Touring caravan owners should know what the elements are that make up any insurance policy they take out. The elements of a policy are Contents, Continental use, Damage and Loss, general exclusions, Excess, and Liability to the public. It is my intention to offer an insight into the policies different parts in this article.
Damage and Loss of a caravan are covered, normally up to the value of the caravan itself. New For Old cover means that you will get a new caravan replacement caravan, but this is normally only for caravans up to 5 years old. Market Value cover means that if your caravan needs replacing, you can claim the prevailing market value for your old caravan.
Contents and personal effects is often an optional extra, and is generally quite limited in coverage, so check what is covered. Normally excluded are money and credit cards, valuables, audio/video devices, bikes, phones, documents and computers. Forcible entry is also required to be able to make a claim, and also policies differ in whether they cover theft from awnings, trailer and toilet tents.
In the case of loss or injury to the public from your use of the caravan, liability to the public is a feature of caravan policies. As long as the caravan is not hired or used for business purposes, this will normally extend to people the caravan has been leant to. Coverage is generally between 1 million and 2 million, and sometimes it won’t include costs, but sometimes will.
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 touring caravan insurance.
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