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The Motorhome Insurance Mistakes That Could Cost You

Motorhome Matt

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A simple mistake with your motorhome keys could leave you facing a very expensive insurance problem. In this episode, we look at the assumptions owners make about cover, claims and theft, and the small decisions that can make a big difference when something goes wrong.

We visit Ripe HQ to speak with Mel Savage, Head of Insurance Product, about what “comprehensive” insurance really means, why claims can become more complicated than they need to be, and what motorhome and campervan owners should check before they ever need to make one.

We also discuss motorhome theft, trackers, keyless entry, lithium battery upgrades, travelling in Europe, and some of the changes Ripe has made around older vehicles, commuting, lower-value vehicles and classic campers.

A few of the key questions we get into:
• What happens if you leave the keys in the motorhome and it gets stolen?
• Do you need to tell your insurer about a lithium battery upgrade?
• What should you check before taking your motorhome into Europe?
• Can you tow a car on an A-frame and still be covered?

In the Q&A, we also cover removing an oven from a motorhome, breakdown cover for older vans travelling in Europe, and practical ways to reduce your insurance premium.

We also hear Matt’s story of a stolen motorhome that was recovered with the police just 90 minutes after its tracker was activated.

If you’re reviewing your motorhome or campervan insurance, you can find out more about Ripe here and get 15% off your premium:
https://mhmp.info/rpyt

WATCH NEXT:
Choosing Motorhome Insurance: Claims, Cost...

LINKS:
🗓️ VIEW UPCOMING EVENTS – https://mhmp.info/events

⛺️ RIVERSIDE CARAVAN PARK – https://mhmp.info/riverside

🗣️ CHAT WITH MOTORHOME MATT – https://mhmp.info/chat

✅ MOTORHOME MATT APPROVED – https://mhmp.info/approved

❓ ASK MATT – https://mhmp.info/askmatt

🛡️ 15% OFF INSURANCE – https://mhmp.info/rpyt

Motorhome Matt is brought to you by That Leisure Shop.
👉 https://thatleisureshop.com – 10% off your first order with the code MOTORHOMEMATT.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 Motorhome insurance mistakes that could cost you
00:45 Blokes, Bacon Baps and Banter at That Leisure Shop
04:06 What motorhome owners get wrong about insurance
06:56 Comprehensive cover, keys and claim problems
09:38 New motorhome and campervan insurance changes
16:05 European cover and what to check before you travel
17:24 Theft, trackers and test drive risks
19:47 Lithium upgrades and off-grid insurance questions
22:04 Why insurers assess risk
25:18 A-frame towing, oven removal and breakdown cover
29:18 How to reduce your motorhome insurance premium

#MotorhomeInsurance #MotorhomeTips #MotorhomeMatt

20 Comments

@raymondc5473 11 days ago

Another great and useful video as ever, thanks Keith and Matt

@maxflight777 11 days ago (edited)

Well Matt, your male-only event is such a good idea.

You’re right — none of us are really going to sit in the pub anymore drinking pints. We find that when you do that you just get fat, and there are other drawbacks to it too.😂

I really like going on motorbike holidays and Enduro dirt-bike trips because you often get a bunch of men (12 men for four or five days) and it’s just fantastic. The male-only humour is something I love. But you can’t do that every day, so I think your suggestion here is spot on.

I hope it’s a huge success.

(I can’t make it because we live in Portugal,) but for the men in the UK I hope you all have a great time.

@WheelsandWhim 9 days ago

Interesting pod cast - We have looked at Ripe previously, whilst they were slightly cheaper than the provider we have had for many years, their "exclusions and limitations" in their T's & C's are very strict by comparison. The extra mile always counts when it comes to selecting a provider for motorhome owners, and that makes the biggest difference for us - Ripe do not offer UK breakdown cover as standard with every policy (without size or weight limitations), nor can they provide European breakdown cover for a simple £80 flat fee (again without size or weight limitations). If we were to buy UK and European breakdown cover as a separate element to our insurance, the combined cost would be astronomical. So having that bundled into our insurance from our existing provider, who handle breakdown through their own call centres, makes a big difference for us! It would be interesting to see if Ripe ever go the extra mile on policy inclusions such as simple, no hassle, no questions asked European breakdown cover, that they handle via their own call centres.

@maxflight777 11 days ago

Addicted to this channel !! What can I do ? 😂

@kevtheargonut 11 days ago

Breakfast club is a great idea. Those of us with clown cars used to go to a similar thing at Goodwood race circuit.

@QB2ERS 11 days ago

The other side of the story is of course that too many people claim someone else was to blame for the prang and inflated claims, none existing injuries etc etc' i've had the misfortune in having to deal with a few.

@bunkersfortificationsandme7688 10 days ago (edited)

A tale about insurance. My girlfriend has had insurance for many years on cars without a claim. Around 10 years ago she decided to part ex her car for a campervan with her as the main driver and myself as a named driver. Just after the pandemic she upgraded the campervan for a motorhome. Recently this year ( 2026) we decided to upgrade for a brand new motorhome. To keep the insurance down I decided to insure the MH myself purely in my name without my girlfriend being on the insurance ( I'm 11 years older than her ). She decided to insure a car and transfer her NCD onto the car. HOWEVER no car insurance company would accept her NCD because they said that the MH was a ` leisure` vehicle` !!!!. Considering that she mainly drove the MH for all those years and between 5 - 8k miles a year, she has had to start from scratch . The only saving grace was that she was named on my car insurance policy which helped a little. When I insured the new MH then the insurance did accept my NCD from one of my cars. May this be a word of warning to any listeners/ viewers who are thinking of doing the same. 😪 Billy from Wigan.

@colinturton9907 10 days ago

We had given a test drive for a new bmw on the test drive the person said the boot is showing open the sales man said he woild check he got out the car to go to check then the person test driving the car drove off leaving our sales man beside the road

@travelcampervansandmore 10 days ago

As a mostly solo campervanner, I feel discriminated by either having to carry both set of keys or leave one set at home. Hiding a set of keys in the van should not affect insurance.

@tradecarsdirectltd2344 11 days ago

You need the key to open the fuel cap on a Fiat anyway ! Do not leave your key in cap dangling off the hook. I do sometimes but only when I'm fueling at pump, then re-locking cap . . .

@davidfoster9890 11 days ago

I phoned Ripe to inform them I've been given 3 points for speeding.
They charged me £20 admin fee, but couldn't say if there would be be a higher premium, until renewal date. And said I needn't have advised them till renewal date.
I've always believed that go had to do so.......?

@stuartowen666 10 days ago

Hi, tried to get quote for our 2025 Dethleffs Alpa but Ripe Wii not insure any motorhome over 3.5 ton will this change in future?

@bigburt8652 6 days ago

Hi Matt do you know when we can tow a small car with A frame in the UK👍 with ripe it would make life so much easier

@The-Wanderers-on-Tour 3 days ago

Another great video. If I register for your male only get together should I wear a blue checked shirt and was wondering how long have you had that shirt?😇

@2-4-6wheels 10 days ago

Nearly fell off my chair when Mel said a lithium battery upgrade only needs declaring if it results in an increase to the value of the van.

All vehicle insurance applications ask whether ANY changes/modifications have been made to the manufacturer's original specification and require them to be declared.

Whether a newer lithium compatible van, OEM fitted with a lead acid or AGM battery, or an older non-compatible van, upgrading to lithium is most certainly declarable because it's a change from the manufacturer's original specification.

My advice (40.years in financial services) is: If you're with Ripe, save this video, if you're not, declare your lithium upgrade.

@QB2ERS 11 days ago

When i wanted to save money on renewal i asked LV to take commuting off as i'm retired, they said that made me a higher risk therefore a higher premium - no kidding, likewise when i said i'd had a thatcham cat2 alarm retofitted they said that was a modification and they'd charge extra. No wonder the majority don't trust insurers one bit. Anyway they've dumped RVs so i'm out..... Many years in the fleet and transport industry - there are stories about insurers u would'nt believe!

@grahamwood9281 11 days ago

This is for ripe having now got to the golden age of 82 coming on 83 I have an advanced certificate, I used to run a driving school so an ex ADI grade 5, also had HGV, and PCV certificates buses lorries etc and you still won't insure me there must be hundreds of people like me who are still very competent to drive so how about thinking again!!

@BartleyRoad 10 days ago

Strangely but Hopefully they listen to feedback . They are the only insurance company who decided when i gave them my postcode, they said they couldn't offer insurance.. nothing wrong with our postcode .. its not any high risk.. we are not high risk so don't get their reasons and they wouldn't explain why. They did not even reply to my email asking them for an explanation. I went elsewhere..

@QB2ERS 11 days ago

There are lithium batteries then there are lithium batteries!

@Lilrom2003 11 days ago

You’ll love this, going from a normal van review becoming ever more hilarious from small asides to slapstick comedy https://youtu.be/HW002vcXswU?is=HoAMRhyz17gVv-p-