1st-car-insurance-rates

Caravan insurance is not always straightforward, not getting the proper cover or not getting enough cover could leave you short if you ever had to claim. Your caravan is a valuable investment and should be treated accordingly when its time to renew or take out caravan insurance. If you are thinking about insuring your caravan, it is important to understand exactly what your needs may be, how much and what cover you need.

Your caravan insurance needs depend on what you do with your caravan, do you take it touring, or perhaps rent it out on site? When choosing caravan insurance you have the choice between third party fire and theft, and fully comprehensive insurance. Cheapest and best are often two entirely different things, so don’t buy insurance based on price alone, base it on coverage.

If you own a static caravan you will want to cover it for both vandalism and break-in as it is probably vacant for some of the year. A good way to reduce your premiums is to install smoke alarms, and alarm system and so good locks on the doors and windows. With a static caravan, you can again reduce both the costs and the risks by storing it at a secure site.

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.

You should always read the small print of any policy before you take it out, to prevent any nasty surprises down the road. Limits for paying out on items can vary quite widely between providers, so make sure you know you have everything adequately covered. As with buying anything, it always pays to shop around and compare between what each of the providers has to offer.

In these testing economic times, caravan holidays are becoming an ever popular way of getting a value for holiday. Younger families are uncovering the fun (and savings) that a caravan holiday can provide. Caravans are now the king of holidays, replacing Spain as the top holiday spot for us Brits.

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

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.

If you own a touring caravan you may be interested to know what makes up the main elements of a touring caravan insurance policy. The main elements are: Damage and Loss; Contents; Liability to the public; continental use; Excess; general exclusions. This article will give you an overview of each of these different parts of the policy.

Damage and Loss not surprisingly relates to the damage to or loss of the caravan, and normally covers up to the full value. Newer caravans can get new for old cover, this means that if it needs replacing, it will be with a new caravan. Market value is the other type of cover, which will pay you the market value of your old caravan should it need replacing.

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.

Liability to the public is to protect the owner in the case of injury or loss to the general public resulting from use of the caravan. This will often cover people the caravan is leant to, as long as it is not for business purposes or hired to them. The level of cover is normally between 1 and 2 million pounds, sometimes including costs, sometimes plus costs.

If you plan to travel to the continent, you will need to ensure you have continental use included in the policy. You will find that some policies also include roadside assistance and/or repatriation of the caravan. You will find that many of the former Communist countries (e.g. Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic) are excluded from continental use.

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.