The static home industry is thriving.
That’s good news and it stresses the need for a widespread awareness of the advantages of static home insurance.
Before looking at this type of cover though, it’s worthwhile just clarifying a few terms relating to different caravan types.
Different types of caravan – different insurance requirements
Very broadly speaking, most caravans will fall into one of the following categories:
- touring caravans. These are perhaps the most intuitively familiar of caravans and usually move from one site to another behind their towing car, as the owners move around during the holiday season;
- static caravans. Although these are notionally mobile and may even be on wheels, they are designed for semi-permanent location on a single pitch on a duly licensed site. At times, these are referred to as “static homes” to reflect the fact that they may be decorated and equipped to a very high standard and are a home-away-from-home. They are not usually located on a site which permits permanent occupation all year round and are not considered to be a permanent place of residence;
- park homes. These are not really caravans but are often discussed in the context of such. They are usually prefabricated dwellings erected on a special park home site which is licensed by the authorities for permanent 365 days-a-year occupation.
Each of these types of accommodation will have its own insurance requirements, as will related holiday accommodation such as trailer tents and fold-away caravans.
Static caravan cover
Static caravan insurance normally provides cover under the following headings:
- for the caravan itself in terms of the cover provided for things such as natural events which cause damage or destruction, fires and so on;
- the contents of the static caravan;
- third party liability. This is to offer you financial support should you be subject to a claim from a third party that they have suffered personal injury or damage to their property as a result of your static caravan. Note that some static caravan parks may make this cover a mandatory requirement though you are typically not under any obligation to purchase the insurance they offer but are free to source your own in most circumstances.
In these respects, static caravan insurance is broadly similar to typical permanent home cover.
There are some differences though. Perhaps most notably:
- if, as is the norm, your static caravan site is not licensed for permanent occupation, your static caravan itself may stand unoccupied for significant periods of time through a given year.
Conditions
Just as is the case with any insurance, static caravan insurance is likely to bring with it certain conditions that you will need to comply with if your cover is to remain safely in force.
To be clear on what they may be, you will need to read your policy carefully but when you do so you may find that:
- you are specifically excluded from occupying your static caravan on a permanent basis;
- you may or may not be covered for using it for letting purposes. If your policy does not cover this as standard, it may be possible to include such cover by the payment of an additional premium;
- there may be specific exclusions relating to flooding and that might be particularly the case if your site is located in a known high flood risk area.
Summary
Given the cost of a typical static caravan, it might be sensible to make sure that your investment is protected.
If you haven’t already done so, finding out more about static caravan insurance cover is therefore sensible.
