Much like Home Insurance, you’ll need to have your Static Caravan, or Lodge insured to save you the financial headache of costs for repairs which result from unforeseeable events such as fire, flood, storm damage.
It’s ideal if you’re planning on letting your Static Caravan, or Lodge to include cover for damage caused by hirers which can be surprisingly low in cost to add to your insurance policy, if it isn’t included automatically within the policy.
If you are living in your Static Caravan or Lodge as your main residence for all, or part of the year then you need to make sure that your policy covers you for it being a main residence, rather than as a holiday home.
If someone started a legal dispute against you for damage, or injury which was caused by your negligence, you would be covered for this under the Public Liability section of your insurance policy. Most caravan park owners will require you to have Public Liability cover under your insurance for a minimum of £5,000,000 and some site owners will require a copy of your policy schedule to provide them with proof that this cover is in force.
If you have a static caravan or leisure lodge or you are planning on buying one soon, read on to find out more about what static caravan insurance is and how you’ll be covered.
What is Static Caravan Insurance?
Static Caravan Insurance does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s insurance that covers the costs of repairing or replacing your Static Caravan or Holiday Lodge if it gets damaged. This type of Insurance policy can also cover Lodges, used for either holiday, holiday let, residential use.
What are the levels of cover which are available under Static Caravan Insurance?
There are two levels of cover which are available under static caravan insurance policies. These are New for Old and Market Value.
New for Old cover replaces your caravan or leisure lodge, decking and contents with brand new equivalents in the event of a total loss claim. If you are requesting this cover from an insurer, you will need to do your research beforehand and be able to give them these values to make sure that you are always insured correctly in the event of a claim. Looking online, or checking on your caravan manufactures website, should let you find accurate new replacement costs.
Market Value cover insuers you for the current price you would buy or sell your caravan or leisure lodge, decking and contents for at today’s prices in their current condition. You can research these values online or check them with your caravan site owner before you buy insurance cover.
Your eligibility to request both levels of cover sometimes will depend on the age of your static caravan or leisure lodge at the time you are buying your insurance. Some insurers will have age restrictions on caravans and leisure lodges and will either not offer new for old cover past a certain age of caravan or will not provide you with a market value quotation after your caravan reaches a certain age. It is important not to cancel your existing insurance policy before you obtain a new quotation if your caravan or leisure lodge is over 20 years of age. Existing insurers will often keep offering a policy to you at each renewal, regardless of the age of your caravan.
What should Static Caravan Insurance cover you for?
Much like bricks and mortar properties, static caravans or leisure lodges and their contents need to be covered to avoid big bills in case anything gets damaged by unexpected events. The insured events under this type of insurance policy often include:
- Fire or Smoke Damage
- Re-site/Clearance or De-siting due to an insured incident
- Public Liability Cover
- Theft or Attempted Theft
- Accidental Damage by Family
- Storm & Weight of Snow
- Flooding
- Escape of Water or Oil
- Collision by any Vehicle, Animal or Aircraft
- Malicious Damage
- Lightning
- Explosion
- Earthquake
- Falling Trees, Lamp Posts & Telegraph Poles
- Subsidence, Landslip & Heave
- Loss Of Use & Hiring Charges
Who needs Static Caravan Insurance?
Any static caravan or leisure lodge owner who wants to cover their asset against the above events, be protected for property damage or injury to members of the public due to their negligence and if letting out to the public, be covered for Willful & Malicious Damage Cover.
If you are using your Static Caravan as your main residence you need to check that the policy you have covers you for you using it for this purpose, rather than just for holiday cover.
Residential caravan insurance policies usually include some form of temporary alternative accommodation for you. This means that if your property is damaged due to an insured event such as fire, or flood to the extent where it is uninhabitable you will have somewhere to live whilst your property is either repaired or replaced. It is important to check your with your insurance broker, or your policy booklet and schedule to see if this cover is included and if it is, what is the limit that you are covered for.
Residential Static Caravan Insurance can include cover for your valuables such as items of gold, silver, watches etc. which are usually excluded under static caravan insurance policies that are used for holiday use.
Why do I need Static Caravan Insurance?
Once you’ve bought a Static Caravan, you should get it insured as soon as possible once it is on it’s plot and has been connected to the mains services. Until this point the site, you are buying it from is usually responsible for the Static Caravan under their business insurance. You should check this with the caravan site owner or sales office and your insurer.
Here are the reasons why:
Storms and Flooding
This is because many Static Caravan are located near the coastline, which makes static caravans or leisure homes vulnerable to winter storms. Wherever your caravan is sited in the UK some insurers require your Static Caravan to be anchored down securely at all four corners underneath the chassis as there have been incidents in the storms over the past few years in the UK where Static Caravans which were not anchored down, were blown off their plot and needed re-siting.
Weight of Snow
Static Caravans can be damaged by weight of snow on the roof, or guttering.
Break-ins and Theft
Most Static Caravan Insurance policies have a clause in them to say that Theft or Attempted Theft must be subject to forced or violent entry for it to be covered under the policy. If the worst does happen and your caravan is broken into and your caravan has signs of forced or violent entry, then your caravan insurer should pay for any structural damage to be put right and for your contents to be replaced. Make sure that you have read your policy booklet for your insurers definition of what they cover and exclude under the contents section. Always make sure that your Contents Sum Insured on your Policy Schedule covers you for enough to replace all these items.
Fire or Smoke Damage
Like houses, static caravans and leisure lodges are prone to fires. Although it’s rare, fires do happen, and when they do, they’re incredibly destructive. So, it’s best to cover Static Caravan, it’s Decking and Contents. Some Static Caravan Insurance Policies require you to always have a fire extinguisher in your caravan, so that damage of this nature can be minimized where possible.
While having insurance is a great safety net, it’s best to research your chosen caravan park’s safety and fire regulations, fire points and maybe buy a fire extinguisher, or fire blanket to protect your Static Caravan.
Legal Issues
As a static caravan owner, you can be taken to court for any damage to other peoples property or injury to third parties caused by your caravan/decking etc. because of your negligence.
The Public Liability Section of your Static Caravan Insurance covers you for incidences of this nature for example a loose part of your balcony which you are aware of, but don’t fix which someone stands on, then gives way and injures them. A loose part of your roof which you are aware of and don’t fix which blows off in a storm and hits someone, their car, caravan etc. In these cases as you have been aware of the issue with your property and haven’t fixed it, there is an element of negligence and because of this, there is cover under your Public Liability Insurance Section, rather than you facing court action.
Check this section of cover in your Policy Booklet and Schedule to see if there is an exclusion for people who you are letting your caravan out to for money, and to see what limit in money value you are covered up to under this section.
There may also be an option to include legal protection under your caravan insurance as an add on to cover you for things like disputes at the sale of your caravan, disputes with site owners etc. Every policy is different, so again make sure that you aware of what this usually optional cover gives you before you purchase it.
Vermin Damage
Vermin Damage is usually an exclusion under Static Caravan Insurance Policies, however some Caravan Insurers will include this cover as standard, or for an optional extra payment under their policies. Again it is worth checking with your insurance broker, or your policy booklet to see if you are covered for Vermin Damage and whether it is something you wish to be covered for or not.
Static carvan insurance FAQs
Is my Static Caravan eligible for insurance?
The answer is usually yes if it is sited within the UK on a Holiday Caravan Site, or a Residential Caravan Site, providing you have purchased your caravan within the last six weeks, or have had continuous insurance on your caravan. Some Caravan Insurers can provide cover if your caravan has not been continuously or previously insured by you. This is dependent sometimes on the time of year, adverse known weather conditions and your reason for not previously insuring your caravan. Using an Insurance Broker who will shop around on a panel of insurers and approach Insurers that they have strong relationships with may save you time in these circumstances.
Is it a legal requirement to get Static Caravan insurance?
Unlike car insurance, it’s not a legal requirement to have it. However, it’s recommended if you’re planning on getting a Static Caravan. Getting your insured is important because it saves you time and money when anything unfortunate happens.
Static Caravan Insurance may not cover:
- Wear and tear – damage that naturally occurs over a long period of time is exempt from many insurance policies
- Vermin and insect damage – consider using products to deter vermin such as bed bugs and rats
- Theft or attempted Theft without signs of forced or violent entry.
- Pet Damage
- Flood cover if your property is in an area with high risk of flooding, or a previous history of flooding.
- Escape of Water during unoccupied periods, or winter periods where their draining down or winter requirements have not been met by the policyholder.
- Loss of hiring charges due to anything which is not an insured peril including Covid-19.
- High-value contents – valuables like jewelry and electronics may be excluded from some policies
How much does Static Caravan insurance cost?
Here’s the million-dollar question. The actual answer: it depends. Like most insurance policies, Static Caravan or Leisure Lodge usually varies, depending on:
The value of replacing your caravan or leisure lodge, decking & contents, together with re-siting & clearance costs. These should be looked at as separate costs when you are calculating how much you need to cover yourself to get to a total.
You will need to think about whether you wish your caravan, decking & contents to be replaced on a New for Old basis, or on a Market Value basis. A new for old basis would mean that you need to insure yourself for the cost of an equivalent brand-new caravan, decking & contents plus re-siting & clearance costs. Market Value basis would mean that you insure your caravan, decking & contents for the cost it would be to buy or sell them now as they are in the current condition that they are in, plus de-siting fees that a caravan site would charge you to remove your caravan from your plot in the event of a total loss claim such as fire or flood.
To lower the cost of your premium, you could consider amplifying your security by fitting your mobile home with window locks, burglar alarms or CCTV.
How do I pay for Static Caravan insurance?
Insurers will let you choose from a variety of payment options. Most insurers can let you pay in monthly instalments. However, paying for your policy in monthly instalments over a 12 or 10 – month period may cost you more than paying it in one lump sum. It’s best to check payment options before choosing your policy.
How do I find the best premium for static caravan insurance?
The best way to find your ideal insurance policy is to shop around. Sometimes the site owner will recommend insurance providers to you. Sometimes other caravan owners on your site will also recommend an insurer to you that they have had good experiences with. You may be in an online Facebook group where other caravanners will be happy to share their recommendations about insurance providers. Make sure to compile a list of recommended insurers that offer static caravan insurance before shopping around.
Once you’ve done that, call their offices to discuss their coverage with an insurance agent. Hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth will help you to understand what add-ons they have and what they cover, which can help you make the right decision.
When you are talking to insurance providers to obtain your quotation, it’s good to check their knowledge of the product that you are buying and make sure that any questions you have are answered in a friendly and efficient manner. Can you get through to the same person you have spoken to every time etc. These are all considerations about the quality of the service that your insurer is providing you with, so that you can be confident that you are choosing not only the best priced policy, but also considering service standards and quality of cover at the same time.
However, what you don’t want is to find surprise bills for cover you don’t need! To prevent this from happening, I’d strongly advise that you read through each policy carefully and work out what you need covering before making a quote.
How do I get a quote for my static caravan?
When getting a quote, be honest. Give the provider your personal details and the details of the caravan, decking & contents. The insurer will need to know how long you’ve had the caravan, and whether you rent it out to holidaymakers.
The provider will need to know about the value of the static caravan, decking and the contents inside, as well as any claims. Remember, if you have no claims, your quotes will be cheaper.
Providing information such as whether your caravan is anchored down at all four corners may give you a discount on your price.
How can I claim?
An insurance policy is only as good as the service you get in the event of a claim under the policy. Check with your insurer what their claims process is, so that you understand if you will be dealing with any claims via an App, by phone to a call centre, through a broker who would be able to guide you through the claims process. Decide which way you would want your claim dealt with and then check the internet to look at the companies Trust Pilot rating and reviews from fellow caravanners who have been through that companies claims process and will be honest with their feedback. Sometimes it may be worth paying a couple of pounds more for your insurance, to get great claims service when you need help and support the most.
Summary
So, there you have it. Static caravan insurance is ideal for those planning to buy a static caravan, or leisure lodge, or who already own one of these properties. Although it isn’t a legal requirement to get your static caravan or leisure lodge insured, it’s there to protect caravan owners in case any damage or legal issues occur.
Every static caravan insurance policy covers the essentials such as fire, accidental and malicious damage, and theft. It’s vital that you know what your insurance policy covers and what add-ons are available and making sure that the policy and claims service suits your individual needs, before making your purchase.