Caravan insurance
Recently we had a fire in an outside shed and in the shed we stored the caravan cover until the winter months. Our caravan is stored off site and when we went to claim for a new cover the insurance company would not pay as the cover was not damaged near the caravan. The cover was also not covered on home contents as it is classed as motor vehicle equipment. I know this seems incredibly stupid but there it is, so please be aware when sorting out caravan insurance.
Our insurance company was Towergate through the AA
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I thought that a motor vehicle had a motor in it? Perhaps your caravan has a motor mover?
Sounds totally unreasonable to me.
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It would be interesting to know how your home insurer views;
Sat Nav, removable bike racks, 12v cool boxes, trolly jacks, folding chairs and various other bits of paraphanalia used on the move. I wonder how they would have responded if you’d said that your caravan was at home for loading prior to a break. Parked near your shed. Such avoidance as you’ve encountered really is dishonest - theft in a way.
When not in use, we keep our awnings at home, on a heavy duty shelf in the garage.
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I tried to post this last night but this website was uncooperative.
Anyway. The reluctance of the household insurer to get involved is not unusual for these items as there are specialised products on the insurance market for caravans and equipment so I'm not surprised at the home insurers turning you down.
However, I would return to the caravan insurers. My own caravan insurance policy does not actually exclude items not kept in the caravan itself but obviously stipulates certain theft conditions and there are always general conditions such as the policyholder taking all reasonable precautions etc. If I lost items such as awnings etc from my locked garage I would expect my caravan insurer to pay up not my home insurer.
Unless Towergate have a specific condition that restricts cover for such items then it should be covered. I would ask them to point out where it states in the policy that such things are excluded. If they can't then ask them to give you "an executive decision" to refuse to pay (this is required) before taking it to the Insurance Ombudsman
Edit - The reasoning of it being motor insurance is, as Hitchglitch points out, rubbish but my own 5* home insurance specifically excludes items covered by motor insurance and caravan insurance.
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And insurance companies are not in business for the benefit of their customers, whatever they would have us believe.
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Wessy777 - I had a look at the AA's caravan policy document yesterday on a Pdf download. This is the one they sell to the public so I am assuming that it will be the same as the one sold through Towergate.
It merely states that damage caused by fire must be within the geographical limits shown on the schedule and advised to them. It doesn't show any exclusions or state that the equipment has to be with the caravan. As they presumably have your address and the storage units address this should cover matters. I assume that unless you have asked for European cover then cover would only apply in the UK, to give you cover when touring.
I can't state for certain that it is covered because I can't see your schedule or policy but I would if in your position go back to them as I have previously advised.
Hope you get a result.
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