Static caravan insurance: know your obligations

When you take on ownership of a static caravan, you are also taking on certain responsibilities and obligations. It might be helpful to consider these with reference to two principal aspects:

  • obligations and responsibilities set out in your agreement with the owners of the campsite or managers of the park on which your static caravan is pitched; and
  • those obligations and responsibilities that are a condition of your insurance cover for the static caravan.

Obligations to the park management

When a campsite or caravan park allows you to keep a caravan on a pitch, there is invariably an agreement not only on the rent to be paid but also conditions relating to that tenancy and to the general rules and regulations of the site or park.

Each agreement is likely to vary of course between one park and another. As a broad principle, however, you might see that they are framed in order to ensure the general freedom of other residents to enjoy life in their caravans too and to maintain certain standards in the appearance and management of the park. Thus, amongst other things, you may be obliged to:

  • keep your plot and the area immediately surrounding your caravan in a neat and tidy way, with grass regularly cut and gardens maintained as appropriate;
  • park only in those areas designated for such use;
  • observe rules relating to excessive noise after certain hours;
  • maintain your static caravan in a good state of repair; and
  • in some instances, you may even be obliged to remove the caravan once it is beyond a certain age – see, for example, some of the issues raised in the pages on UK Law published on the website of Just Answer.

The site owners may also ask for evidence that you have adequate insurance for your static caravan – particularly with respect to protection against public liability claims. This does not always mean that you are obliged to buy your insurance from the site owners and you may need to stand your ground if you feel under pressure to do so.

Independently arranged static caravan insurance – from specialists such as those of us here at Cover4Caravans – may not only offer wider cover but typically may cost less than that offered by the park owners or management.

Obligations to your insurer

The obligations to your insurer are generally designed with one simple objective in mind and that is to mitigate any risk of loss or damage to your static caravan. Thus you might be expected to:

  • fit approved bolts and locks on doors and windows – and in some cases also install intruder alarms;
  • take special precautions when the static caravan is left unoccupied for significant periods of time, such as the park’s closed season – such as draining down the water systems, disconnecting gas and electricity supplies and ensuring that the park continues to supervise general security measures during any closed season; and
  • take care to remove items of value whenever the caravan is to be left unoccupied or unattended for any length of time.

The precise requirements may differ from one insurer to another, of course, but it is important that you understand the specific obligations imposed by your chosen insurer in order to avoid any possible dispute in the event of a claim.