With staycations in greater demand than ever before, if you are thinking about investing in a static home or are already fortunate enough to already own one, what do you need to know about static caravan insurance? And where can you get it?
While it is typically not a legal requirement to arrange any kind of insurance for a static caravan, protecting your financial interest in the home is clearly a prudent precaution.
Indeed, you are almost certain to find that the owners of the site on which your holiday home is berthed will require proof of a minimum level of insurance cover. Specifically, they will look for your indemnity insurance against injuries or property damage that other park users, their visitors, or members of the public might suffer through some contact with your caravan.
What does static caravan insurance cover?
Just like any other type of general insurance, static caravan insurance policies may vary quite widely not only in terms of the price, but also the policy terms, benefits and conditions. Typically – and with reference to those we arrange here at Cover4Caravans – you might expect the following:
- cover against loss or damage to the caravan itself from major risks such as fire, storm damage or other extreme weather, impacts, malicious damage, and theft or attempted theft;
- many policies also give you the option of extending insurance cover to the – potentially valuable – contents of your static caravan;
- cover against accidental damage might also be an option in which you are interested; and
- indemnity insurance against your potential liability as the caravan owner for injuries or property damage suffered by third parties.
Do I have to buy the static home insurance from the site owner?
The terms and conditions relating to the pitch occupied by your static caravan are detailed in the lease agreement you signed with the park or site owners. These may also vary widely from one site to another.
Invariably, however, and as we have mentioned, a condition of your lease is that you maintain static caravan insurance that incorporates a suitable level of public liability indemnity insurance. To press that point home, the site management may suggest you buy their preferred insurance package.
In most cases, however, you are under no such obligation to buy the insurance from your site or park owners – and, indeed, might find it more cost-effective to shop around elsewhere for the static home insurance cover you need. The site owner may charge you a small fee for seeing sight of your policy (to ensure that you have appropriate levels of liability insurance, for example), but overall, you could still make attractive savings.
Where can I buy static caravan insurance?
Whenever you are determined to shop around for competitive insurance deals you can, of course, always do all the hard work yourself. You might scour the internet, for example, or seek recommendations from fellow owners of holiday caravans – and there is nothing wrong with that at all.
On the other hand, you could as easily – and potentially more successfully – let us do that shopping around on your behalf.
Not only can we shoulder all the hard work, but:
- we can tailor our search to those policies most likely to suit your own needs;
- use our knowledge and experience to home in on those more competitively priced policies; and even
- identify some policies which might be available to brokers such as ourselves but are not sold by insurers direct to their customers.
What else do I need to know?
Any kind of insurance invariably comes with responsibilities on the part of the insured – and static caravan insurance is no exception. Fail to play your own part in mitigating the risks of loss or damage, for instance, and you could find yourself accidentally invalidating your insurance cover.
Therefore, pay careful attention to any conditions which your insurer might attach to your cover. During the closed winter season, for instance, many insurers have a checklist of precautionary measures to be taken for the protection of your caravan – such as draining down the water systems to reduce the risk of frozen and burst pipes.
Summary
If you have invested what is likely to have been a tidy sum in your holiday home, then static caravan insurance is a prudent safeguard.
Not only does the insurance protect your financial interest in the home, but it might also be required by the owners of the site on which your static caravan is berthed.
As with any insurance, it is important to read and understand the policy documents to avoid any risk of accidentally invalidating your cover by failing to take any precautionary measures required by your insurer.