Caravan and camping insurance is a way of giving you peace of mind: you know that your holiday and your investment is protected. Buying the cover may potentially take seconds, but researching it should take a little longer.

The cover
Whether you have a tent, touring or static caravan, your exact requirements will be different, so make sure that you check the details of any draft policy that are sent to you for your consideration.

A policy might typically cover the risks to your holiday home arising from theft, flooding and storm. Some policies may provide cover for malicious damage, but not all do so, so you may wish to check the small print.

If there is anything else that you want from your caravan and camping insurance policy, it might be best to raise it with the insurer.

In addition to the structure of your holiday home, its contents could also be covered. However, before loading up your car or campervan with expensive cameras and the like, take a minute to check whether there is a limit on the maximum amount that can be claimed for any single item. Your expensive camera may not be completely covered!

If you have set your sights on holidays in far flung places, you might also benefit checking the details of the policy. Some insurers will only offer continental cover caravan and camping equipment in the European Union or the United Kingdom.

Terms and conditions

Unfortunately theft of caravan and camping equipment may be a real issue, so most insurers insist on some security measures, including hitchlocks and wheel clamps where appropriate. Make sure that you comply with these requirements, otherwise the policy may not pay out after a burglary or theft as your policy will typically be invalid.

The price

The cost of caravan and camping insurance is variable. Discounts could be available for membership of caravanning clubs, and for having significant no claims bonuses from other policies. It is at least worth asking for a reduction!

There are many different types of caravan and camping insurance out there when you begin to look for your policy. To begin with you would have to make the choice of whether you needed touring or static caravan insurance as the policies would pay out under different circumstance and for different things. When you begin to look around you will see that the cost of the premiums varies and this can be quite a great deal, however so could the benefits that you get in the insurance.

For instance if plan on travelling outside of the UK then you would need European cover if you want to spend your days taking in what Europe has to offer. Travel without this insurance and it could end up costing you many hundreds if not thousands of pounds to have your caravan towed and repaired. Plus you would have to payout costs for alternative accommodation if you do not have a policy behind you to fall back onto.

Caravan and camping insurance can also differ in what the insurance provider would pay out in the event that you had belongings stolen or destroyed. Some providers will offer to replace items as new for old but others could take wear and tear into account. If you are inuring a static caravan then you would need to check if the insurance company would payout for fencing, decking or a patio around your caravan if that was to be destroyed. With some providers you could claim up to so much on the insurance but others limit this to just the shell and contents of your caravan.