Dear All

Well the football on Saturday at Dagenham was an unmitigated disaster, a 5-0 loss, our keeper sent off (so our replacement was a guy who has played about 45 minutes of football in 7 years, so he’s that good!) and rain hit us even in the sponsors box, so my sisters birthday present was not a succesful one.

Still, the carvery lunch was excellent with Roast Pork, Yorkshires, Veg and 8, yes 8 roast potatoes for me! I honestly believe that relegation is a near certainty now as the confidence has gone and even the Captain looked downbeat.

Never mind I had Arsenal to cheer me up…not! But we had a quiet Sunday and now back at work to hopefully finish the month on a high. My 121 is this afternoon so that is always an opportunity to learn and to coach my staff as a result. Leaders can always learn more!!

The Cover4 Sales Team had an outing last week to the Excel Caravan Show and Crystal loved it so much so went back on Saturday in her free time! They will be undertaking a presentation to the Team at the next Team meeting so again even I can learn!!

Have a great day

Mike

PS quick birthday wishes to my Sister Caz who turns…older today!

Over recent years the importance of shopping around and looking for suitable deals has grown and become increasingly part of our base culture.  That applies equally to insurance and making a static caravan insurance comparison may result in a more satisfactory financial and risk position for you.

What is a static caravan?

To begin with, it might be worth refreshing your memory as to what exactly a static caravan is.

Typically insurance providers see caravans in this category as being relatively fixed in position on one site for the majority of a year or season.  Some policies may actually require certain specific forms of anchoring and that the vehicle is fully jacked off of its wheels.

The definition may also include the requirement that the caravan is not permanently occupied and is used only for a few weeks each year for holiday purposes.

If you find that you are thinking in terms of needing static mobile home insurance, it may be worthwhile reviewing how you plan to use your caravan, as the use of the word home might suggest that you potentially need park home insurance.

If you let your caravan out to others for their holiday purposes or otherwise obtain income from its use, this may change your insurance position and would need to be looked at carefully in the context of a given policy.

The basic cover

If you are making a static caravan insurance comparison, it may come as no surprise to know that policies may typically provide cover under three familiar headings:

• cover for the caravan itself in terms of its structure;

• cover for the contents (this may be subject to conditions and exclusions);

• third party liability cover – in case someone sues you for injuries or damages they may have suffered as a result of your caravan.

Within those three headings there may be significant differences that need to be taken account of in a static caravan insurance comparison.

Where differences may arise

In a brief article of this nature it is not possible to provide a comprehensive list of things that you may need to examine, however, you might wish to think about some of the following areas:

• site requirements – some policies may have very specific conditions that your site will need to meet;

• their new-for-old replacement conditions;

• external items (e.g. awnings) – insurance providers may differ significantly in terms of how they regard such things and whether or not they will cover them;

• their requirements for security;

• of course, the price of the caravan cover!

Even if you are satisfied with your existing cover, periodically conducting a static caravan insurance comparison may be in your best interests.

Static caravan insurance quotes relate to the provision of financial protection for the significant financial investment that your static caravan may constitute.

A static caravan

A static caravan is relatively commonplace and therefore definitions between insurance providers may be broadly similar.

They may typically see it as a caravan used for a few weeks a year for holidays and other forms of recreational pastime.

The caravans may be theoretically mobile in that they have wheels, however, they will typically be semi-permanently anchored and secured to a single location on the caravan site.  Some policies may require that they are fully jacked up off of their wheels and anchored using specified methods and materials.

In some cases, insurance providers may also require that the caravan be connected to mains services.

It is worth being aware that static caravan insurance quotes are typically not applicable in situations where you are living in your caravan on a permanent basis.

You may also need to make additional insurance arrangements in situations where you are considering letting out your caravan to others for commercial reasons.

The cover required

Each individual caravan owner needs to ask him or herself the question as to how they see the risks and what insurance cover they regard as being the minimum to enable them to sleep easily at night.

The caravan cover provided by insurance providers may come under certain generic headings that are broadly familiar (the caravan, its contents and third party liability) but within those headings there may be significant variations and subtleties meaning that one policy may prove to be more suitable for you than another.

For example, policies may adopt quite different approaches to the subject of discounts.

These discounts may be available for a number of different things but some insurance providers may be more flexible than others.  Some, for example, may offer the caravan club insurance discounts if you are a member.

Shopping around

A major indication of the different approaches adopted by different insurance providers is that it typically pays to shop around and to examine a number of different static caravan insurance quotes.  There may be no obvious reason why you should jump to accept a single quotation from a single insurer.

Occasionally one sees terms used to describe insurance that are, to be blunt, a little confusing.  One of these is static home caravan insurance.

This confusion may arise due to the use of static and home in the same sentence.

Why is this confusing?

The problem is that when you are searching for what may generally be described as caravan insurance, you may find that caravans are typically divided into certain categories as defined by the way they are used.  The classic categories are typically regarded as:

• static caravans;

• touring caravans;

• motorhomes;

• collapsible caravans and trailer tents;

• park homes;

• motorhomes.

So, if you have a touring caravan, you will typically be looking for insurance for touring caravans.

In the above list you will also see static caravans and park homes.

There may be a number of technical differences between these two types of accommodation but the most significant from an insurance viewpoint is that park homes typically constitute your permanent place of residence whereas static caravans are used occasionally for holiday and recreational purposes.

The difference between the two is important from an insurance perspective and there are specific policies for each.

In the case of describing something as static home caravan insurance, there may be room for confusion due to ambiguity.

If you are looking for static home caravan insurance because you live permanently in your caravan as your normal place of domicile, static caravan cover may not be valid for your situation and park home insurance may be.

However, the position may be slightly complicated by the fact that insurance providers may define something as a park home based upon a number of factors and not just whether you live in it on a permanent basis

For example, a typical static caravan insurance policy may not allow you to permanently occupy your static caravan as your permanent place of residence.  However, park home insurance may not cover your situation unless the site of your caravan meets certain requirements relating to services and security etc.

For typical park home or static caravan owners, the distinctions are clear and may never be cause for confusion.  There may be more scope for falling into what may be considered a grey area in situations where, for example, you have moved permanently into your static caravan whilst your main house is undergoing rebuilding and renovation work.

If you find yourself in the position of thinking that you need static home caravan insurance because you are occupying a static caravan on a permanent basis, it may be advisable to contact us for a discussion and clarification of what your position may mean for your insurance cover. We will always be more than happy to help!

You may think that one static caravan insurance quote may prove to be very much like another – but if so, you may be mistaken!

More variation than just price

It is perhaps easy to understand how one can drift into the slightly cynical assumption that the only real difference between one policy and another is the price.

In fact, cover for caravans may differ in several respects apart from the financial.  Those differences might include things such as:

• the specific details of the caravan cover that is provided (and therefore also not provided);

• the nature of the policy’s terms and conditions, some of which may be more to your liking than others;

• the requirements placed upon you, as policyholder, if the cover is to remain in  force.

None of these things are typically trivial and as a result, it may be worthwhile dragging your eyes away from the price tag and making a little effort to read the static caravan insurance quote in some detail.

Variables on a static caravan insurance quote

Static holiday home insurance policies may vary in a number of ways and what follows can only be a brief summary of some of the things that may be worth looking for:

• new for old replacement – different policies may have very different conditions regarding under what circumstances you may be eligible for a new caravan to replace one that has been damaged beyond economic repair;

• awnings and other external items cover – some policies may be able to cover awnings but others may not;

• excess – some policies may have a higher mandatory excess than others or alternatively, you may find some policies which have a greater potential for allowing you to reduce the total price of your premium by agreeing to a higher voluntary excess;

• flood risk – some policies may not cover flood damage at all, some may only cover it if your site is located outside of a known flood-risk area and for other policies it may be considered to be standard in the protection;

• site requirements – you may find that some insurance providers have more demanding expectations of the site your caravan is based upon than others (e.g. permanent on-site security, connection to all services and so on).

So, one static caravan insurance quote may be significantly different to another in any one of a number of respects or indeed several of them.  The advantages of taking your time over your selection cannot be stressed strongly enough.

Finally, do note that while buying static home cover from your site owner may be convenient, in most cases it is not obligatory to buy your caravan cover from them. So shop around using our service or get in touch – you may find yourself a more cost-efficient and attractive deal!