Stuart Craig from Shield Total Insurance offers some ideas to drive the best deal on your caravan insurance.
It’s always worth shopping around and please don’t think that cheapest is always best. Specialist insurers allow you to alter your cover to exactly suit your needs.
Caravan insurance can be obtained for less money than you think – premiums start at a little over £50 per annum.
Shield Total Insurance looks after thousands of caravans, so here are a few tips to help you get the best possible cover at a price that’s right:
Cover
There are three basic categories:
New for old gives a like-for-like replacement for up to 10 years. This is the best option if your caravan is new or nearly new, but remember to change the sum insured as the price of a new equivalent model changes.
Market value insures the caravan based on its current ‘value’.
Agreed value is where you agree an amount to insure it for and this is what the insurer will pay should it be stolen or written off. The better option for older tourers
Remember your car’s insurance only covers your third party liability not the unit and its contents. Some people choose not to insure but can you really afford to live with the potential loss?
No claims discount
The best insurers offer discounts of up to 25% to careful caravanners if you haven’t claimed in the last four years.
Security/safety discounts
Check that you meet the insurer’s minimum security requirements. If you fit the security devices we require at Shield, your excess could be zero.
You could be forgiven – reading some adverts – for thinking that there’s so much discount on offer the policy could be FREE! 60% is the most likely maximum allowable discount.
Storage
Home is not the safest place to keep your caravan especially at it also advertises when you’re away. Safe storage is good, but only if approved by CaSSOA and its Gold-rated sites could save you another 25%.
Cover abroad
Do you really need it? Again, the best insurers allow you to flex this from anything between 0 and 365 days.
Buy online
The best companies allow you to quote and buy online, making the buying process quicker and less pressure. It saves the insurer on admin and paperwork too.
Claims service
It is true that the real value of your insurer rests with their claims service – this is why I always say that cheapest is not necessarily the best! Speak to caravanning friends about their experiences, check online forums and look out for UK-based claims handling teams.
Contact Shield Total Insurance on 0800 206 1559 for more information
