by Ed Davies
First of all, insurance for caravans is not mandatory. The basic law stipulates any self-propelled vehicle must be insured meaning motorhomes are bound by the regulations but caravan owners are left with a decision to make
The pitfalls are clear and range from fire, theft, storm, flood, accidental damage to even damage from the great, glorious, wonderfully unpredictable British weather.
However, views are split and several people will often go on holiday with their camper without any insurance, whatsoever.
So, continuing the intrepid reporting spirit of CaravanTimes we have quizzed insurance expert, Neil Menzies, to ask him why he thinks insuring your caravan is important.
A disclaimer. Mr Menzies is the director of Caravan Guard, a caravan insurance company, and therefore, it should be said does have an interest in people insuring their caravans.
That being said, his knowledge is second to none in this field and should not be dismissed.
This article is to be the first in a line of articles that CaravanTimes are to be doing on insurance in the coming weeks.
Our Expert
Mr Menzies said: “It is not a legal requirement but caravans can be a huge investment and are prone to theft, accidental or weather related damage.
“Accidental damage and weather related claims are very common for caravan insurance companies and often these are unavoidable.
“The British weather can be very hard to predict and the cost of repairs can run into thousands of pounds. For example, in 2012, in one day we dealt with 71 claims from customers whose caravan or motorhome had been damaged by ‘golf ball sized’ hailstones during a freak storm.”
On averaging out the claims from the storm, Caravan Guard, found that, individually, the cost was around £5,261 each.
With simple damage claims sometimes reaching the thousands of pounds, were those clients not insured they would have faced these financial burdens alone. A considerable charge for any caravan owner.
“Who would have thought a hail storm could cause so much damage to a caravan and let’s face it the caravan owners could not really do anything to prevent it happening,” he added.
“A caravanner’s car insurance policy should provide cover for any third party damage caused whilst towing their caravan but it will not pay to repair any damage to the caravan as a result of an accident or if it is stolen.
“Caravan insurance gives owners the reassurance that their caravan is covered for fire, theft, storm, flood and accidental damage.”
It is also worth noting caravan insurance these days does not have to be too expensive as Mr Menzies points out there are ways to cut the cost of cover.
He continued: “You might be able to select from various cover options, such as European cover, emergency accommodation, or select a different excess to pay in the event of a claim.
“Discounts also reward careful and security conscious caravan owners, with money off for fitting axle wheel locks, alarms, electronic anti-snaking devices and approved tracking systems to prevent theft.
“It has been great to see manufacturers, installing a lot of these features as standard to their models in recent years.
“So, there is plenty of ways to make insurance savings and of course many of the devices mentioned help owners enjoy trouble-free touring.”
Caravan Insurance Companies
Caravan Guard
Caravanwise
The Camping and Caravanning Club
Coast Insurance
Crusader Insurance
NFU Mutual
Safeguard UK
Saga
Shield Total Insurance
AA Caravan Insurance
The Caravan Club
Simpled Caravan
