Looking for caravan insurance quotes can be a minefield. So many different options to choose from, different levels of excess to decide upon, different premiums… the list can often seem daunting. Then, you get to what’s known as Insurance Premium Tax, and that can be even more confusing. So what actually is it?

Well, Insurance Premium Tax (or IPT) is a tax that’s always placed on any caravan insurance quotes. Insurance companies have to pay this where their income is subject to tax, so it gets added to the cost of the policy to make sure it’s covered. If you think about it, it’s a lot like VAT – companies have to pay VAT every year so it’s factored into the cost of the products they sell and subsequently the price that we pay.

In the UK, IPT is charged at 17.5% or 5% depending on the industry, and luckily the rate for caravan insurance is the lower 5% option. This extra 5% will be added to your potential caravan insurance quotes, either already being included in the price (the usual practice) or listed separately and totalled up later, but either way you always have to pay it.

Adding IPT to caravan insurance quotes is standard procedure across the board and you can’t remove it in the hope of getting reduced premiums. That’s simply not an option, so unfortunately no matter which caravan insurance company you go to Insurance Premium Tax will always be an issue.

However, because it’s always necessary, everyone looking for caravan insurance is in the same boat. You can of course look around for lower quotes which will subsequently result in lower IPT payments, so it pays to do your research to find the best caravan insurance quotes possible. Just don’t think that you can get out of paying IPT!