Tips On Insuring Your Used Caravan

A pre-owned caravan can be a major investment, and as a new owner, you may want to insure your new purchase. But do you have to insure your caravan to stay on the right side of the law?

Your caravan and the law

As long as your car insurance provides you with cover for other road users when you are towing your caravan, you are not legally obliged to insure it separately. Before you take to the road with your new van, you must ensure that you are fully covered to tow it on a public road. If you're not insured and you have an accident, you will be prosecuted and could face a hefty fine at the very least. Note here that although many car insurance policies do include towing under their standard terms, some don't. When you buy your new caravan, you do need to give your insurance broker a call to upgrade your cover for towing if necessary.

If you are a new driver, check your driving licence to make sure that it covers you for driving whilst towing a trailer or caravan. You may find that you'll need to take a separate towing test before you can take to the road with your van.

Separate insurance for your van

Even though you are insured to tow the caravan, the van itself will not be covered for damage or theft, and you will probably need to take out a separate policy for this. Caravan insurance will cover your van for the following:

• theft
• accidental damage
• fire
• willful damage (vandalism)
• third party liability

Note that this cover does not apply when the caravan is being towed; it is only valid when the caravan is not connected to your car, like when the van is stored outside your home or is pitched at a camp site.

If you have a separate trailer tent, this may also be covered under your caravan insurance policy, but you should check to make sure.

Your home insurance policy

Items that you may have inside your caravan, such as clothing or computer equipment, will not be covered under your caravan insurance policy. However, they may be covered by your home contents insurance policy under the 'personal possessions away from the home' section of your policy schedule; double-check your policy documents or give your insurance provider a quick call to confirm.

Before you set off on the road with your used caravan, you must check that you are insured to drive whilst towing it and that the van itself is insured for fire, theft or damage. For more advice on insuring your van, ask a member of the sales staff at the used caravan supplier.