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Archive for December, 2009
If you are looking for caravan insurance quotes online, or have done so in the past, then you may be used to the way that things work on some sites. Insurance quotes are not all the same for every caravan owner and their van so the chances are you may have to fill in a few details or answer a few questions before you are shown an actual quote.
This makes sense, after all. If you own a brand new state-of-the-art van, then your insurance needs and costs may well be higher than if you own an older model. Answering the questions you may be asked and/or giving relevant information may therefore help you make sure to get an accurate and competitive quote.
Accuracy is important when it comes to caravan insurance quotes. For a start, if you make a guess when you are asked a question about your caravan or your insurance requirements then any quote you are given may not be accurate. What you’ll get here is a quote based on your guesstimate rather that one based on reality.
Plus, if you don’t mention something important or if you under-value what you need in cover terms then you may well be given a quote that won’t do more than cover your basic needs. Being accurate when you look for a quote isn’t just about keying in accurate data – you may need to work on this actual data before to make sure that you get it right.
Online caravan insurance quotes are basically tools. They are based on hard facts and evidence and, unlike people, they won’t ask you questions if they think you’ve got something wrong or have missed something out. So, in order to get accurate quotes you do need to put in solid information. It may, therefore, be worth looking at an online quote service, working out what questions you’ll be asked and then going away to find out what you need to know before you get to the quotation stage.
Getting cheap caravan insurance may be made a lot easier if you take some time to think about your insurance needs and how you source and buy insurance. A little bit of time and effort may reap benefits as it may make it much easier to find low cost quotes and prices. Let’s look at five ways you might be able to do this:
- Think about what you need. Not all caravan insurance policies offer the same benefits or cover features. A static caravan policy, for example, may be a lot different to a touring caravan policy. The first step to getting cheap quotes may be to assess what kind of policy you actually need.
- Get the right insurance amounts. Some people make mistakes when they take out caravan insurance because they underinsure or overinsure themselves. Underinsuring your van may save you money in premium costs but this may cost you more in the long term if you have to make a claim as you may not get enough money back to cover your losses. Overinsuring may just see you pay more for your policy than you actually need to.
- Look at policy excess sums. Every insurance policy typically comes with an excess. This is the sum of money that you have to pay if you make a claim after which point your insurer steps in. If you have a higher excess on a voluntary basis then you may well reduce the overall costs of your policy.
- Compare cheap caravan insurance quotes. The Internet has made all of this easy and quick to do online. Our days of having to call insurers on the phone or write to them for quotes are long gone. Nowadays, it may be easier to go online to compare quotes and cover.
- Think about getting expert help. Even though the Internet has speeded up the process of buying caravan insurance it may sometimes be hard to compare a lot of quotes. You may, for example, just not know where to look if you don’t already know the names of a lot of insurance companies. A specialist broker may be a good place to start – they help search across the sector to find quotes and deals.
Getting insurance for your caravan may be important to you but you’re also more than likely to want cheap caravan insurance options as well. Going online to find these may well help you find suitable policies at the right cost for your pocket.
Insuring a caravan is not always as simple as you might think. Not all caravans are the same and owners of a static (i.e. semi-permanently/permanently pitched) van may need different insurance cover to those with a touring (i.e. used on the road) van. But, some owners actually own multiple caravans and may, for example, have one static van based at a site and a touring model at home. If you own two caravans do you need two separate caravans insurance policies or is joint cover a possibility?
To a certain extent this depends on the insurer. Some do offer the possibility to insure multiple caravans of different types under the umbrella of a single policy. Others may ask you to take out two separate policies. The option you take may come down to personal preference but, before you come to a decision, you may want to look at the advantages and disadvantages of both choices to see which may be the most suitable.
Some caravan owners that look at a joint caravans insurance policy may find that they get a cheaper deal by buying one policy that covers both/all of their vehicles. Others may find that they get a more suitable deal by taking out separate cover, either with the same insurer or with different ones.
The thing that may be worth considering at this stage is your actual needs from policies. Cover for a static model may be much different than cover for a touring model and vice versa. Buying a joint policy may only work if both sides of the cover are tailored to meet the specific needs of both types of caravans rather than working on a general basis.
If you do own two different types of caravan and would like to make things easier (and potentially cheaper) by looking for a joint policy, then you may want to make a start by talking to a specialist caravans insurance broker. They may be able to search the market to find suitable policies to suit your needs which might potentially save you time and money.
People are often surprised when they buy their first caravan and realise just how many other people have also opted to buy a caravan for their holidaying needs. This is an extremely popular hobby/pursuit in the UK. The Caravan Club is one of the most popular caravanning associations and they offer services to over 1 million owners. So, when you factor in non-members of the club, this is obviously a large marketplace. There are also many different caravan insurance UK policies to choose from servicing the sector.
Like any kind of insurance market, the policies on offer for caravan owners vary. Not all caravanners may need the same kind of cover when it comes to insuring their van. They may, for example, have very different needs depending on the type of caravan they own and how they use it. The two primary types of cover on offer in the sector are:
- Insurance for touring caravans
- Insurance for static caravans
Although these policies may both be sold by caravan insurance UK providers they may not always offer the same benefits and features. If you own a static caravan (i.e. one that is based on a park, campsite or a holiday camp on a permanent basis then you may need certain specialist elements of cover.
But, if you own a touring caravan (i.e. one that you keep at home unless you are out on the road) then your insurance needs may be very different. So, it may be important to assess exactly how you plan to use/store your caravan before you look at insurance policies. There may be little point taking out the wrong kind of policy as it may not give you the specialist cover that you need.
Many caravan owners may opt to take advantage of an online specialist caravan insurance UK broker when it comes to choosing a policy. This may well prove the quickest and most efficient way of comparing quotes from a range of different insurance companies.
Getting insurance for a touring caravan itself may be vital but owners also need to think about the contents of the van as well as the vehicle itself. If you are taking your caravan off on a long touring holiday or even just a short weekend break, you’ll have some of your own stuff in there. You may not keep it in your caravan while you’re not using it but, when you are, you may need touring caravan contents insurance.
Some caravan owners only concentrate on insuring their caravan in this instance. After all, replacement and repair costs may be hard to meet and most touring caravan policies may be weighted towards the vehicle. But, how much might you lose if:
• There was a fire in your caravan and your contents were damaged?
• Someone broke into your van and stole some of your stuff?
A basic caravan only policy might not be able to help you so you may want to consider touring caravan contents cover as well to give you all-round protection.
The kinds of cover you may be shown for contents insurance may vary from policy to policy. In some cases the cover may be bundled up into your general touring policy but in others you may need to take it out as an additional feature. So, this is worth checking before you buy a policy if contents cover may be important to you.
Although this kind of cover works much like to contents cover you may have for your home, it is not exactly the same. The assumption may be that your contents may not be worth as much as the stuff you have in your home and that there may not be that much of it.
So, most touring caravan contents benefits may cover essentials such as clothes and personal belongings and they may come with some additional limits. You may, for example, want to check what your single item limit cover may be as this may not cover expensive items as standard. Some benefits may also not cover certain types of valuables such as mobile phones, money/credit cards, computer equipment and jewellery so this may be, once again, worth checking before you arrange cover.