We all know that shopping around for anything – whether it is a TV, a new car or simply groceries – may often see you get a more competitively priced, more suitable deal. However, while you know all this, you may still think that getting a touring caravan insurance quote isn’t worth the hassle and may be too time consuming!

However, this does not need to be the case – getting a touring caravan insurance quote may often be quick and easy and the financial rewards (in terms of how much money you may potentially save on the cost of your caravan insurance) may outweigh the little bit of time you have to put in to getting a quote or too!

So, what do you need to get a caravan insurance quote?

To get a touring caravan insurance quote, you’ll typically have to supply your insurance provider (or potential provider) with a few basic facts.

These may vary a little between providers but they may typically include things such as:

• some details about you – including things such as your age, the number of years you’ve held a licence, the type of licence and your place of residence;
• information about your caravan, such as its make, size, value and age etc;
• some indication as to how you’re using it or how you plan to use it.

Some people are a little caught-out by that third point above but it’s not different, in principle, to the same questions asked in relation to motor vehicle insurance.

For example:

• if you say you’re planning to use your caravan extensively abroad, then that may tell the insurers something about the cover you’ll need, ie continental cover;
• similarly, if you’re planning to try and beat the world record for mileage covered in a touring caravan in the UK within a 12-month period, then your insurers will typically need to know that in advance;
• they’ll also typically be interested in where you plan to park it when it’s not in use, and you may see your premium go up if your response to that is “outside my house on the public road”.

In spite of what you may have heard, insurers providing touring caravan insurance quotes aren’t trying to squeeze the most money out of you they can.  They’re simply trying to ensure that they understand, as closely as possible, the way you plan to use your caravan and supply the most appropriate caravan insurance for a tourer possible.

Having provided those facts, you should typically find that the quotation is readily available and they’ll also highlight any assumptions that underpin it such as (typically):

• you’ll need to use a hitchlock and wheel clamp for security reasons;
• your awnings (if you have them) may need a separate listing on your caravan insurance schedule and will need to be stowed when you’re away from your caravan;
• contents stored under awnings may not be covered.

At that point you’ll have your price and policy features, benefits and conditions, and it’ll be time to choose the most suitable touring caravan insurance quote for your needs – it’s as simple as that!

Dear All

Well Friday is here again and lots of things are happening, and how cold is the weather turning at the moment! Certainly gloves and scarves are the theme of the day when going out.

My Team, Dagenham and Redbridge are taking on Rochdale this weekend and I hope we can get something from the game in order to help us stay up. Arsenal go to Man City on Sunday which is a difficult one but again I will watch more in hope than expectation.

We hopefully have some new innovations on our Hobby Caravan Scheme which will take effect soon and maybe even a new Park Home provider to add some diversity.

All to look forward to.

Have a great weekend

Mike

Dear All

Well Arsenal won 5-1 in the Champions League last night which pleased me no end (mainly as the missus went to bed and let me watch in peace!) and played fantastically well in the process.

My son is (touch wood) getting back to his old self and cheering up, what pleases me as a Dad is he loves my cooking. He had Chilli on Monday and Chicken Dopiaza yesterday and gobbled up the whole lot! He is going to have a very diverse taste when he is older thankfully.

As for the third item I mentioned, well we as a Company have a Curry night out next week and I am taking my partner which she will love as it is her favourite.

Have a great sunny day

Mike

Dear All

Well it has been a busy week so far, Monday wasn’t the best as my son had a bad night and that meant we all did!

Still these things are sent to try us and he is teething so it’s not his fault. Hopefully they come through soon.

Myself and Sophie, the Assistant Manager, have a bit of a friendly “rivalry” at the moment over whom can get the best sales ratio, it’s just a bit of fun. It’s great to be back on the phones and helping out the public but means I have to do a few things at home to make up.

Our renewal retention is very good as well, Catherine has been working very hard at this and it is an area we would like to expand upon.

Have a great week

Mike

If you have a static home, you may think that any old caravan insurance policy may do in order to protect it – but you’d be wrong. You need specific static caravan insurance!

The classic static

Just in case you’re having a few doubts about definitions, a static caravan is one that pretty much stays put in one place.

It may have wheels but these may be jacked off the floor and it may rest on supports and be secured firmly in place.

It isn’t designed to be towed around the country touring and may well be joined to various services.

The insurance view

All caravan types have a specific profile from an insurance viewpoint.

The static caravan, therefore, typically has a static caravan insurance policy that provides protection for its specific risk profile.

That risk profile basically will indicate that the risks of a static being involved in, say, a road traffic accident are probably very low, but the risks of burglary and perhaps natural disaster damage may be somewhat higher.

And if you let your static home, then typically you’ll need public liability insurance that covers you against claims from tenants who have been injured while in or using your static caravan.

So, these are the sorts of things that an insurance provider for static caravans will need to take in to consideration when providing cover.

So, what can you do to influence the cost of the caravan cover, and positively?

One of the things you can do that may typically reduce this risk profile is to avoid sites that have a know history of flooding.  You can find out if that’s the case by consulting your insurers (who may be able to help), the local council’s surveyors’ departments or perhaps local through back copies of the local press.

Typically, insurers may also smile a little more widely (and that’s important because it may mean lower premiums for you) if you can show that you have fitted additional security devices to your caravan and are located on a secure and approved site.

Your obligations

As we approach autumn with winter lurking around in the shadows, don’t forget that some caravan cover for statics policies may insist that your caravan has all its water systems fully drained down in winter while they’re unoccupied.

Don’t get caught out by those sudden frosts!

Remember – a static isn’t a home

Here’s a quite important reminder. Your static caravan is typically seen by insurers to be an occasional use recreational accommodation facility.   They typically do not see it as something you are permanently occupying and if you do, it may invalidate your static home insurance protection.

Site owners and insurance

Finally, if you have always arranged your static home insurance via your site owner, do note that that in most cases, it is not compulsory to get your caravan cover from them.

You are free to buy it independently, though you may find that the site owner charges you a fee if you don’t purchase their caravan cover. However, you may still find yourself quids in if you buy your own static caravan insurance rather than taking the site owner’s cover.

You may also benefit from additional policy features and benefits too that your existing cover may not offer, so it may be worth getting a static caravan insurance quote when your policy is next up for renewal.