A motorhome is unlike a private car in a number of ways. Whilst a standard private car policy will provide legally valid cover it would leave you with some potential "gaps" between what the policy provides and the cover you actually need. To give you some examples:

• Personal belongings under a standard car policy is limited to around £100, whereas a Comfort Horizon motorhome policy will provide a minimum of £3,000 which can be increased to up to £5,000 on request.
• There is no gas & explosion cover on a car policy.
• There is no cover for awnings and/or generators under a car policy
• Breakdown cover taken as part of standard car policy will probably have weight and length limits that may mean your vehicle is not eligible.
• Foreign use cover under a standard car policy may have trip limits and/or overall number of days limits.

You must tell us everything that is relevant to your insurance. If you don't then you risk having your policy voided, and being left without cover. We need to know all your details, your driving history (any claims or motoring offences for you and any other drivers who will be using the car), the car details and the location. It is useful to remember that insurance companies and the police are starting to share information about cover, drivers and driving history.

Insurance companies need to take a lot of information in order to calculate a price: things like the make and model of car, postcode, driving history, claim experience, occupation, and type of use. By taking so much information we can personalise the price for your specific circumstances.

This applies only to DVLA reportable conditions that may affect the conditions under which you are granted your driving licence but be aware not all companies quote in this situation.

Insurance companies work with different statistics and use different methods to calculate premiums. Some companies specialise in certain areas or types of car so are prepared to discount more in some areas than others. This adds to the complexity as a like for like quote with a number of different companies can yield a number of very different prices.

Over the last few years insurers have been losing money by writing motor business. There has been pressure in the market to keep rates down due to the fact that so many companies are writing motor insurance but as they have lost so much money they are now putting the rates up so that they can cover claims losses and make money again.

There are a number of ways:

• Security - fit an alarm, immobiliser or tracker system.
• Annual mileage - be as accurate as you can with how many miles you would do in an average year
• Additional drivers - Only add drivers to your policy that regularly use the car.

A tracker is an electronic device (normally fitted as an accessory after purchase of the car), which emits a signal enabling law enforcement agencies to locate the car anywhere in the UK if it has been stolen.

An immobiliser is an electronic device that stops the car from being started if it is broken into. Although this won't stop your car from being broken into, it may well stop it from being driven away.

Most newer motorhomes (being those up to 6 years old) come with some sort of alarm and/or immobiliser. Insurers will already have the details of the alarms and immobilisers that are fitted to newer vehicles. This is already built into their rating criteria. If you have an older car you may have fitted a specific alarm. All alarms and immobilisers are categorised and insurers may give discounts depending upon the make and model of alarm or immobiliser.

There may be a reason for the owner and registered keeper to be different individuals. For example, you may use a car that is owned by someone else in which case you would be the registered keeper. Or you may own a car that you allow your children to use and therefore the registered keeper would be one of your children

The main driver is the person who uses the vehicle the most

Guess the nearest month if you can't remember exactly and it's more than 3 years ago.

These need to include any motoring offences in the last 5 years including any pending prosecutions. You will find the details you need on your driving licence.

These need to include any accidents or claims you have made in the last 3 years. You will need to have details of these to hand.

This information is available from your Registration Document (V5). The table below lists the Registration Marks for the last 10 years:

• M 1994 - 1995
• N 1995 - 1996
• P 1996 - 1997
• R 1997 - 1998
• S 1998 - 1999
• T/V 1999 - 2000
• W/X 2000 - 2001
• Y/51 2001 - 2002
• 02/52 2002 - 2003
• 03/53 2003 - 2004
• 04/54 2004 - 2005

The terms fault and non-fault can be confusing. A non-fault claim is simply a claim where the insurer is able to recover all their costs from someone else. If they are not able to recover all their costs, then it is a fault claim even if you didn't cause the claim to happen. For example a theft is typically classed as a fault claim because although you are not to blame for the theft, the insurance company had no third party to claim the costs from so they classify it as a fault claim.

If you do about 100 miles a week then that works out between 5,000 and 6,000 miles a year. If you do about 250 miles a week that works out at about 12,000 miles a year.

No Claims Bonus (or NCB) is the discount that you have earned on a previous insurance policy. Insurers give discounts determined by the number of years that you remain claim-free. A No Claims Bonus must be earned separately for each car that you insure, however a few companies give discounts for second cars and credit for previous claim-free company car driving if you can prove it. In these situations you will only get a couple of quotes on the Internet and your best bet is to use the phone to see if you can get a discount.

Some companies will allow you to protect your No Claims Bonus (NCB). This means that you will be able to have a number of claims over a specific period of time without your NCB being reduced. Please note that just because you protect your NCB this does not mean if you have a claim that you will stop your premium going up. Most companies rate on claim history as a separate factor. Protecting your bonus just protects your bonus discount so if you've had a claim, your protected discount is applied but it's applied against a higher premium.