Caravan park jumping pillows under pressure

Caravan parks in Victoria are being pressured to remove jumping pillows as insurance premiums and the costs of running an RV park continue to soar.

Victorian Caravan Parks Association President, David Pratt told the ABC that insurance refusal was an ongoing issue for many caravan parks, with insurers increasingly concerned about public liability around 'slip and trip' incidents related to family park attractions like jumping pillows and splash parks.

"I'd say right now it's the hardest it's ever been (to get caravan park insurance). Unfortunately we've seen so many underwriters and re-insurers exit the Australian market and we've been pleading with the Victorian Government for some time to step in and help," explained Pratt, who also runs the Warburton Holiday Park in Victoria's Yarra Ranges.

"I know so many caravan park operators that have had to remove these jumping pillows simply due to insurance refusal and they have to make the call to keep the caravan park open by removing the jumping pillow, or kangaroo jumper or jump pad, or close it for good. It's gut wrenching," he said.

"The insurers have told them they will not provide them with any liability cover and so many insurers are asking for photographs of it both being removed and once removed...

"What really needs to happen is state and federal governments need to sit down with the insurance industry and discuss real law reform in what I call 'slip and trip' matters, because this is just the tip of the iceberg for the entire tourism and amusement sector.

"Unfortunately we are the most visible right now, and so many park operators are having sleepless nights, just wondering if they (can) renew their insurance simply down to their postcode."

Pratt said the caravan park industry was being unfairly treated as relatively few Victorian parks made insurance claims despite a recent spate of natural disasters.

"The claims history in Victoria is extremely low; if you look at last year's devastating floods, over 30 per cent of our Victorian parks were flooded, $45 million of damaged infrastructure, and none of these caravan parks could even apply for flood cover so there were no claims there," he explained.

"During the 2019 bushfires our parks played tremendous roles in providing shelter, refuge, and in providing invaluable assistance to authorities in communicating with travelling families, and we saw no property claims from that event. So the (caravan park) insurance crisis cannot be simply put down to fires and floods."

Related: Caravan parks faces soaring insurance costs