Leisure Vehicle Insurance

Insuring your motorised home

Firstly: caravan, motorhome, campervan: what is the difference? They are all leisure vehicles and sometimes the boundary between one and another can be a little blurry. However, basically:

A caravan is a completely self-contained unit with living quarters. it doesn't have an engine of it's own, but it is towed behind another vehicle. Caravans can be either static, in other words semi-permanently left on a caravan site, or touring, in which case they are usually towed to a site, left there for a short period, and then towed away again.

A motorhome is normally a purpose built vehicle with a driving cab and a separate, walled off living area. Motorhomes can be very large and they are built on a chassis which is suitable for a bus or lorry. They are designed to be comfortable with enough space for the owners to live in them for extended periods.

A campervan is a smaller vehicle designed for occasional use and short stays. The driving area is rarely separated from the living area and the equipment is not so lavish as in a motorhome.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

A caravan can be towed to a site, unhitched and then left there whilst the owners use their car for shopping or driving round the local attractions. They have the advantages of extra mobility and lower fuel consumption. A disadvantage however is that caravans can be extremely difficult to reverse unless the driver has had a great deal of experience, and there are actually specialist training courses for those who want to become proficient at this. They can also be somewhat cramped as compared to a motorhome.

The campervan is very much a compromise vehicle. It is small and so it is far more easily manoeuvrable than either a motorhome or a towed caravan. Many campervan owners can quite happily use their vehicles as everyday transport as well as short term holiday accommodation. On the other hand equipment can be somewhat spartan, and although they may be comfortable enough for a few overnight stays not many people would want to spend a full day in one.

A motorhome can provide enough space for a small family to live in for the odd period; many owners happily take them abroad for several weeks or months at a time. However there is the huge disadvantage that once arriving at a destination a trip to the shops or down to the beach could mean driving this large vehicle there; and finding somewhere to park it. They are usually far more expensive on fuel than a campervan.

So which is best?

As ever, a choice of whether to have a caravan, motorhome or campervan depends on the available budget, what it will be used for, and what level of comfort is required.

Insuring your vehicle

If you intend to tow a caravan you must inform your car insurance company who will most probably charge an extra premium for it. It is not legally necessary to insure the caravan itself; however they are not usually covered under a driver's car insurance policy so if one is damaged in a car accident the owner would have to foot the bill, unless another motorist was shown to have caused the accident.

They are also subject to theft, fire and storm damage; during high winds thay can be particularly vulnerable, since many are left parked in open, picturesqe locations which have good views but poor weather protection.

Motorhomes and camper vans can be surprisingly inexpensive to insure when compared to commercial vehicles of the same size. This is because they tend to spend less time on the road, they do not have to keep to commercial schedules, and apart from personal goods there is little of value in them that can be easily stolen, whereas a commercial van could carry a very valuable cargo.

Purpose-built vehicles are fairly simple to insure because insurers have a great deal of data available to base their premiums on. Many camper vans, however, are converted from existing vans either by their owners as a DIY project, or by specialist companies. Some are still registered at the DVLA as vans since in order to be reregistered as a motorcaravan they have to actually look like one which means, at the very least, fitting windows and a door which is separate from the ones used by the driver and front seat passenger. Nevertheless specialist leisure vehicle brokers have had plenty of experience in finding quotations for these vehicles.