How to protect your static caravan with a specially designed insurance policy.
Static caravan insurance is designed to protect your much valued holiday home against the unexpected. A comprehensive static caravan insurance policy will not only cover your caravan for loss or damage due to theft, vandalism, fire, flood or storm but will also provide cover for the fixtures and fittings attached to your caravan (i.e. steps and verandas).
Most policies offer new for old cover as standard for static caravans less than ten years old. This means that in the event of complete loss or irreparable damage to your caravan, the insurance company will cover the cost of a new replacement.
It is however important to ensure that the amount specified on your policy would be sufficient to cover the cost of replacing your caravan and all of its associated fittings should the worst happen. This is because insurance companies will only pay out the maximum amount specified on your policy even if this is less than the actual cost of replacement.
For static caravans over 10 years old, most insurance companies will payout the current market value in the event of a complete loss. However, some insurance companies enable you to cover your caravan with an 'agreed valuation'. If your caravan is especially good condition for its age and is likely to be worth more than the market value this may be worth looking into.
It is important to choose a static caravan insurance policy that covers the cost of debris removal from your caravan site as well as resiting costs. You should also look for extras such as key and lock or freezer food cover.
Many insurance providers also offer the option to include cover for your personal possessions. This is usually at an additional cost so you should check whether your possessions are already covered by your home contents insurance. However, if you regularly leave possessions in your caravan between visits it may be best to protect them with specific contents cover just in case.
Many insurance companies make certain 'assumptions' about your caravan and the site on which it resides - often these assumptions must be met in order for the policy to be valid.
Most insurance companies require your caravan to be situated on a licensed caravan site with security, regular surveillance and low risk of flood damage. They are also likely to require that you take basic security measure such as anchorage on all 4 corners of the chassis.
Many policies will also require you to turn the water off at the mains, drain equipment and turn off the central heating system when the caravan is left unoccupied for any length of time.
If you have family and friends who want to use your static caravan for holidaying you should check whether your caravan would still be covered during their stay - many policies agree to cover this as long as you are not charging rent. Additionally, many polices include third party liability cover which is designed to pay out if damage is sustained to an individual or property as a direct result of your caravan.
Discounts are often available as rewards to the installation of extra security features or the use of a caravan site with 24 hour surveillance. Many insurers also offer the chance to build a no claims discount on your caravan insurance.
While insuring your static caravan is not a legal requirement, protecting such a valuable asset with a comprehensive policy means that should the worst happen you'll have the financial protection to ensure that your holiday home will be replaced.
