Caravan Insurance

If you have read our page on caravan security you'll know the benefit of insuring your caravan against theft and damage. Here is a few bits and pieces you should consider when sorting out your insurance.

Whilst towing your caravan you must be covered by at least 3rd party insurance, often you will find that you have this cover under your normal car insurance as long as your caravan is coupled to your car, although this is not always standard so we advise you to check it out with your motor insurance provider.

Did you also know that adding a towbar to your car is classified as a modification and that you should inform your motor insurance company of such a change? Well the advice of the Association of British insurers is that although such a modification is unlikely to increase your motor insurance premium, it can effect any claims you make under your policy if you have carried out any modification without notifying your motor insurance provider, especially if your claim relates to when your were towing your caravan.

As we have mentioned in our other pages around 47% of all insurance claims are made against theft or damage to caravans stored outside the owners home, over 5,000 caravan owners will be the target of theft in the next 12 months, with at least 3,500 caravans stolen along with their contents and only around 15% will every be recovered. Insurance is the most advisable course of action, with many insurance companies offering fully comprehensive insurance deals when you insure both your car and caravan under the same insurer

The alternative option is to take out separate insurance for your caravan. with a specialist insurance company, (some of which are listed in our links page). It is often a common mistake to expect that all insurance policies will cover you against loss, irreparable damage or theft of contents by way of replacing the property with new goods of the same model and make as those you have lost, this is not the case. When researching and obtaining quotes you need to be finding out the level of cover the policy gives you in any given situation. All insurance companies use a loss adjustment company or have their own loss adjustment people who will work out the actual loss and the way and amount of claim for the loss or damage to the property. These settlement are dependant also on the type of cover stated in your policy, usually "new for old", "agreed value" or "current market value".

As the title suggests , you will get a new replacement for the property lost or damaged, of the same make and model. In some cases cash equivalent settlements are offered at the discretion of the insurance company, although new insurance laws will be coming into place over the next few years that reduces or eliminates the potential of cash equivalents

This indicates that you will receive a settlement to the value of your caravan based on the list price at the time your purchased the caravan. This list price normally is provided by the Glass's Guide, which is the dealer official guide to caravan prices which is updated on a monthly basis.

This is the current value of your caravan at the time of the claim, this price again is determined by the value as indicated in the Glass's guide. So as you can see the best cover is "new for old" as "market value" takes into consideration not only the age and condition of the caravan, but also the current market trends within the caravan industry.

Needless to say you will more than likely pay a higher premium for cover that has a new for old clause than one that offers you market value for your caravan, but it is worth the peace of mind that if the worse come to worse you will get back a similar caravan rather than having to down grade or add a considerable sum to carry on caravanning "in the manner in which you have become accustomed to!!!!!"