Our van insurance is due for renewal in a few weeks so I have been looking around the internet for a few quotes.
When I get to the contents section, some of the sites state that the caravan contents may be covered by our home insurance. Has anybody else come across this ?
Does this mean I don't need any contents insurance if I'm covered by my home insurance ?
My main concern would be the upholstery, but is that classed as 'contents' or is the upholstery classed as part of the caravan and therefore covered by the standard insurance?
You would need to notify your home insurance as the van is outside of your home,and they will charge you extra for this.You cant win, you either get it covered by your house insurance or pay for a different insurer.
Just done a quick check on the home insurance and the policy says 'home contents cover provides protection for items temporarily removed from the home to caravans or mobile homes.' So I assume that would cover the T.V as we take that with us from home.
I'm therefore not sure if we need contents insurance or not. The caravan insurance has £100 excess, so it wouldn't be worth claiming for cutlery etc.
Just wondering if others bother with contents insurance or not ?
No you get a big discount by excluding contents and no sense in belt and braces when it costs you but carefully check your home cover before deciding. £100 is a big excess plus loss of ncd and you must begin to wonder what would be worth claiming for.
However peace of mind will prevail and to each their own decisions.
I once enquired about additional cover for contents cover away from home and what the insurance company said was that each item covered had to be individually listed with model and manufacturer number etc. such as mobile phones, cameras etc. and that all electrical items had to have our post code written on with invisible ink which can be detected and scanned by the Police if they are ever stolen and recovered. What put me off was the fact that the excess doubled to £200 for any claim outside of our post code so I didn't bother with the additional cover for this reason.
Ive just asked the very same question, to be told the 'contents,' ie the stuff we put in, are covered under our home insurance.. Stuff to do with the caravan - awnings, gas, water barrels, motor-movers etc. are under the caravans own equipment insurance.
Jeff Juke away from home cover covers things you take out and about so you would not need to tell the home insurer they are specifically at your van each time you go.
It is a bolt on to your normal policy selected at outset or can be added at a later date.
So if you have this cover providing you check the items you take are within any limits stated, you don't also need contents on your van insurance.
Just checked with my home insurance and apparently we are not covered for any goods away from our home. So make sure you check with your insurance company and don't just assume you are covered.
I think it going to be cheaper to add contents on the caravan insurance.
There is no standard answer as all policies are different.
Some home insurance policies will already cover “personal effects” away from home – this is usually defined as your clothes or anything worn/carried. It won’t cover your camera/laptop/money etc. Of course you may already have a “holiday” insurance that would cover these also!
Many of course will need a “bolt on” to cover contents on the whole taken away from the home. Again this has its limitations as some companies will define this to include only the “usual” types of items you might take on holiday.
I have seen policies which are very specific and would not cover you taking the tv or even the duvet you might take from home. Plus they might use the “unattended” items clause back at you if you are away from the van– again check your policy as it will don to their wording.
Personally I have the "extra cover" bolt on with my home insurance. This is based on a financial worst case scenario of say losing everything I might have all at once in a fire - this will cover "loss or damage to my contents when they are temporarily away from home"….contents in my policy definitions is very wide ranging, so it covers everything I take from home…
Using this approach, if it is a caravan specific item then it is unlikely to be covered by your home insurance. So I know that my home policy doesn’t cover the things that we usually leave in the van (crockery/pans etc, water/waste carriers/awning etc), so I make sure that the caravan policy is sufficient to cover these.
Or of course you can leave these uninsured, save yourself the premium, and “self-insure” – i.e. pay out a bigger sum to replace the kit, and not need to rely on an insurance policy – that is the world of insurance, you prioritise what you cover based on the level of risk you are prepared to take and of course can afford.
Just to add in another thought, insurance companies are getting cleverer at sharing the claim (see your t&c's) - i.e. when you have two policies covering the same risk they may only pay a proportionate amount – therefore sharing the claim....this is to stop people double claiming for the same thing! This is where I come unstuck a little, as a I have an annual holiday insurance that covers many of the items that are also covered on the home policy!. Fortunately I consider this to be a free benefit, so double cover isn’t costing me more!
So read the T&C's do the maths and find the most efficient way to make it all tie together. And remember, cheapest is rarely the best!
I have decided to add the contents to my caravan insurance as it would mean making just one claim and one lot of excess to pay if the van got broken into.
It also worked out cheaper than adding it to my home insurance, although it gives less cover as they are only covered when in the van.
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Topic: Insurance Questions
