Selecting a caravan insurance company

In selecting a caravan insurance company, you may have rather more to think about than simply looking for the one that provides the lowest ticket price:

• you may find it difficult or impossible to find a caravan insurance company that is identical to any other – they may well offer significantly different policies with their individual strengths and in some cases, disadvantages;

• your individual caravanning circumstances will be unique to you and some policies may simply be a better fit to your requirements than others and this may not be something that you will be able to deduce much about simply by looking at the advertised prices;

• for example, some caravan insurance providers may tend to specialise in policies aimed at motorhomes whereas others may have more experience in the area of touring caravans or park homes;

• insurance providers also typically differ from each other in terms of how they see the risks of a given situation – for example, some may believe that taking your caravan off of the mainland UK (e.g. to the Scottish islands) is a higher risk then not doing so and as a result, they may not include such cover in their basic policy;

• another area where you may see significant differences of approach is that of discounts, where some insurance providers may be far more willing to offer incentives (discounts) for responsible behaviours than others – an example of such may be the providers that offer discounts if you fit tracking devices to your caravan;

• you may also see that some insurance providers may cover external items such as awnings, whereas others may not – depending upon the type of caravan and the way you use it, this may be a significant area to you;

• if you are to find a caravan insurance company and the policy that is suitable for you, it may be important to take your search seriously and to compare a number of options before reaching any conclusions – it is not something that it may be advisable to try and rush or squeeze into a few minutes.

Insurance quotes in Northern Ireland – avoiding excuses

It is true that for many years, insurance quotes in Northern Ireland were atypical in terms of the realities of life versus those practiced elsewhere.

• the times forced many to adopt a sort of take-what-you-can-find approach and this may have resulted in the growth of a sort of fatalistic attitude towards aggressively pursuing good deals;

• after all, there may have been little point in deciding to be positive in terms of looking around to compare options when all too often, particularly in the case of NI motor insurance, the options may have been very limited or even non-existent;

• yet today’s reality is quite different – there are now far more insurance providers operating here and that may or perhaps even should, change the way we think about insurance quotes in Northern Ireland;

• that’s because it may be all too easy to avoid conducting a systematic search for suitable cover and just simply to renew the cover we may have had for some time – perhaps using the fact that previously choice was limited as a form of justification for an approach that consists essentially of doing nothing;

• the fact is that ever larger numbers of insurance providers have moved back into our marketplace due to the increasingly normalised position – and it isn’t even difficult to find them as there are sites offering consolidated lists of insurance providers that are happy to take NI postcode policyholders;

• of course, you may rightly feel that your existing cover is as good as it can get and that it is perfectly adequate for your needs but the point is, can you be sure of that unless you occasionally put it to the test by comparing it against another quote or quotes;

• so, perhaps it’s time to think a little bit further about insurance quotes in Northern Ireland and to take stock of your overall position – it may be easier than you think.

Insurance companies in Northern Ireland – myth busting

There are a number of myths that still abound in the domain of insurance companies in Northern Ireland.

There is still little choice in terms of Insurance companies in Northern Ireland

This is now a largely outdated viewpoint.

It is true that for a long period of time, choice here was limited due to background political circumstances and the reluctance of some insurance providers to offer their wares in our marketplace.

Yet change in this area is now well underway and there are now increasing numbers of insurers offering their policies here. Real choice exists again.

It’s hard to find those companies that do operate here

This largely depends upon how you go about your search.

If you simply select insurance sites at random, you may find that you’re fairly often looking at products that still aren’t available here. To be fair, that may be, at best, tedious.

Yet if you look at a specialist site that contains lists of insurance providers operating in Northern Ireland, you’ll typically waste no time at all. There may be far more of them than you think and they’ll be consolidated in one place.

The cover and prices are all pretty much the same

No, they are not.

As competition has increased over recent years, so has the diversity of policies available and this has been matched by pricing.

It may be very rare to find two insurance providers who have the same view of life in terms of the breadth and depth of their as-standard cover or who asses and price risk in the same way.

Whatever may have been the case previously, comparing a number of options may now typically make sense.

You can’t do much to influence how much you’ll end up paying

This may be a gross over-simplification.

Some insurance companies in Northern Ireland may offer very interesting possibilities for discounts if you adopt certain behaviours (an example might be fitting burglar alarms to your house). Some such companies may be far more flexible in these respects than others – another reason to make the effort to compare a number of options before selecting the one that you believe is most suitable for you!

Caravan breakdown insurance – thinking ahead

Some forms of caravan cover may also include caravan breakdown insurance as standard:

• even if you normally consider yourself to be extraordinarily lucky, you may have to face the reality that your caravan may breakdown while you are out and about with it;

• if you have a best-case scenario, the problem may be relatively minor and easily fixed – if not, you may be facing the need for your caravan to be taken away for repair and it may not be available to you for sometime;

• if that happens relatively close to home then it may be bad enough, however, if it happens while you are on holiday then your holiday accommodation may disappear along with your caravan, leaving you potentially facing expensive hotel and related bills;

• of course, caravan breakdown insurance cannot stop this sort of misfortune arising in the first instance, however, it may be able to minimise the effects on you;

• if you select a caravan insurance policy that contains a component providing caravan breakdown cover, you may find that you are able to reduce the negative effects of such a breakdown:

• some policies may provide automatic caravan roadside attendance, recovery and assistance;

• perhaps more importantly, it may also allow you to claim for accommodation costs until such time as your caravan is repaired and once again available to you for use as your holiday accommodation;

• as with all forms of insurance, terms and conditions may apply to this form of cover, including things such as a minimum distance from home requirements etc – it is always advisable to read these terms and conditions carefully so as to ensure that they are suitable for your individual and unique circumstances;

• if you are looking to differentiate between caravan insurance policies then those providers who make available caravan breakdown insurance, may be something additional to think about.

Insurance for a static caravan

Having a static caravan to escape to for weeks and weekends is a convenient joy. One of the issues most owners face is that even in the places in Britain where the weather is best, there are likely to be long periods during the winter when the caravan is unoccupied. This means, that even if your caravan is on a reputable and well managed site, it is at the mercy of freezing pipes and vulnerability to damage, vandalism and unauthorised occupancy. Just like your main bricks and mortar home, your static caravan should be protected by proper insurance. Caravan insurance provides peace of mind that in the event of a major event, your losses should be covered.

Many static caravans boast coastal or remote rural locations and whilst this is huge benefit during the warmer months, the storms of winter can wreak havoc. Unlike touring caravans which can be stored or parked in a sheltered position, static caravans are exposed all year round.

It is important to do your homework before looking for insurance. Providers of caravan insurance and caravan insurance brokers will need certain information and this includes knowledge of whether the park where your caravan stands has suffered flooding or storm damage in the recent past. This fact may deter offers of insurance or will bump up the premiums considerably.

Consideration must also be given to the terms of the caravan site. There will undoubtedly be conditions and rules that are expected to be covered by your insurance. It is important to understand these to ensure your policy provides adequately.

Another important factor is the value for which you insure the caravan. The amount of insurance should be the unsited retail value plus the value of resiting the replacement van. Don’t forget to include in your valuation any outside “add-ons” such as storage containers, sheds and verandahs. You should also have contents cover. Some policies will specify that your valuation should include the costs of clearing the site in the event of your caravan being totally damaged in a storm or other catastrophic event. The terms will state what happens if your caravan is destroyed – i.e. will you receive new for old or current retail value.

If you intend to let your caravan your insurance policy must cover you for loss of income for if the caravan becomes unusable and unable to be let. Additionally, you will need liability insurance to ensure that in the event of someone renting your caravan being injured, you are covered.

As with all insurance, there are many providers so it is best to shop around for a good policy at an affordable premium. Caravan insurance brokers and comparison websites are a good place to find excellent deals.

Caravanquoter are caravan insurance brokers for static and touring vans

Business insurance for those working from home

With millions of Britons now working from home, some people are unaware of the insurance requirements for such small enterprises. Fortunately you can sort your business insurance online quickly and efficiently if you know what kind of cover you need. Some people are under the illusion that any business equipment in their home will be covered by their home insurance policy, but this is not always the case – home insurance policy are designed to protect personal possessions not business assets and for this reason it is strongly recommended that even the smallest business insures its equipment properly. In fact if you employ one other member of staff it is a legal requirement to have employer’s liability insurance.

So, if you’re searching for your business insurance online what sort of things are you looking to protect? Well here are a few of the more common examples:

• Computer equipment and other office contents – the standard range of cover is about £7500 to £20000 – just have a look around and starting adding it up, it can reach this level much sooner than you think.
• including portable pieces of equipment like PDAs and smartphones – these are normally covered up to £1500
• Business interruption insurance will protect you if anything stops the business from functioning in its normal way. If your business is very small and not your major income then you may not consider this cover essential, but if it is your main or only income it is highly desirable.
• Public and employer’s liability – this is to protect you from any claims from either a member of the public or one of your own employees. These can get very expensive very quickly and are becoming more and more common nowadays. Standard cover will insure you up to about £2 million.

Before taking out any business insurance you should check your home insurance to see what level of insurance is already provided and also to inform them that you are working from home, as this may affect your other policy. A further thing to check is that your car is insured for business use, if you use it regularly in the course of your work.

You can obtain quotes for business insurance online at Specialist Risks