It is New Years Eve. Another year is coming to an end. This one has simply rushed by and 2011 is not even 24 hours away.

The Caravan Year has been great in 2010 and we remain committed to bringing you a fantastic service, coupled with competitive quotations. The Cover4 team have been great throughout the year and I would very much like to thank them all for their efforts.

My Amazonkindle arrived yesterday, this is a lovely little toy and I am determined to read more than ever in 2011, not just business books but some of my favoured Fantasy Novels aswell. I am currently reading The Hobbit and it is great to take your mind out of the current world! I do not think it helps you find yourself but it helps remind me who I really am.

This week has also seen the purchase of  a new Xbox with the Kinect device, wow is all I can say. It certainly makes the Wii look like yesterdays technology! My two boys love it and watching them stand side by side last night and play the driving game was so very funny. My eldest has never slept so soundly!

I have purchased myself the game Fable III and I am looking forward to strarting to play that later today. It’s another way to try and unwind and relax and as it involves an element of roleplaying it reminds me of my younger days!

It’s still hard to believe that 2010 delivered a new Phil Collins album and one that topped the album charts in the UK. I have not listened to it as much as I expected but I can add that to my list of things to do in 2011!

I am not one to make resolutions, but I am certainly going to be myself everyday in 2011, sometimes it is hard to remain motivated and enthusiastic but as this persona positively effects those around me it is something I am going to make sure happens.

As a business person 2011 sees some great changes and challenges ahead and boy am I ready for them. Tuesday and the new working year will be arriving before we blink and the week zooms off with lots of meetings and things to get my teeth into, starting with a trip to the Infants School and some planning – something I am really looking forward to. Mad boy.

All it leaves me to say is have a great New Year’s Eve and I wish everyone of you a happy and prosperous 2011. May you fulfill all your dreams and ambitions. More importantly make sure you find time to be yourselves and be happy and confident.

Those people closest to you often forget to remind you how much they love you and are proud of you – make sure you tell someone or even somepeople that today and tomorrow.

Bye for Now.

Richard

Dear All

Well we had an excellent Christmas in my house, I was very worried about cooking my first Christmas dinner but the Roast Pork went without a hitch in about 3 and a half hours and was just a part of a delicious meal. I have to say I was very proud of myself and I do not often say things like that!

My son has loads of Christmas presents and they are all noisy! He is very much enjoying playing with them and that is great to see. I have seen my Mum, Dad, Sister and Nan on Boxing Day which was nice, they enjoyed their visit and the festive cheer that goes with it.

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and are looking forward to a prosperous New Year, do you have any resolutions?

Have a great time wherever you are and whomever you are with.

Mike

The type of holiday caravan insurance you need will, of course, depend upon the type of caravan you have and how you use it.

A tourer

These caravans are typically towed behind a car. They can be detached and are used for holiday accommodation.

A touring caravan may have three specific types of risk to face:

• traffic related;
• natural disasters while parked up including storms and floods etc;
• burglary and theft.

Insurance for a caravan needs to be able to cover such risks as they relate to a typical tourer.

Note that you cannot occupy a tourer permanently as your normal address and still use touring caravan insurance. It is intended to cover holiday usage only.

A static caravan

As the name suggests, these caravans are typically semi-permanently parked on an approved caravan site and are used for your holidays.

Once again, you cannot occupy a static caravan as your permanent place of domicile and use static caravan insurance.

They are at risk also from natural disasters and human intervention such as burglary etc, as well as potentially claims from third parties (if you let your static home out).

Motorhomes

Another form of holiday caravan insurance applies to motorhomes – vehicles which have non-detachable accommodation built onto their chassis.

In addition to the classic risks, these also have traffic accident related risk due to the fact that they are a road vehicle.

Park homes

These are dwellings that exist on council-approved park home sites. They are typically occupied as your permanent home.

Trailer tents

There are a wide variety of such facilities around and they can, typically be covered under specialist holiday caravan insurance.
As a general rule, they are tents that fold away into a towed trailer.

The cover you’ll need

The first stage is to look for cover that applies to your specific type of caravan.

Typically, the policies are not interchangeable.

The next thing to consider is what types of risks you plan to cover and to what extent. This is where you’ll need to look closely at the details of the insurance provider’s policy to see exactly what they’re offering for the price.

For example, you may wish to consider:

• do you want new-for-old contents cover or the typically slightly less expensive market value replacement;
• what discounts are available for your use of things such as specialist locks and alarms;
• does the cover offer replacement holiday accommodation in the event yours is rendered uninhabitable;
• does your contents cover provide protection for higher value items in your caravan such as jewellery, PCs and electronic items etc?

Finding suitable forms of holiday caravan insurance involves a careful consideration of these plus other issues relating to the depth of protection offered. Given the investment you may have in your caravan, it’s a subject worth taking seriously.

It has been an enjoyable few days away from the office. Christmas arrived and I spent most of the time driving to see family and that is always fun in the ST!

We took in a trip to the Zoo on Tuesday – very cold – but on the upside we saw their new bear and that was very cool. Tigers could fast be going out of fashion as I do have a fondness for bears!

Yesterday saw a visit to Tumbletown and then dinner at a friends which was fun.

Bit of a shock having to get to the office today buts lots to do and it is good to focus the mind on something new.

I have ordered my Amazon Kindle and am looking forward to re-reading The Hobbit and then the Lord of The Rings. It is one of those times where it is good to loose yourself in a fantasy world.

Today sees a couple of meetings and some preperation for the forthcoming New Year.

I have missed hearing from various people who have gone quiet or away over the Christmas season – these people have never been far from my mind.

Have a great day.

Richard

There may be a temptation to look for cheap park home insurance.

There is nothing wrong with that approach. On the contrary, nobody likes to pay more than they have to for anything, including park home insurance.

What you may need to bear in mind though, is that selecting cheap park home insurance on price alone may not give you the cover that you want. Cheap is pretty much in the eye of the beholder – what is cheap for you may not be cheap for someone else.

When considering insurance, it may be more relevant to consider the cover that you are looking for first and then look at the price of the park home insurance on offer that can provide that level of protection.

Park versus static

One thing that you need to be clear about at the outset is that the insurance industry considers park homes and static caravans to be two very different propositions.

There is no disputing that some of the larger statics and some of the smaller park homes may look similar. From an insurance point of view though, their use is of more importance than their appearance and there the difference is clear.

A static caravan typically:

• is where you spend periods of time on holiday;
• may have long periods of being empty;
• probably contains fewer and less valuable personal possessions and contents;
• may be fitted out to a lower standard;
• may be let out to others to holiday in.

On the other hand a park home typically:

• is your permanent home;
• may be furnished and fitted to a higher standard;
• may contain all of your valuable belongings and personal possessions;
• is located on a registered park home site.

Shortfall

There may be the thought that you could save money on your park home insurance if you bent the facts a little and bought static caravan insurance instead.

The trouble is though, that if you did ever have to make a claim then you could find out that
the static caravan insurance cover may fall very short indeed. You may find yourself having to dig deep into your own pockets to sort out your position.

Only you can decide what constitutes cheap park home insurance but it may be advisable to avoid thinking that price alone is the only consideration.