Do You Have to Have Caravan Insurance?
You’ve just picked up your new caravan. If you’ve shopped wisely, you’ll have secured affordable caravan finance with us; if you’ve been a little daring, you may have shopped elsewhere! Regardless, one key question will still need answering. “Do I have to have caravan insurance?” Well, you might be surprised to know that you don’t.
There is no legal requirement for you to have caravan insurance, so you could head out on the road without it and remain totally compliant. The thing is, it probably isn’t the best idea. Without caravan insurance, you potentially open yourself up to a host of expenses you would prefer to avoid.
Does car insurance also cover my caravan?
Sort of. If you want to tow your caravan, you’ll need car insurance at the very least, but in many cases, this is only third-party liability. This means you’ll be protected if your caravan collides with another vehicle and injures someone or damages their property.
In terms of theft or damage to your caravan and repairs and replacements, your car insurance policy will more than likely offer no cover for your caravan, so it would be worth looking at cover specifically for your caravan.
How much is caravan insurance?
Costs vary for different caravans. In addition, an insurer will want to check:
- Your age
- Your driving history
- The level of cover you require
- The model of your caravan
- What the contents are worth
- How the caravan is stored when not in use
- Where you live
- What security features the caravan has
The best thing to do is to collect 3-5 quotes from various caravan insurance providers and see how the costs come out for your particular needs. You can then assess the costs and find a suitable policy for both budget and coverage.
As a rough estimate, you can expect anything from around £150-£300 per year for touring caravan insurance.
Is caravan insurance a good idea if my caravan is just parked at home?
If you have no plans to use your caravan for a while, you might think you can forget about the insurance. To an extent, that is fine. You won’t be using it or increasing the potential for damage. However, it could still be broken into by thieves or damaged by bad weather. For added peace of mind, insurance might still be a good idea even if you have no plans to head out in your caravan.
Should you not have a suitable driveway, you might find that insurance is a little harder to come by, or at the least, a touch more expensive. As a result, you could look at storing your caravan on a CaSSoA-approved site. These are secure facilities approved by the Caravan Storage Site Owners’ Association and offer greater levels of protection. Insurers will be happier covering you if your caravan is kept here than on the roadside.
What will caravan insurance cover?
If you have started to consider a caravan insurance policy, you’ll notice a host of different benefits. Some may not apply to you, and opting to remove certain aspects of cover could see your bill come down. However, different risks can present themselves each day, so it would be wise to obtain the most comprehensive cover for the most affordable cost.
Content cover
Getting a caravan insurance policy in place means that certain items specific to your caravan will be covered against loss, theft, or damage. Where many items in your caravan can fall under home insurance, more caravan-specific items will not. Things like the gas cannisters, gazebos and camping equipment, for example, will need to be covered by a caravan insurance policy.
Road traffic accident damage
If you find yourself in an accident, your car insurance should offer some form of protection if you injure someone or damage their property, but it will not offer any support for actual damage to your caravan. As we know, caravan repairs can be costly, so having a policy in place specifically for your caravan can absorb some of that expense for you.
Theft cover
Many thieves see a caravan as a lucrative target to steal. Not only do they get the caravan that they can either keep or sell on, but they also benefit from whatever you have left inside it. And with many caravans seen as a second home, it’s likely some rather valuable items are kept within them.
Having theft cover allows you to claim if your caravan is stolen or damaged as part of an attempted theft. This is something your car insurance policy will not cover.
If you are on the lookout for a new or used caravan on finance or already have a caravan ready to use, it’s best to start looking at insurance. For the small outlay, you could cover yourself from a great deal of extra expense.