Making An Informed Choice – Static Caravan Insurance

Making sure you get the most suitable insurance for your static home and at what you consider to be a cost-effective price is important. So, how do you make an informed choice for when buying static home insurance?

Let’s suggest some ways you can do that by highlighting some key considerations …

Do you need static caravan insurance?

There is no legal obligation in the UK to arrange insurance cover for your static caravan. It is prudent, however, to consider protecting your interests by taking out cover that may insulate you from the worst of the financial consequences of a disaster hitting your caravan as well as for potential liability issues.

If you have some form of loan on the static caravan, your loan provider may ask that you have the caravan insured against fire, theft, loss and damage etc. to protect both your financial interests.

Liability

  • as litigation is evidently becoming more commonplace in the UK, it may be important to note that someone in your caravan may choose to sue you if they are injured or their property is damaged, as a result of something they believe to be your fault;
  • that may be a particular risk in the case of renting so it might be sensible to ensure you have adequate third party liability cover;
  • do note that you may be contractually obliged by your site park owner to have third party liability insurance – this is to protect any guests or visitors to the park should something happen to them as a result of being in or around your static home (such as loss, damage or injury);
  • you may find that your caravan site park owner offers you their own static home insurance, but in most cases, you are not obliged to buy their cover but source your own;

Letting your static caravan

  • if you are renting your caravan out (whether to family, friends or professionally), remember to check that your caravan insurance covers such circumstances – some basic forms of insurance cover may not;
  • while thinking about renting out, keep in mind that the law may oblige you to perform certain safety checks and maintenance (around gas appliances etc) before each rental;

A park home is not classed as a static caravan

  • if you live in a caravan on a permanent basis and regard it as your home, then typically static caravan insurance will not be suitable for you – that’s because according to typical insurance definitions, a static caravan is one that is occupied only occasionally for leisure (holidays or weekend breaks and the like);
  • indeed, the park on which your caravan is berthed operates according to a local authority licence which carefully stipulates whether caravans may be occupied the whole year round permanently or only for seasonal or occasional use;

Sites vulnerable to flooding

  • if your static caravan is sited on a park known for flooding, you may find that some policies may not cover that risk, or they may impose special terms and/or higher premiums;

Awnings

  • it may be worth looking closely at what a potential caravan policy may offer by way of cover for any awning used for your caravan – UK weather being what it is, it might be useful to have cover for any awning type attachments even if they are subject to some conditions;
  • cover for awnings may typically be listed separately on your insurance schedule and will usually have conditions attached – such as an awning not being left up during heavy storms etc. These conditions will be highlighted within your policy documents or you can ask your insurance provider for confirmation;

Cover for the contents of your caravan

  • policies may differ widely in what sort of contents cover they provide – some, for example, may exclude several categories of items such as computers, mobile phones, cash, credit cards and jewellery, and so on; and

Precautions during any out of season period

  • during the winter closed season, it may not only be a good common-sense idea to drain down all your water and heating systems – but it may also be a mandatory requirement of your static caravan insurance. Make sure you understand what these conditions are.

Where is your static caravan sited?

Note that not all insurance policies offer cover to all static caravans – if yours is not formally berthed on a recognised caravan site, and simply parked in your local farmer’s field, for example, many insurers may decline cover.

Making an informed choice

What informs your choice when it comes to selecting the most suitable static caravan insurance? Are you looking for the cover with the cheapest insurance premiums, for example?

If, in the past, you might have bought your static caravan insurance from your site owner but then wondered from time to time if they were selling you the most appropriate static caravan insurance.

The chances are that, even if you did consider it to be suitable static caravan insurance, it may have been impossible for you to be sure that it provided the most appropriate levels of cover for your particular circumstances.

You may not be able to reach a conclusion without getting a couple of quotes and comparing what is on offer elsewhere.

It may be a worthwhile exercise to carry out because – contrary to what you may believe and as touched upon above – in most cases you do not have to buy your static insurance from your site owner.

One thing that may be clear, though, is that while the price of a policy may be important, the actual cover it offers will be what determines whether or not the policy is of interest to you. Value for money is likely to prove more important than price alone. So, make sure you compare your static caravan insurance policy options on a like-for-like basis.

Look out for discounts, too. For example, at Cover4Caravans, there may be premium discounts on offer if you are a member of a recognised caravan club or if your caravan is on a site that has a flood-free history.

Next steps

At Cover4Caravans, we can help you find what we believe is the most cost-effective and suitable cover for you. Simply get a quote online to see what options are available. Or please give us a call. We’d be very happy to help!