Caravan insurance

A touring caravan is towed by a car or another vehicle. It’s designed to be taken with you when you go on holiday, for example. For that reason, it will need to be narrow enough to fit within road markings, unlike a static caravan that’s typically larger.

Do I need a special driving licence to tow a touring caravan?

The rules about what you can tow depend on when you passed your driving test and the combined weight of your vehicle and trailer. With cars getting heavier, many weighing more than two tonnes, you need to be careful how much your caravan weighs. You may need to take a C1 licence test.

Check the rules on GOV.UK for towing trailers and caravans with a car.

What does touring caravan insurance cover?

If you have an accident while towing your touring caravan, your car insurance may only offer you third party cover for your caravan. If you want to protect your touring caravan against damage or theft, you’ll need touring caravan insurance.

Touring caravan insurance typically includes public liability cover in case your caravan damages another vehicle or property while you’re towing it. It could also include European cover if you’re taking your caravan abroad.

We compare caravan insurance quotes for a variety of touring caravans – from larger single or twin axle caravans to folding, micro and pop-up tourers.

Static caravans (also referred to as mobile homes) are semi-permanent structures – often heavier than touring caravans and made with more solid materials. They’re usually housed on a purpose-designed site where there are amenities such as shops or restaurants. They’re typically connected to an external water and power supply.

If your static is kept on a dedicated caravan holiday site, you may need to have static caravan insurance in place as part of the site’s terms and conditions.  

What does static caravan insurance cover?

Static caravan insurance is closer to home insurance than car insurance. As well as damage and theft of your caravan and its contents, you can also get cover for freezer food, metered water/fuel and loss of keys.

You may also be able add on legal cover, gadget cover or accidental damage cover to your policy for an extra cost. If you rent your caravan out, you’ll need to make sure your policy covers this too.

If you choose new for old static caravan insurance, it may offer brand-new replacement cover for your personal possessions too.

Your home contents insurance could cover some of the possessions in your caravan – it depends on the level of cover you have.

You could have cover for camping equipment and other items you usually carry with you if you’ve specified these items on your home contents policy or you’ve taken out personal possessions cover.

It’s highly unlikely your home contents insurance would cover you for general household items kept in your caravan, such as cutlery, bedding or a TV.

If you’re unsure what’s covered, check the policy wording or call your home insurance provider.

You can pay to add optional extras to your policy, including:

• Touring caravan breakdown cover - or you may need to add your caravan to your car's breakdown cover
• European cover 
• Legal assistance 
• Key cover for lost or stolen keys
• Cover for your friends and family to use your caravan. 

You’ll need to check your caravan insurance policy to see if you’re covered for travelling abroad.

Some polices may give you European cover as standard. If yours doesn’t, you’ll need to ask your provider whether you can add overseas cover to your policy, for an additional cost.

Some policies will set out a maximum number of days for overseas trips, either per trip or per year.

Be aware that if your caravan is damaged outside the UK, some policies won’t cover the cost of getting your caravan back to your home. Check your policy if this is important to you.

You should be able to find cover regardless of the type of caravan you’re looking to insure.

However, depending on its age and specification, you may need to speak to an insurance provider directly.

If you have a touring caravan that’s permanently sited or used for commercial purposes, you could still get a caravan insurance quote.

If your caravan is your permanent home, you may be able to insure it – provided it’s kept at an appropriate location, such as a holiday park with a residential licence.

You’ll need to state that you live in your caravan when you apply for insurance, as you may need a specialist type of insurance for static caravans or park homes.

Yes, you can offer your friends and family the loan of your caravan and get insurance to cover this situation.

This may be included as standard with your policy, or you might need to pay extra to add it. You may see it referred to in your policy as ‘family and friends cover’.

Make sure you check the policy details to see what is and isn’t covered.

A caravan insurance policy typically covers storm damage as well as flood damage, fire damage and theft.

To be sure, check your policy documents to see what’s covered by your caravan insurance.

It’s unlikely you’ll be covered for damp and decay due to leakage, corrosion, wear and tear, neglect or condensation or anything that happens gradually.

You’re expected to maintain your caravan so that damp can’t cause problems.

Some caravan insurance policies may cover water damage caused by one-off incidents, such as an accident, flood or storm.