If you are looking for parkhome insurance, then you may wish to consider parkhome insurance brokers.

What is parkhome insurance?

Park homes are a form of dwelling place that are typically located on a formally constituted and local authority approved parkhome site.

Typically occupied on a permanent basis as your normal place of residence, such sites are commonly located in rural areas and the local authority approval is important because it must grant permission for the site to be used for permanent occupation.

Some parkhome owners have lived in the property for many years and have it furnished and decorated to a very high standard.

It is therefore understandable if they seek to protect their investment and their contents through the appropriate: form of insurance – which may be park home insurance.

Sourcing the cover

Some park homes site owners may suggest that it is mandatory to take their insurance.  In fact, that may typically not be the case and you may be better advised to look around for your own cover, which may be better suited to your needs and more cost-effective.

Some site owners may require an additional administration charge if you use your own insurance but it may still prove to be a more cost-attractive deal for you if you source your own.

You may, of course, simply contact individual insurance providers to obtain a lengthy series of your own quotations and then compare these in detail against each other.

You may find though, that parkhome insurance brokers offer a slightly more efficient route.

These organisations are typically specialists in the insurance marketplace and they may be able to speedily and efficiently match your requirements against a number of potential insurance providers.

That may not only save you money in terms of connecting you with suitable policy providers but it may also save you a considerable amount of time that you may otherwise spend in trying to obtain quotations from sources that are unlikely to be suitable for your situation.

Parkhome insurance brokers might be a source of information and a resource that means you spend less of your precious time involved in some of the complexities of trying to compare insurance policies.

The question, what does parkhome insurance cover, may be best answered by looking at attributes of this important form of insurance protection:

• a parkhome is a form of residence that is located on a special site that has been designated by the local authorities as being suitable for permanent occupation;

• it is typically your normal home and permanent place of residence – for example, all of your possessions may be stored within it and you may be on the local register of electors etc;

• typically, the term parkhome defines a location and the way you use the property as your permanent place of domicile – parkhome insurance policies may not necessarily specify anything relating to the nature of the structure of the property itself, although some policies may require that it is permanently fixed into a location rather than on wheels and mobile;

• if you would like to know the answer to the question, what does parkhome insurance cover, a good starting place may be an online caravan insurance quote that applies to park homes;

• you may find that cover is relatively familiar, including things such as property and contents cover plus possibly third party liability protection;

• some residential caravan insurance policies may include cover for some external items, such as awnings, although there may be significant variation between policies on this subject;

• as you may perhaps expect, this form of insurance may bring with it specific terms and conditions, which will need to be complied with to avoid putting your cover at risk – examples might include the need to use specific security systems and to fully drain down water and heating systems if you are away on holiday etc;

• worthy of note is the fact that this form of caravan cover is separate and distinct from static caravan insurance – if you decide to start living permanently in a static caravan on private property or a static caravan park, it may not be safe to assume that parkhome insurance will necessarily be applicable;

• when seeking an answer to your question, what does parkhome insurance cover, if you feel your situation falls into a grey area, please do not be shy about getting in touch with us! We will be only too happy to offer our services to assist you in understanding what insurance may be appropriate.

Before starting to comment upon cheap park home insurance, it might be worthwhile clarifying that the term itself is understood.

Park home insurance

Although individual insurers may use different specific definitions, in principle, a park home is a dwelling place that is situated on a site licensed by the local authorities as being suitable for permanent occupation.

It is typically your permanent place of residence, as evidenced by things such as you being eligible for various forms of local taxation.

Some insurance policies may require that the site is fully connected to services and is under some form of permanent supervision and attendance.

Park home – what it is not

A park home is typically very distinct from a static caravan, in that a static caravan is typically occupied for just a few weeks each year while you and your family are on holiday etc.

There are typically distinct forms of insurance for both types of structure i.e. park home insurance and static caravan insurance.

Park home and static caravan insurances

Different forms of policy are required due to the fact that the risk profiles may be significantly different.

For example, a park home may have more expensive furnishings and fittings, given that it is your normal place of permanent residence, than a static caravan.

Cheap park home insurance

Many things may vary from one park home insurance policy to another, including of course, the price.

Although cheap park home insurance may be available, it is important to recognise that what may be more important to you in the event of a claim, is what the caravan insurance policy covers rather than price.

When looking at an online caravan insurance quote, it is very important to sit back and objectively review the cover a policy is providing before becoming too preoccupied with its price.  What may prove to be cheap to another caravanner may not prove to be cheap to you – and that is not something that you may wish to discover when you are trying to make claim.

The differences

Comparing carefully two park home insurance policies, may indicate differences between them that you may or may not consider to be factors that influence your assessment of its value for money.

For example:

• some policies may have strict exclusions on certain types of household contents, possibly including PCs, laptops, electronic gadgets or jewellery above a certain value etc;

• some policies may have significantly different terms and conditions relating to new-for-old replacement of your dwelling place should it be totally destroyed due to an insured risk etc.

It is only by studying the detail carefully and considering the advantages of one policy versus another in terms of the cover it provides, that you will be able to put into context any sort of thoughts relating to cheap park home insurance. Alternatively, should you have any questions relating to your park home cover, please feel free to get in touch – we will be more than happy to help.

Here are a few points that may come in useful if you’re thinking about cheap park home insurance:

• a park home is typically regarded by insurers as one that is permanently inhabited as your normal place of residence;

• if you only use a caravan for occasional recreational use, then you may find that static caravans insurance may be more appropriate;

• cheap park home insurance policies may require that your site is formally licensed by the local authorities and certified as being legally habitable on a permanent basis;

• policies may also demand that your site meets certain minimum criteria such as having a permanent supervisory presence;

• it may pay to be cautious if you are thinking of a park home located on a site with a predisposition towards flood, as some insurers may impose special conditions in such circumstances or refuse cover in totality – you may typically be able to check the flood risk situation by making enquiries at the local town hall, through local press and media sources or through the environment agency (some insurers may also be able to assist);

• don’t overlook the fact that what may be cheap park home insurance for somebody else may not work out as such for you, if the cover provided does not give the protection you require or need;

• residential caravan insurance, as per all insurance, may come with certain exclusions such as the flood risk cover mentioned above, however, there may also be similar restrictions and they are worth noting carefully – an example might be those policies that exclude claims unless certain minimum security precautions are taken such as using deadlocks etc;

• policies may also vary in the extent to which they provide cover for external areas (e.g. awnings etc) so again, checking this area may be a good idea;

• given that your park home may be your permanent place of residence, you may have contents of higher average values than may be the norm in some other types of caravan. It may therefore be worthwhile checking things such as the maximum cover value in total or the maximum cover for individual items etc;

• if you are away from your park home for a period of more than typically 30 consecutive days, you may need to investigate whether or not you will require unoccupied insurance cover – something that is worth keeping in mind if you are thinking about cheap park home insurance and which may arise in a number of circumstances (such as extended holidays, lengthy overseas business trips etc).

Here are a few hopefully useful tips relating to park home insurance:

• don’t confuse park home insurance with static caravan cover – static caravan insurance typically only applies in situations where you occupy your caravan for a few weeks per year for recreational purposes (in passing, remember that not all static caravan insurance will include cover if you’re renting your static out to others);

• it may not be uncommon for a park home policy to require that your dwelling is connected to all mains services and is on a formally registered and approved (by the local authorities) site suitable for permanent occupation – if your site isn’t, it may be advisable to urgently review your insurance position;

• some policies may also make a distinction between a park home being a fixed dwelling and mobile caravans that are permanently parked on a park home site and used as your place of domicile – there is no firm answer to this other than to read your policy carefully and decide what cover it is offering and based upon what definitions (for example, you may see some cover described as mobile caravan insurance but this might refer to tourers or theoretically mobile caravans on a permanent site – you’ll have to read the cover to be sure);

• you may be able to avoid certain additional premium components if you select a park home site that is not located in a flood-prone area (you may be able to check with the local press, local council, some insurers or the local environment agency, to check the actual position of a site you’re considering);

• some sites may be located in rural or relatively isolated areas and as a result, be a little more vulnerable to the attentions of thieves and vandals – you may, therefore, be able to obtain more cost-attractive cover options if you fit burglar alarms and security bolts or if your site has 24×7 supervision (some policies may make that a condition of cover);

• the residential home insurance marketplace is typically very competitive – it may only make sense to shop around for your park home insurance rather than accept the first quotation you see.