Have you got park home insurance?

They say that an Englishman’s home is his castle. So have you got yours covered? If you are lucky enough to live in a park home, park home insurance may be worth a look in order to protect what is probably your biggest investment.

The importance of looking around for quotes
When you bought your park home, the park owner or manager may have tried to insist that you purchase your insurance from them. Whilst this may be a convenient option because they are (literally!) on your doorstep, have you considered looking around for other quotes? You may find that this may be a way to secure a more competitive price.

What does park home insurance cover?
The cover provided by park home insurance providers may vary, but the standard risks that may appear again and again typically include:

• fire;
• flood;
• riot;
• explosion and civil commotion; and
• earthquake.

Park home insurance may typically cover the structure of the park home itself. If you have a garage or a garden shed, you may wish to check whether these structures are included in the general cover. Depending on the provider, the contents may also be included, although you may need to make a schedule of any valuable or unusual items.

How much will the cover cost?
The cost of park home cover may depend on a number of issues including:

• your park home’s post code (from which insurers may judge whether the site is more or less prone to flooding or crime than other sites);
• the age and condition of your park home; and
• whether there are any extra security measures that have been taken on your site.

Limitation and exclusions
When you have looked at the risks that are covered and the price of a number of park home policies, you may wish to check out the small print. While nobody enjoys doing this, it may be worth it should you ever have to make a claim.

The contents part of the policy in particular may be an area of the cover where there may be a few exclusions. For instance, if you keep valuables in your park home, you may wish to check whether they are covered. Some providers may treat jewellery and items made from precious metals differently from your other possessions, so if you have these items, you may wish to know where you stand.

Likewise, some park home insurance policies may not pay out for theft claims unless there is evidence of a forced break in. Accordingly, you may wish to adopt the security conscious habit of ensuring that your doors and windows are all locked before you leave your park home.