Insurance for static caravans

Static caravans are prefabricated properties that reside in a permanent location. Buildings and contents insurance for these properties has some differences to standard home insurance:

Construction type: As static caravans are prefabricated and built in a factory, they are built with materials that would not be used for regular homes. This means the cover limits may be lower than standard home insurance policies. Given how they are built, issues such as the make and model of the static caravan become important too.

Use and location: Unlike typical homes across the country and mobile homes based in residential community parks, static caravans are often situated in holiday parks. This makes them largely designed around the needs of holidaymakers. The cover is therefore based around these specific risks.

Demand and needs: Given the differences between static caravan cover and other types of insurance, the cover requirements for static caravan owners may differ to regular homeowners. Issues such as new for old cover, where the static caravan owner gets a brand new caravan instead of a market value payment, may be a more pressing concern. Risks for this type of cover may also factor in issues such as the property being empty during off peak seasons.

Whether insurance is required or not for your static caravan will depend on:

Location: Static caravans not covered by a park caravan licence in Scotland may need both buildings and public liability insurance in place as part of current legal requirements for operating a short let licence. Speak to your local authority if you are not sure.

Finance: If your static caravan is financed with a bank loan, then some lenders may require insurance in place to protect their asset.
Holiday parks: Some static caravan parks may require insurance in place in order to have your property situated on their holiday park.

In terms of personal requirements, there may be good reasons to consider static caravan insurance as necessary even if it is not legally or contractually required:

Repair costs: Consider whether you can afford to pay for repairs yourself as opposed to paying regular insurance premiums.

Hassle: Sorting out repairs yourself can be time consuming and stressful.
Insurance can cover this for you, but your provider may only use contractors approved by them. Weigh up the pros and cons if this is a potential issue for you.

Liability and legal claims: Legal liability claims can sometimes result in millions of pounds of damages depending on what happened and who was involved. Legal cases can also be drawn out, costly, and expensive.

Pikl’s rental insurance cover top up for paying guests is a fixed cost that varies depending on how many nights of cover you rent out the property a year.

If you also want a quote for standard insurance in addition to rental cover, call us and we can consider providing a quote. The cost of a general static caravan insurance is not fixed. It’s also likely to be different for each individual. There are a number of different areas for standard cover that may factor into your insurance premium, such as:

Structure and items: Most insurers will look at replacing items or the property itself brand new. The higher this cost is, the higher your premium may be.

Location: Like home insurance, static caravan premiums are also dependent on location. A caravan on a holiday park situated far away from emergency services may have different premiums to a site that has no such issues, for example. These types of risks may also change year on year.

Occupancy: Because many static caravan insurers limit how often you can stay at the property, the frequency with which you visit or have guests may also have an impact.

Construction: Static caravans are built in factories and the construction materials used may also have an impact. Rarer makes and models or static caravans built with non-standard modifications may also be considerations.

Insurer costs: Anything that makes it more costly for the insurer to service claims may be passed onto the consumer, resulting in higher premiums the following year.

Each insurer is different, so premiums can vary according to the individual and which insurer is providing a quote.

The insurance Pikl covers online is for issues that relate to having paying guests that stay at your property. It acts as a top up to your existing insurance, provided you still have a policy elsewhere that covers standard risks such as fire and storm damage. If you’d like a combined package that includes cover for these standard risks as well, please call and speak to a member of the Pikl team.