If you are lucky enough to own your own static caravan and use it as your home for at least the summer months then you may typically need to have home caravan insurance. What are the benefits to taking insurance and why is cover so important?

When living in a caravan as a home, even if it is only for part of the year, your caravan is at the same risks of any brick and mortar home. While caravans are usually well made and are built strongly, they are not as strong as the home that is made of bricks and therefore your caravan may be at risk from the elements. There is of course always the worry of a break in as again doors on caravan are not usually as strong as the heavy wooden ones used on brick and mortar homes. These are just two of the ways in which caravan insurance may help, as storm damage and theft are both included in caravan insurance.

Of course, you may install security devices on and around your caravan. For instance:

• you may install an alarm system in the static caravan;
• you may want to have security lighting to warn you of intruders
• you may want to buy additional door and window locks for your caravan.

All of these may potentially help you to avoid a break in.

Without an insurance policy to fall back onto you may have to spend a great deal of money replacing your valuables and items within the caravan. The policy usually protects you for loss or damage to belongings, vandalism and destruction of your caravan or your property, which includes belongings, and such as awnings, steps and the contents of your fridge/freezer. The same applies if your caravan were to be damaged in a storm. With insurance, you are protected for damage to your caravan and belongings, which was caused by storms, which may include wind, rain and snow.

Home caravan insurance may be found online and if you use a specialist website to search and find you the most suitable policies, you are then able to take the time to compare them to ensure that you have suitable insurance.

If you are one of the lucky ones that have the luxury of owning their own caravan which to spend a great deal of the summer in then you will be able to come and go as you please. However when taking out insurance there could be a very find line as to whether you should insure your caravan under general static caravan insurance or whether you would need to take permanent park home caravan insurance.

Your caravan could be insured under static caravan insurance if you only live in it for so many months out of the year and the amount of time that applied could vary with providers. This would apply for instance if you took holidays for a few months or so each year or just took holidays a couple of weeks out of the year. Should you live in your caravan over the period stated by the provider then you would need to take out what is called park home insurance.

If you need information and advice over which type of home caravan insurance would be the most suitable then you could choose a specialist provider to take your insurance out with. They would provide you with the information that you need to decide which type of insurance would be the best choice for your needs. Not having the correct type of insurance could lead to you being unable to claim on your policy if the need should arise.

When looking for home caravan insurance you have to look into the details of the policy very carefully. Some providers will add in many extras that could be useful and other providers might charge you extra for them. If you are using your caravan as your home away from home then you will have a great deal of belongings with you and it essential to know that these would be protected.

If you choose to take out fully comprehensive insurance you would get the most cover, however fully comp would be the dearest types of insurance in comparison to third party fire and theft. Fully comprehensive insurance would provide you with protection against fire, theft, accidental damage, storm and flood damage and recovery along with more features.

Home caravan insurance that comes with a good recovery and breakdown plan would be ideal when travelling around in the caravan for a long period of time. Usually a policy that includes this would provide recovery of both your vehicle and yourself and any passengers if the caravan was damaged beyond roadside repair. If you live in a motor caravan a policy would usually also cover the costs of having to stay in a hotel while your caravan was being repaired.

If you plan on travelling outside of the UK then you would need to ensure that European cover is included in the insurance policy you were considering taking out. Some providers will add this into the policy as standard while others might ask that you have this added in as extra. However, if you never leave the UK then look for cover that does not have European cover included as standard as this could save you on the premium.

When taking out home caravan insurance you can state the amount you want to protect your personal belongings for. This would include any items that are to be found in your caravan including items in drawers, cupboards, wardrobes and items such as awnings, tents and steps. Even the smallest of items would all add up to a large amount so do not forget about them when taking an inventory. If you carry bikes on the back of your caravan you would also have to check the terms of the cover to ensure that these would be covered also.
Check the terms of any policy you are considering taking, some policies might come with new for old replacement protection and others could come with wear and tear taken into account. New for old would supply you with brand new replacements for any items that were lost or destroyed. Usually new for old protection works out dearer than a policy that comes with depreciation taken into account.

Specialist home caravan insurance is essential just as choosing the right type of insurance is. If you are on the road for many months out of the year with your caravan then you need to know that you have adequate cover. If you have European cover in your policy, remember never to leave home without the documents and the helpline number that should be supplied with the insurance.