Mr G from Wellingborough wrote:

“I was happy with the way my enquiry was dealt with, an easy to follow website”

Summer is here and if you are busy entertaining the children or grandchildren, or having outdoor parties and barbeques (subject to the weather of course!), then thinking about caravan cover may not be a priority. You may feel you do not have the time to review your static caravan insurance and compare some quotes. However, using our service – which need not take very long – may not only help you find a policy more appropriate to your needs than your existing cover, but possibly at a more competitive price too!

So, now we have your attention, what do you need to know when carrying out a caravan insurance comparison?

Firstly, you may have to be sure that you are buying the correct type of caravan cover for your static.

If you use your static caravan purely as a holiday home for a few weeks each year or rent it out in this capacity, then typically you need static caravan insurance. Compare this with the insurance requirements for a caravan that is your permanent residence all year round and you’ll typically find that it is park home insurance that you need.

Some of the main reasons for this difference are that:

• your permanent home may be better fitted out than a caravan used solely for holidays;
• all of your belongings will obviously be in your home and this may include higher value items that you may not even consider having in your holiday home.

When looking for park home insurance quotes or insurance for your static home, you may be interested to know that there are some providers who may offer discounted premiums in certain circumstances.

For example:

• if your caravan is located on a site with a history of being prone to flooding, then your static caravan cover premium may typically be higher than if you choose a site which never floods;
• a warden or supervisor on site 24 hours per day may be viewed more favourably by insurance providers and this may be reflected in the premium charged.

You may wish to bear in mind that you do have a choice when it comes to insuring your static caravan. In most cases you are not obliged to buy your static cover from the site owner.

They, understandably, may have the right to ensure that your cover is suitable and may charge you a fee for the administration involved in checking your policy.

However, even taking this fee into account, you may still find more cost-attractive solutions through shopping around for your own static caravan insurance.

Remember though – don’t just look at the policy price when you are considering static caravan insurance. Compare what’s available and make your choice based on what the policy offers you rather than what it costs. Of course, if you are unsure as to what cover is most suitable for you, then please do give us a call – we’d be very happy to help.

Dear All

It was a suprise to some that in all the time I have known my partner that we had never been to the cinema together, this though was rectified over the weekend when we went to view the much balleyhood Inbetweeners film.

I have heard mixed reviews from people but we thought it was hilarious, all of the characters are well written and it was only a shame that we did’nt see more of the parents as they are very funny. Some of the scenes were cringe worthy but you know what to expect from them.

We had a nice meal afterwards in Frankie and Bennys where I had their warm Chicken Salad which was excellent as well.

The less said about Arsenal the better….

Have a great day

Mike

Residential caravan insurance is a term that sometimes causes a little confusion.

Odd as it may sound, to fully explain what residential caravan insurance really means, we need to start by discussing a different type of caravan and caravan insurance altogether.

The static caravan

One of the commonest sights in British holiday resorts is the static caravan park.

By static, we mean a caravan that has been semi-permanently (or permanently) anchored on a site and which is not normally towed from one spot to another.

These caravans are typically occupied for perhaps a few months per year, for the purposes of holidays and weekend breaks etc. They may be connected to services and the local authorities typically license the sites as suitable for holiday purposes.

The policies that cover such caravans are typically called static caravan insurance.

It is important to recognise that if you start to occupy such a caravan as your normal permanent place of residence, this may invalidate any existing static caravan insurance.

Park home insurance

By contrast, some caravans exist specifically to provide a permanently occupied place of domicile.

They are found on sites that are specifically licensed by the local authorities as being suitable for permanent habitation. They are typically referred to as park homes and are covered by park home insurance.

This is a form of residential caravan insurance and it may have significant differences to static cover – simply because the risks are different.

If this sounds unlikely, you may wish to consider that, statistically speaking, caravans that are permanently occupied as a full-time home may tend to have a higher level and value of contents than a caravan used for occasional holidays.

Grey areas

We recognise that some caravan situations and occupancy positions may be less than easy to precisely categorise in the above terms, however, it might be advisable to avoid simply guessing.

We will always be only too happy to offer our opinion

Residential caravan – points to note

Whether you have a static caravan or park home, you may find that some site owners will attempt to convince you that their insurance cover is obligatory as a condition of using the site.

If so, in most cases, this is incorrect.

They may be entitled to ask to see evidence that you are appropriately insured and they may also legitimately charge an administration fee for inspecting your own insurance.

They have no right, however, to insist that you purchase their cover.

Even if you do have to pay an administration charge for the inspection of your own cover, you may find that it remains more cost-effective than using their residential caravan insurance.

The last Bank Holiday before Christmas is nearly upon us – how scarey does that statement sound? Where does the time go?

The weather here in not so sunny Southend is quite simply like winter. I thought we were promised a cracking summer this year – I can only assume that I have blinked and missed it somewhere along the line!

August has seen, so far, a great month for our Caravan Insurance Sales – both for new business and renewals. If you have recently taken a policy out we very much welcome you to the Cover4 family and know that you will not regret having chosen us as your Caravan Insurance Broker of choice. Take this opportunity to visit our webiste and have a look at our most recent newsletter – dont forget to enter the caption competition as this months prize is a wonderful Amazon Kindle!

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend and let us hope that we get some sun to enjoy at some point!

Richard