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.

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!

Here are some top tips for static caravan insurance quotes that you may find helpful:

• even if you are reasonably happy with your existing cover and policy, periodically checking the market, by looking at static caravan insurance quotes, may make sense – it may indicate whether or not your existing insurance solution is still providing optimal cover at a cost effective price;

• bear in mind that quotations for static holiday home insurance will typically not be adequate for situations where you reside permanently in your caravan and consider it to be your main place of residence – in such situations, you may be in need of park home insurance or some other form of related cover;

• static caravan insurance may contain a number of conditions relating to the site you have chosen as the location for your caravan – these may include things such as it not being in a known high-risk flooding area and it being fully connected to services (some insurers may also require that the site is under supervision);

• you may be able to reduce the overall cost of your premium if you use additional security features such as a burglar alarm and security locks;

• the same may be true if you are able to store your caravan securely away in an approved site for the winter period;

• not all caravan policies of this type will include cover for external components such as awnings – if you use such accessories, it may be advisable to look for a policy that does not exclude them;

• it might also be a good idea to look carefully at the contents cover offered by a policy, as some may exclude certain categories of possessions (e.g. electronic gadgets or jewellery) that may be an issue for you;

• insurers may also offer static caravan insurance quotes relating to policies that contain significantly different positions regarding new-for-old replacement of your caravan – there are number of different options here depending upon the age of your caravan and whether or not it has had previous owners, so it may be worth taking the time to ensure that you have cover in this area that you believe to be suitable for your individual situation.

A park home may be the dream of some people and something that becomes, for some lucky individuals, a reality.  You may presume that parkhome insurance is something that you can take as read and perhaps you are puzzled as to why this is mentioned in the same breath as static caravan insurance?

The fact is that occasionally some confusion arises as to the difference between a classic static caravan and a park home.

That confusion may become serious if it results in you purchasing the wrong sort of insurance for your particular caravan or home.

To avoid such confusion coming to pass, it may be worthwhile revisiting the fundamental difference between a static caravan and a park home.

A park home is somewhere that you typically occupy permanently as your normal home and place of domicile.  You may well be on the local register of electors and paying various forms of local taxes – to qualify for park home insurance, typically the site will need to be formally registered with the local authorities as being suitable for permanent occupation.

By contrast, a static caravan is accommodation that is semi-permanently located on a holiday occupation site and a place where you may spend a few weeks or months each year on holiday.

Typically, static caravan insurance may not cover a caravan that is being permanently lived in as your official place of residence – that may require parkhome insurance.

There are two different policies to cover the two different situations.  The reasons for this are typically related to the fact that a park home may contain rather more valuable fixtures, fittings, furnishings and personal possessions, than may be the case in a static caravan used infrequently for holidays.

Whether you have static caravan or residential park home insurance, in either case some caution may be advisable if you are planning to rent it out (including for a few weeks during the holiday season).

Firstly, if you have a park home, you may find that under the terms and conditions of your site, you are not allowed to let it out.

However, if you are allowed to let your park home, or you are letting your static home, you may find that your caravan insurance becomes invalid, as this would constitute commercial income-generation activities based on your property.  In such a situation, standard parkhome insurance (or static caravan insurance) may no longer be applicable and you may require special forms of insurance protection.