Getting your caravan is insured is a vital step to take in order to protect you from any costs that may be incurred by accidental damage to your caravan, or by damage from theft or bad weather.

Most caravan insurance policies will cover damage done to your caravan by bad weather, theft, accidental or malicious damage, fire and flooding.

The possessions within your caravan will usually be covered up to a limit which will be predefined in your policy, and will usually be around 300.

The possession cover will not cover small valuables such as jewellery, money and credit cards; these should be covered under all the risks section of your household contents insurance policy. The caravan contents insurance is intended for possessions that you cannot be expected to take with you such as furniture, curtains cutlery etc.

You have a duty of care to look after your property, so theft from your caravan will only be covered if it is properly locked up whilst you are away from it. So there will not be any cover if you leave it open, or you leave your belongings under an awning or in a toilet tent.

By the same token, if you do not fit your caravan with a wheel clamp and hitch lock and it gets stolen, you will not be covered.

There may be different requirements for the security of your selected caravan site in order for your insurance to be valid. For example some insurers may insist that you park your caravan in a registered holiday park, whereas some may insist that your chosen destination in concealed by fencing or hedging around the boundaries.

You may be able to include damage to awnings at a small extra charge, usually there is a restriction on the age of the awning that can be covered, typically awnings that are more than seven years old cannot be covered.

This is just an introduction to caravan insurance and does not represent the policies offered by any insurance company in particular or that all insurance provide the protection described. You can get a recommendation for personal insurance to suit your own circumstances or any of our other insurance products such as taxi insurance