If you measure it just by the price you pay, cheap caravan insurance cover may well exist – but looking for it may result in protection that is not always completely suitable for your needs.
Paradoxical as it may seem, finding cheap caravan insurance is rarely simply a question of the lowest premiums. Instead, it is more likely to be a matter of finding the best value for money for your own unique insurance needs.
Value for money
Good value for money recognises that not everyone’s needs are the same. Your needs and requirements – including those for your caravan insurance – are unlikely to be the same as those of a neighbour at your campsite or a friend.
The first step in finding good value for money is identifying your needs and requirements. This may be more difficult than it first appears, given the development and increasing sophistication of caravan insurance these days – you may be able to protect against considerably more perils and more closely defined risks than you imagined.
Just as it might be easy to overlook important areas of cover when it comes to identifying all your caravan insurance needs, there then comes the equally difficult task of finding the most appropriate product on a market that is surprisingly wide and varied. Unless you have a close or inside working knowledge of that market, you may well miss the very product you need – at a competitive price.
So, the price of the premiums does eventually come into the decision, but not before some critical decisions beforehand. You might also wish to consider the following ideas.
Specialist brokers
Talking to a specialist insurance provider – such as us here at Cover4Caravans – might be one way to ascertain whether your existing caravan insurance quotes constitute good value for money.
We have experience in helping caravan owners explore cover that may be suitable for their needs, whether you contact us through our website or directly by telephone. We aim to build the kind of personal relationship with you to address the three main elements of securing the caravan insurance you require:
- by establishing the make, model, size, age and value of the caravan you wish to insure and the principal ways in which it is to be used – helping us to define the insurance you need, without missing essential components, but sidestepping unnecessary cover;
- by bringing our intimate working knowledge of this niche of the insurance market to help identify products that may be appropriate for your needs; and
- doing all of this with a keen eye on the price competitiveness of the premiums, we aim to quote you cover that represents what we believe is good value for money.
Cost-saving tips and suggestions
Keeping firmly in mind that what might be considered cheap caravan insurance for one caravan owner is not necessarily true for another, here are some practical tips and suggestions on potentially reducing the cost of the premiums for your caravan insurance.
Read and understand the policy documents
Concentrate on that fact when choosing your policy, consider the price only once you have established that the policy is suitable for your needs. Once again, it is worth stressing that although cheap caravan insurance may be easy to find, the more important consideration is its cost-effectiveness rather than absolute price.
In a similar vein, try not to dismiss a policy’s terms and conditions as just so much red tape. In fact, they are extremely important and need to be read carefully as they may affect the outcome of any future claims – you may find that a policy which appears to have a low price, may have elements of its terms and conditions that are simply incompatible with the way you use your caravan.
Mileage limits
Some insurance policies for touring caravans may have stated maximum annual mileage limits.
If this is what is keeping the cost of your insurance premiums lower than others, but the limit is too low for your needs, then any cost-saving becomes irrelevant and a false economy.
Parking and storage
Some insurance providers may be so uneasy about caravans parked on public roads when not in use that they may exclude cover while the caravan is stored in this way.
Others might place an additional premium on a policy if that is where you usually store your motorhome or tourer when you are not using it.
Even if you park it on your driveway or garden, you might still be able to reduce the cost of your cover if you can get it into secure garaged storage conditions.
How and where you store your caravan over wintertime may also affect the cost of your insurance premiums – and not just because of the winter weather being hard or harsh.
If yours is a touring caravan, for example, it may be at its most vulnerable to theft or vandalism when it is laid up for the winter season. An informal arrangement with a local landowner does not offer a high level of security and your insurer may decline to insure your ‘van if this is the case.
To achieve greater security – and gain the chance of a discount on your insurance premiums – you might instead choose to store your caravan on one of the secure and purpose-designed sites registered with the Caravan Storage Site Owners’ Association (CaSSOA).
Secure storage – and on some sites a limited degree of protection against the elements – may be found at the many registered sites around the country – so there is every possibility of your finding one nearby.
To qualify for registration, each member site needs to be visited and inspected by CaSSOA, which has regard to the levels of on-site security – the presence of CCTV cameras, for example, guarded entry and exit gates, and a fully fenced perimeter.
Depending on the inspection’s findings, the site is then graded – according to the levels of security offered – as Platinum, Gold, Silver or Associate Ungraded.
Further reading: Winterising your caravan: Storage, security, and insurance essentials.
Security
The higher the level of security with which you safeguard your caravan, the lower the risk of loss or damage through theft or attempted theft. (Our Caravan Security and Insurance Video explains more).
Improved locks on doors and windows, smoke detectors and maybe even intruder alarms may persuade some insurers to recognise your care and caution by offering discounts on your premiums.
Further reading: Guide to Caravan Storage and Security and Caravan security.
Be mindful about what you keep in your caravan
Whether yours is a static caravan, tourer, or motorhome, remember that premiums may be higher for cover against theft, loss or damage of valuable items such as expensive electronic devices, gadgets, or jewellery and the like.
In fact, some policies might exclude some or all these categories of items.
Making your vehicle a comfortable home-from-home might be understandable but removing what might be overly expensive items from it – particularly when it is unoccupied – may help reduce risk exposure and, depending on the policy wording, may form part of insurer requirements.
We hope these points have highlighted the importance of finding the most appropriate caravan insurance for you, rather than just the cheapest. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us on 01702 606301 – we’d be delighted to help.
Information is provided for general guidance only. Cover, limits and eligibility depend on individual circumstances and insurer terms and conditions.