We went to see a cassoa gold award storage site at the weekend. All went well and they have space for us. But....
the lady at the site explained that they move the caravans in and out of their spaces to the pick up and drop off area (when we want to collect the van or go down to clean/packet etc). My husband had the presence of mind to ask if they are insured to do so to which the answer was no.
So I am just wondering is this normal?
I called Caravanguard to get an insurance quote (as I needed one anyway) and they advised that if we took a policy with them that wouldn't cover the van being moved by the storage people either.
Is what we have been told by the storage site and Caravanguard all as you would expect or does this sound unusual to you?
No, our gold storage site doesn't do that either...we have our own space, a fob for the gate and a set of very specific entering and exiting instructions to ensure no-one gets in who shouldn't be in there.
I would not be happy with anyone moving our caravan to and fro...especially if they are not prepared to insure it against damage they may well cause by doing so.
Which is worse, potential novice strangers reversing their vans either side of yours or allowing an experienced site driver to park them all BUT I would expect the site to accept responsibility and be insured.
Thats a strange one..you would think that the site owners would want to have insurance to cover any possible damage whilst moving customers vans.
Especially where vans I would pressume are quite tightly packed as most storage sites are.
The thing is if there is an accident it is more likely to damage another one or possibly two caravans ( one each side of your space), just seems the owners are gambling with your and others caravans
Experienced they may be at moving caravans but accidents do happen!
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
The site by law has to be covered for any damage caused by them however,to throw a spanner in the works your caravan may be covered by their car insurance Third party.
The gold site we had ours on had a pick up/drop off point and all movement on site was done with a small tractor with a front towball.
------------- XVI yes?
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
For information there is no legal requirement to have Public Liability insurance. The only compulsory insurances in the UK are Motor Third Party and Employer's Liability. Obviously it is good practice to have Public Liability insurance as a business could go bankupt if there was an accident and they were sued and did not have the money to pay out if found liable by a court.Just because someone does not have insurance does not mean they cannot be found liable by a court nor does it mean they have no responsibility - it means they may not have the financial backing to pay out in the event of a successful claim. Very large organisations do not always have insurance for all matters but choose to self-insure (ie keep money back for a rainy day).
The other confusing aspect is that Public Liability insurance does not always cover vehicles "to which the Road Traffic Act applies". So if a site is deemed "a Public Road" or "Other Public Place" (eg like a supermarket carpark) then the Road Traffic Act applies and they must have compulsory Motor Insurance. If a site is a "Private Road/Place" then motor insurance is not compulsory. Campsites can fall into either the Other Public Place or Private category depending on security/ access etc. However in either case you can still have restrictions on an insurance policy, eg, exclude towing caravans.
Insurances aside, it is legal to contract out of liability in respect of property damage by means of a notice or in a written storage contract (it is not allowed to contract out of liability for personal injury or death). Although it is possible to still make a claim in the event of such damage and a judge may decide the "contracting out" is an "unfair term" and award the claim. All depends on circumstances.
So I am probably not being a lot of practical help to Minkpom here; have a look at other places, but I wouldn't be surprised if other places are not covered by insurance or exclude liability in their contracts. On the other hand a business may well still pay out in the event of (minor) damage that was their fault from their own pocket for the sake of customer satisfaction (or their own moral concience) but like to have the restriction in the contract as a fall back position (or because their insurers told them to do so).
If your caravan insurance includes use by others with your permission then you are covered by your own caravan insurance, all caravan policies that I have seen include this. Call centre operatives are usually fairly bad at reading the t&c's of the insurance provided by the companies they work for.
As pointed out, staff moving caravans is probably a better idea than owners moving them. I would say that your caravan insurance covers all accidental damage to your caravan at any time however caused.
Scary subject, fortunately I have the van at home.
So if storage employee/owner is moving vans with owners consent and worse case when bringing your van out from between a van on each side and they cut it to soon hitting van on left with backend and van on right with nearer the front end, then your insurance is expected to pay for all three van repairs or do all three owners insurances cover seperately??
If storage owner does not have insurance and tells you he cannot pay for all or any to be repaired.
Also surprised that public liability Insurance is not compulsary, I few years ago I had a small business and had to take out this insurance. Not sure if it was law back then but it was to risky not to have it.
It wasn't expensive, if I remember it cost me around £200 per annum.
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
If your caravan is damaged under any circumstances your first call will always be to your own insurance co. in all circumstances. This is one of the reasons you pay for insurance, so you don't have to waste time & spend money pursing claims against individuals/companies that you may not win anyway.
Quote: Originally posted by michell8 on 19/3/2014If your caravan is damaged under any circumstances your first call will always be to your own insurance co. in all circumstances. This is one of the reasons you pay for insurance, so you don't have to waste time & spend money pursing claims against individuals/companies that you may not win anyway.
Yes thats just common sense, just as you would with your car Ins.
I think it would be good to find out from Ins company if you would be covered if storage company damage your van whilst moving it in their compound..if they do not have PLI Ins.
As the OP said his Ins said they would not cover in those circumstances.
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
Not just damage to your van. I dont like the idea of there tow bar going on your hitch, after they have pulled out a van that isnt an ALKO and yours will be shot at when theres grease on the pads.
------------- Roughing it in style at Calloose caravan and camping holiday park nr St Ives.(seasonal pitch)
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Topic: Storage sites and insurance
