Caravan & Motor Home Insurance

If you are one of the many of UK citizens who are the proud owners of a caravan, you may also be one of the numbers of owners who do have not taken out any form of insurance policy covering your mobile home from damage or theft. At the risk of causing any unintended offence, it must be suggested that you may be naïve or else unaware of the risk you may be taken with your asset.

In current terms, a good touring caravan providing accommodation for up to four people can cost something in the region of £25,000 to buy and equip. One blow out of a tyre on a journey, or a shunt from an inattentive lorry driver and what is your caravan worth? Furthermore, caravan theft is an increasing crime problem affecting every area of the country. Police figures indicate that every year, some 5,000 touring caravans are stolen from either holiday sites, winter storage quarters or from outside of the homes of their owners. While there are an increasing number of security products available to the concerned owner, the real answer lies with a good comprehensive policy of caravan insurance.

A good caravan insurance policy should provide cover for:

• Its use for both on and off road
• Accidental damage either when being towed or at a static site
• Theft of both the caravan itself and any of its contents
• Other damage by fire, flood or weather conditions
• Full continental use – a special amendment to your cover may be required in countries outside of the EU
• Full recovery costs and the reimbursement of the expense of hiring a replacement caravan if yours is deemed unroadworthy due to an accident
• Overnight accommodation in the event of an unavoidable delay.

There are many companies who specialise in insuring caravans and mobile homes that are on static sites. We are sorry that we are currently unable to provide static insurance. A search of the internet will provide a whole list of potential insurers, and it may pay dividends to carry out some research and obtain a number of quotes. You will find that differing insurance providers offer different benefits.

One thing will certainly affect the cost of the premium paid and that is the level of security present on your caravan as well as the arrangements for its storage when not in use. When you first buy a mobile home, you will almost certainly find that it will be registered with the Caravan Registration & Identification Scheme (CRIS). This will ensure that it is provided with a unique registration number that will be required by any insurance company.

If you a buy a van from a dealer that does not provide this registration number – be suspicious! The levels of security will help keep the cost of a policy down. Any particularly special caravan may benefit from the installation of a covert GPS tracker anti-theft device that will allow it to be located by the Police in the event that it is stolen. Other obvious and less expensive theft prevention devices include alarms, wheel clamps, locking wheel nuts, chains and hitchlocks.
When researching for caravan insurance, do ask about new for old cover. It may cost a little more, but the benefits far outweigh the initial expense.