Mobile home insurance

Mobile home insurance can cover all kinds of holiday homes and permanent residences, including:

• Static caravans
• Single units
• Twin units
• Lodges
• Chalets
• Park homes  

If you’ll be towing your caravan with you when you go on holiday, you can get touring caravan insurance. This could cover you for damage to your caravan while you’re driving.

No, you’ll need a policy specifically designed for a static caravan holiday home or park home. Mobile homes are built differently to standard bricks-and-mortar properties, and they face different risks that insurance providers will need to take into account.

Mobile home insurance will often not cover:

• General wear and tear 
• Vandalism – some policies won’t cover your mobile home against graffiti or other acts of vandalism if you rent it out  
• Theft – mobile home insurance will often not cover you for theft if you rent out your mobile home, or if the property has been left unoccupied for more than a certain period of time 
• High-value contents – bikes, mobile phones and laptops might also be excluded from contents cover
• Smoke damage – policies will often exclude any damage caused by smoking inside the mobile home, whether it’s caused by you or someone renting out your property 

You should read the policy small print to check exactly what is and isn’t covered.

It depends on the policy. Many static caravan and park home insurance policies will include contents cover, but it’s important to read the terms of any policy carefully before you buy and look out for any exclusions. Make sure you have enough cover for all your possessions, including any expensive sporting and electronic equipment you’ll be storing in your mobile home.

Mobile home insurance isn’t a legal necessity, but if you don’t have it you could find yourself with a nasty bill if your mobile home or possessions are damaged or stolen.

Some mobile home parks may insist you have insurance before they’ll let you stay there, so you’ll need to check with the site manager to be sure.

You should make sure you’re covered for the full cost of replacing your mobile home if it’s destroyed or damaged beyond repair. You’ll also want to make sure that the contents are fully protected in case of fire, damage or theft. And, if you rent out the caravan, you’ll need adequate public liability cover in case any of your guests get hurt.

Yes. If your static home’s in a mobile home park, the site owner might recommend an insurance provider who’ll give you a quote. However, this won’t give you the chance to compare prices and cover to see if there are any other policies that may be of better value to you.

If you shop around by comparing prices from multiple providers, there’s a chance you’ll find a better deal.

Public liability insurance isn’t a legal requirement, but it could prove invaluable if you have a high-value claim made against you because someone was injured, or even died, while using your mobile home.

If you’re living permanently in your mobile home within a residential park, then park home insurance could be the right choice for you. It’s designed to account for the construction of mobile homes, as well as the complexities of owning the property you live in, while renting the pitch it’s on. You don’t have to go with the insurance provider recommended by the park owner – it’s worth shopping around to find the best policy for you.

Your mobile home insurance doesn’t just have to cover the basics – there are other features that might come as standard or you can add as optional extras. These include :

• New for old – if your mobile home is destroyed by something covered by your policy, new-for-old cover will pay out for a brand-new equivalent
• Freezer contents – this covers the cost of food that becomes inedible if your freezer defrosts in a power failure.
• Lost keys
• Legal expenses – if you find yourself in a costly legal dispute related to your mobile home
• Emergency accommodation – if your home becomes uninhabitable, for example, through fire or storm damage
• Home emergency cover

Your insurance provider may ask you about your mobile home park’s flood history. The site owner/s should be able to give you this information. It’s also worth visiting the government website to check the risk of flooding.

Storm damage is a common concern for mobile homeowners, so you can be reassured that most policies include it as standard.

When you’re looking for mobile home insurance, think carefully about what you want to be covered, to make sure you’re not paying for insurance you don’t need.

One way to reduce the cost of your premium is by increasing the security of your mobile home. Something as small as installing window locks could make a difference. For bigger savings, keep your mobile home in a secure area with security measures in place, such as CCTV and a perimeter fence.

BS 3632 specifications is the British Standard for buildings mobile homes and means your property will tick all the boxes when it comes to requirements like insulation, ventilation and space.

You can check your static caravan or mobile home’s BS 3632 status by finding out if the manufacturer belongs to the National Caravan Council (NCC). Any home that’s NCC accredited will have passed the necessary checks.

A park home is a mobile home that can be lived in throughout the year and is built to BS 3632 specifications. Park homes must be moveable, and they can’t be more than 20 meters long, 6.8 metres wide and 3.05 meters from floor to ceiling. A park home can be classed as a person’s main UK residence when it’s on a park or location that holds a residential licence. These are issued by a local council.

The advantage of a park home situated in a place that holds a registered residential park licence is that it offers security of tenure under the Mobile Homes Act.

As always, the best way to get a good deal on your insurance is to shop around. Compare the Market’s simple insurance comparison service lets you compare policies from a range of mobile home insurance providers, in a matter of minutes. Compare today and see if you could save.