Auto Insurance Stockton, California

Caravan insurance can be a complicated matter, if you don’t take out enough or the right type you could find yourself out of pocket in event of a claim. Caravans are a valuable asset, and should be treated as such when the time comes to set up or renew your insurance. When considering caravan insurance you need to be clear on precisely what your needs are: cover for what, and for how much?

If you own a touring caravan, your insurance needs may be totally different to if you were renting out a static caravan on site. You can insure your caravan fully comprehensive, or you can choose to go with just third part fire and theft. Whatever you do, do not buy caravan insurance just on price there is a huge void between best, and cheapest, coverage is more important.

As static caravans are unlived in at least some part of the year, they should be protected against break in and vandalism. You will want to install an alarm system, smoke alarms, and locks on the doors of static caravans to help reduce your premiums. If you have a static caravan, you should ensure that it is at a secure site (for instance, walled with floodlighting), both to reduce costs, and risk of claims.

If you have a touring caravan and take it to Europe you will need to ensure you have cover to do so, to ensure no nasty shocks. Many insurance policies provide cover for taking the caravan to Europe, normally for a certain amount of days, though some don’t. Mainland Europe is a popular – and excellent – place for caravanners to go touring with their caravan, but you need to do it right.

To prevent any ugly shocks later on, always read the small print of any policy before you considering taking it out. Be sure that you have adequate coverage with your policy as claim limits vary quite a bit between companies. The same as buying any item, it makes great sense to have a good look around and get a few quotes, comparing what each company have on offer.

Holidaying in a caravan is starting to become a very attractive idea during this period of squeezed wallets and purses. Both the fun and value for money that Caravanning offers is slowly coming to the mind of a younger generation of families. No longer is Spain the number one spot for the British, caravans are now king.

Carl Way is a founder of Caravan Insurance Cover, the UK’s premier website to compare caravan insurance.

The average touring caravan insurance policy is made up of a number of different elements, and if you own a caravan you should be aware of these. These are Contents, Liability to the public, Damage and Loss, Continental use, Excess, and general exclusions. In this article, I am going to delve a little into each of these different parts of the policy.

Damage and Loss – this covers the caravan, normally up to its full value, for damage to or loss of the caravan. If you have a caravan normally up to 5 years old you can get new for old cover, which will provide you with a new caravan. Older caravans require Market Value cover, which means that if it needs replacing, it will be to the going value of your old caravan.

Contents and personal effects are not always standard in a policy, and are often quite limited in the coverage provided. Things like computers, documents, phones, bikes, money, credit cards, valuables, and audio/video devices are often excluded. To claim, entry must have forcible, and policies offer different coverage for awnings, toilet and trailer tents.

The policy will also cover injury or loss to a member of the general public from your use of the caravan. This cover will normally extend to people who have borrowed the caravan, as long as it is not hired to them, and they are not using it for business purposes. Normally the coverage is between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000, and sometimes includes costs, but not always.

Continental use coverage is required if you intend to travel to mainland Europe, and does not always come as standard. Roadside assistance (to a maximum amount) and repatriation of the caravan (to its insured value) is included in some policies. Some countries are normally excluded from the cover, mainly the former Soviet Block countries (e.g. Poland, Albania, Bulgaria… etc).

When you make a claim you will have to pay the first x amount yourself, this is what is called the excess. Should you make a 1000 claim and have a 300 excess, you would receive a 700 payout from the insurers (i.e. 1000 – 300). If you want to save some money on your policy, this can be achieved by increasing the amount of excess on it.

You should be aware of the general exclusions of a policy, despite the fact that many of them are exceptional events. Pressure waves from supersonic aeroplanes, terrorism and hostilities are several of these, but importantly so is use other than social, domestic or pleasure. The many different caravan insurance policies generally offer the same general exclusions as each other.

Carl Way is a founder of Caravan Insurance Cover, the UK’s premier website for insurance for touring caravans.