Obtain a Holiday home insurance for your static caravan
Obtaining no obligation caravan holiday home insurance can be quick and simple. Insurance cover for your static caravan can be arranged almost immediately. We provide holiday home insurance cover for static caravan homes that stay in one place. Most of the caravans we insure have had the wheels removed and are located within one of the many privately run caravan parks across the UK.
The primary purpose of the insurance policy is to protect the building and its contents against major threats such as fire, storm, earthquake, flooding and theft. Before you accept any insurance quotation you should read the key facts and policy wording documents to ensure they meet your individual insurance needs. Never assume all parts of your caravan will be covered by not bothering to read the small print. For example, you should check whether the policy covers things like exterior balconies, barbecues, exterior storage chests, locked bikes, gates and fences.
One of the greatest risks to your caravan holiday home is flooding. While the construction and design of most static caravans is very similar, you should check the endorsements of your policy related to flooding. For insurance purposes some policies exclude flooding damage, if your caravan unit or chalet does not have a ‘flotation device’ attached underneath. With the device attached it means that in a severe flood situation, the entire holiday home can float away and potentially be salvaged in a worst-case situation. The device is attached to a concrete base of the caravan.
Flood floatation devices have only recently been invented in response to catastrophic flooding of caravan parks in recent years in the South West and Wales. The financial cost of insurance companies has been enormous. Therefore, you must make sure any flotation device you retrofit meets the manufacturers guidelines for compatibility for your particular caravan design. The common models are the Cantilever, Piston or Floodsaver. Similarly, if you are buying a static caravan for the first time you should check when the plot your thinking about leasing is above the highest previously recorded flood level. You may have to check with the local council for this information.
Another risk that most holiday home insurance companies are concerned about is the damage from storms. As most static caravans are essentially reinforced plastic boxes, the potential for bad storms and high winds to destroy or damage a caravan exists. Therefore, you should be careful to check the excess amount on your caravan holiday home insurance policy with regards to storm damage. In particular, you may invalidate future insurance claim if your caravan is not securely anchored at all four corners of the chassis.
In difficult economic times, many people are choosing to purchase second-hand caravan to use as a holiday home, instead of holidaying abroad. The headline capital costs can seem relatively inexpensive – but be wary of site fees and disposal and removal costs associated with the plot. The older the unit, the more problems you may encounter in regards to insurance covers. If the unit is more than 20 years old, some insurance policies may exclude damage or injury as a result of electrical wiring within the caravan. You should get an electrical engineer to do a full safety check on any unit you want to buy. They will be able to provide a safety certificate for peace of mind and to meet letting guidelines.
Many people will rent out their caravan holiday home to reduce their annual overheads and in some cases try and earn an income from letting. If you are considering letting out your caravan, you must inform your insurance company this is your intention before taking out the policy. It is likely most caravan insurance policies will contain endorsements related to unoccupancy. For example, most will stipulate a large deposit be taken from tenants prior to access. This is to put off lots of small insurance claims from being submitted related to accidental damage. In practice, most rented caravans have natural tenancy void periods, during which time the risk of theft increases.
In the winter months, most UK caravan parks close and the units are left empty and cannot be not rented out. You may find that many insurance policies stipulate that any water tanks are drained down. This is to minimise the possibility of pipes freezing and bursting causing interior damage. Likewise, local criminals know full well that most caravan parks are generally empty during the bleak winter months. During this time, the risk of burglary increases dramatically. So check what excess level exists with regards to theft during periods of unoccupancy. The common sense thing to do is to remove any valuables (such as cash, credit cards and electrical equipment), and ensure adequate window and door locks are fitted.
Lastly, as with most traditional building insurance policies the geographic location of the caravan park site will have a direct bearing on the premium. Insurance relies on a raft of statistics related to postcode to determine the risk of theft, flooding and subsidence occurring. For example, if there has been a large number of insurance claims on a particular caravan park in the past, you may find any insurance quote you receive higher than locations where there have been very few insurance claims in the past.
Please give us a call to receive a no obligation insurance quote for your caravan holiday home.
Caravan Holiday Home Insurance- Call Assetsure
