

David GH

We have the same problem as we live a fair distance from any of the ports. Being retired, we have plenty of time to visit places/friends on the way to and from the port, if we are going over the Channel, we have 500 miles to drive each way and want to get some value out of the cost of doing so.

I queried the point of having to take the cover from when we left home and got the reply about being covered if something happened to the car or van within a certain period before the start date of the policy, maybe 14 days. I did ask why the cover before the start date could not apply whether you were actually at home, or away somewhere, but got no reply.

As we never usually book sites in advance, other than CC sites, the only cost we have to lose is the ferry, this year £112.50, which is a lot less than our Red Pennant premium.

We therefor only take out the RP at the last minute, having booked our ferry many months previously, take the risk ourselves of possibly losing the ferry fare, and also ofcourse the RP premium, and we keep several days in reserve to allow time to cover normal travel to and from the port.
On the occasions when we book a long, much more expensive crossing, such as from Hull, we would be travelling from home to the port directly, so no problem with cover on those occasions.

I do think it is time that the Club offered a more flexible policy where you could have more choice on  which risks you wanted to cover to suit your circumstances, rather than a blanket cover, and time the premium was on a daily basis rather than set periods.

Kj

I raised many of those points with the Club some years ago. I pointed out to them that groupings of days covered don't really match the average holiday length. RP goes 1-6 days, 7-12 days 13-24 days so if you go on a fairly average two week holiday you have to pay for three weeks cover. I suggest exactly what you mentioned basing the premium on a daily or weekly basis. The reply was that whichever way you try and cut the cake its what the insurance underwriters decide and I got the impression that the Club had limited powers to insist on their way. I have no idea if this has changed. I suppose the Club could change underwriters but that could mean an adverse effect on the pretty generous medical screening and as a result could make RP more expensive for some of us than it currently is.

David

The main reason I bite the bullet each time I need cover and go for Red Pennant yet again is that it is the only policy I have found that covers repatriation of the dog should the need arise.