Short term vehicle ...
 

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Short term vehicle insurance

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Hi, looking for help from anyone in the motor insurance. 

I’m 2 weeks away from scout camp and the company we hire minibuses from have said we now have to self insure rather than use their insurance as we have done previously.

I’ve tried to get cover on multiple short term insurance sites and keep getting told it’s not available but not sure why.  I’m waiting for call backs from a couple of companies to see if this can be resolved.

We booked the minibus a year ago and it’s proving difficult now to find an alternative minibus.

Does anyone have contacts that we can use to arrange a short term insurance cover with?


 
Posted : 28/07/2025 4:33 pm
 poly
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Are you talking the entire insurance or the Collision Damage Waiver (excess) only?  

this may be so out of date (it predates internet insurance!) but I worked with a voluntary organisation in the 90s and we borrowed vehicles and insured them ourselves.  Head office had a commercial multi vehicle policy which we could add other vehicles for the ten days we needed them.  Worth a call to Scout HQ?  


 
Posted : 29/07/2025 8:18 am
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thats a very odd system ? you hire a vehicle and self insure ? that sounds like a quick way to have your hire fleet cruising round uninsured..... 

 


 
Posted : 29/07/2025 9:08 am
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I had a load of trouble insuring a fast car on the temporary sites but it was a doddle to add it as a temporary vehicle to my existing policy.


 
Posted : 29/07/2025 9:12 am
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thats a very odd system ? you hire a vehicle and self insure ? that sounds like a quick way to have your hire fleet cruising round uninsured..... 

Sounds a bit sus eh? Have they had their insurance revoked or something?

I'd keep looking for an alternative provider. You might get recommendations on here OP.


 
Posted : 29/07/2025 10:04 am
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It's the full insurance.  Even tried one of the other leader's details in case it was me but no cover offered.

Does seem odd, their excuse was that they are "having building work done and can't get insurance until they have a new address"!  We're looking for alternatives, but since covid, 17 seater minibuses to hire are hard to source. We're also looking at buying one.


 
Posted : 30/07/2025 1:53 pm
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I have a feeling this all might be due to fraudulent insurance claims for this type of vehicle in the past.  I remember a conversation with the owner of a small hire firm in central Newcastle who was selling up back in the early 2010s.  He had a fleet of about 40 cars and vans - including 2 17 seaters and a couple of 9 seaters.  His insurance premium had doubled year on year from around 35k to over 70k due (as far as I understood) a couple of small accidents in the big minibuses where suddenly everyone on board had £3,500 worth of whiplash each.

Another firm I'd used in the past went over to self insurance the same as the guys you're dealing with, just on the grounds of cost.  I've used tempcover - but never on a minibus, have you tried them?  And Adrian Flux say they offer temporary cover these days, might be worth investigating.

 


 
Posted : 30/07/2025 2:26 pm
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Posted by: FB-ATB

We're looking for alternatives, but since covid, 17 seater minibuses to hire are hard to source.

How about two 9-seaters?  You have an "other leader" to drive.


 
Posted : 30/07/2025 2:49 pm
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Imagine the size of the claim of you got in a bad accident with 16 kids on board. Insurers just probably don't want a few quids worth of business with that risk. 


 
Posted : 30/07/2025 3:08 pm
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How long is it for? I don't know if this'll work for a minibus but sometimes the best route for car short term insurance is just to take out a full policy and cancel it afterwards within the 14 day cool off.


 
Posted : 30/07/2025 4:34 pm
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Problem solved- we're now getting our own minibus this weekend so we won't have this problem again.


 
Posted : 31/07/2025 1:06 pm
fossy reacted

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