Mr Strutt from Salisbury wrote:

“This was the most simple of insurance quotations  I have ever masde.   The Adviser was most helpful and a pleasure to talk to.   It was also the cheapest insurance of any other Company or broker.  Many thanks. ”

Caravanners occasionally share information between them and have been known to engage in the odd squabble as to just what is the best touring caravan insurance.

Typically the respective viewpoints may be seen as:

• cost is king – there may be those who understandably follow the viewpoint that the best touring caravan insurance is that which has the least impact on your pocket and  some caravan owners will spend significant amounts of their time searching for policies that enable them to shave relatively small amounts of money off the cost of their insurance, so that they can proudly proclaim that they have the best insurance around;

• although people in this camp have an understandable inclination to reduce their costs, there is a potential problem in that there may be the danger of assuming that the only impact of your insurance on your pocket is what you are paying out in premiums;

• in fact, of course, your tourer insurance may have a much more painful impact on your finances in the event that it fails to cover you for a problem that has arisen with your caravan;

• whether you have touring caravan, park home or static home insurance, finding out in the event of a disaster that your insurance does not cover you is likely to put the costs of your premium to date into the shade or arguably make them totally irrelevant in your eyes;

• cover is what counts – the other school of thought is prepared to relegate price to a secondary level, concentrating instead on the breadth of cover offered by an individual caravan insurance policy;

• in their method of assessment, if you are the owner of a touring caravan who enjoys regular trips over to the continent, then seeking a policy that offers a wide variety of continental cover, makes much more sense than concentrating exclusively on trying to find the cheapest policy;

• the middle path – in this great and timeless debate, perhaps all that can be safely said is that what is best for one person may not be best for another;

• possibly the healthiest approach to the search for the best touring caravan insurance is a mixture of checking out in detail the cover available and then just how much you will be paying for it.

Miss Munn from Milton Keynes wrote:

“I was amazed when I had a.call to say a cheaper quote had.been obtained. Fantastic. Friendly staff.”

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.

A parkhome insurance quote may be necessary if you occupy your property on a permanent basis rather than as, say, a static caravan.

The following points may define elements of cover that you may wish to think about:

• to qualify as a parkhome, your residence may need to be defined as your normal place of permanent domicile and located on a site that the local authorities have designated as being suitable and authorised for parkhome occupation;

• some caravan insurance providers may also require that your site and property is fully connected to mains services and that there is some form of 24×7 site supervision and security presence;

• some companies may decline to offer you a parkhome insurance quote if your site is located in an area where there is a predisposition to flooding or exposure to serious geological risk (e.g. cliff top sites where erosion is commonplace) – if you do find cover for such locations, you may find that your policy will be subject to special terms and exclusions;

• residential home insurance is potentially different to other forms of caravan insurance cover in that your insurer may need to make allowances for the fact that your contents and fittings may be to a higher and more expensive standard – but they may also require that certain categories of item are excluded from cover (perhaps high-value items of jewellery etc);

• typical parkhome insurance may not cover you in situations where you have let out your property for the purposes of income generation and if this is something you are contemplating, it may be advisable to seek our advice and guidance before you do so – as well as checking with the site owner as to whether you can actually let out your residential caravan, as some sites do not allow this;

• if you have items external to your property, possibly including things such as awnings, satellite dishes and garden furniture, it may be advisable to read your policy carefully, as some of these may not be covered;

• remember that you cannot presume that your parkhome insurance quote will automatically cover any form of caravan located on any site, that you decide to move into as your permanent home – if that is your intention, once again you may require specialist advice regarding the insurance implications.