Self-build campervan insurance: what each insurer requires

Yes with some insurers. Adrian Flux covers the whole conversion period including driving it, or fire and theft "build-up cover" for a garaged van; Just Kampers says cover is usually available before completion; Howden sells a dedicated in-conversion policy; Sterling offers fire and theft during the build. Comfort will not accept a part-converted private build. Read on the insurers' pages on 15 September 2026.

Not everywhere. Adrian Flux will insure it as a camper even if DVLA has not changed the body type or you do not qualify. Comfort wants motor caravan on the V5C but may quote a van with side windows that meets its list. Ripe's product page excludes vehicles not registered as a motorhome or campervan while its blog says cover is available either way, so ask. Just Kampers says you do not have to declare the conversion, but most owners do because camper cover is cheaper than van cover.

Comfort and Ripe publish the fullest lists: a permanently fixed bed of at least 6 ft (1,800 mm), fixed enclosed storage, a fixed water tank and installation, seating and a table with a permanent fixing, a fixed gas or electric cooker or heater, a separate habitation door and a window on each side. Ripe adds no bulkhead between cab and living area; Comfort adds a floor-plan sketch. These go beyond DVLA's own rules.

Comfort requires an engineer's report and/or gas and electrical certificates for the cooking or heating installation, to be produced at a claim or audit. Ripe requires gas and electrical work to be professionally installed or signed off. Just Kampers says insurers often require proof of professional installation. Shield says it avoids engineer reports by insuring the van as a motorhome from the start. A habitation check with a gas soundness test is one route to the paperwork.

Comfort is the only insurer we read that publishes a count: a minimum of five recent photographs (front and one side with plates, rear and the other side with plate, interior front to back, interior back to front, and a general interior shot). Just Kampers and Howden say photographs may be requested. Keep dated photos of every stage regardless; they support the valuation at claim time.

Advertised from-prices on 15 September 2026: Comfort from £165 (campervan page), Sterling from £165 a year, Just Kampers from £225 in its page header and £235 in the FAQ on the same page. Adrian Flux, Ripe, Howden and Shield show no starting price. These are marketing figures; a DIY conversion, your postcode, mileage and security all move the quote.

No. Its knowledge base says "We cannot insure any self converted or self built motorhomes" and that it covers only professionally converted campervans up to 25 years old, naming converters such as Bilbos, Danbury, Hillside, IH, Wellhouse and Westfalia. It suggests calling Adrian Flux instead.