What you need to know about caravan insurance

What your caravan and RV insurance actually covers you for, what you should have it cover -- and whether your insurance is active at all – are questions we should all ask.

For starters, insurance companies have what is known as a Product Disclosure Statement, which is essentially a document that outlines the insurance company’s obligations to you, and you to them.

That’s the document to check to see what you are actually covered for.

You want to check the PDS to make sure that you are covered for the basic items we all expect comprehensive insurance to cover – accident or crash damage (whether you’re at fault or not), storm or flood damage, fire damage, electrical motor damage, explosion damage, vandalism and theft or attempted theft.

The value is important too - is it agreed value or market value? What the insurer thinks is market value can be very different to what you think it is. Agreed value is the best, because then there are no nasty surprises.

Your damage of someone else’s property is also covered with comprehensive policies, but it’s worth finding out how much it is – it’s easy to do a lot of damage very quickly these days. Some offer up to $30 million cover, for most others it’s $20 million cover.

New for old

If you buy a new van, most RV insurers will replace it with a brand-new one if it is a total write-off within two years of it first being registered.

If your van is damaged when touring, most insurers will pay you up to $1000 for emergency repairs so that you can tow your caravan safely.

If you have a crash, and your van is not safe to tow, most insurers will collect and store the damaged van.

Some will offer a ‘reasonable’ cost to deliver your van back home if repaired after a crash by a repairer more than 100km from your home.

Setting up an RV can get expensive. Once you add up the cost to buy and fit stuff like a generator, annexe walls and so on your extras total can easily exceed $3000.

Most insurers only cover $1000 or so for ‘personal items’; for others it can be only $750, with up to $150 per item. Some insurers offer upgrades to increase the cover on items (in some cases up to $1000 each item; or you may be able to nominate the value).

If your van is damaged enough that you can’t live in it while you’re on tour, most insurers will cover accommodation costs. For example, some insurers will cover up to $150 a day or more if your van is not fit to live in after an accident or loss.

The little extras

Some RV insurance policies offer more features than others. For example, some insurers will give 10 per cent discount if an AL-KO ESC device is fitted to the van and 10 per cent discount if the van is of fibreglass construction.

Others will refund up to $1000 in lost caravan park booking fees (due to a crash or other event with your caravan, which means that you can’t use the accommodation) and will pay a traveller’s bonus of $200 or more (double this if you visit Tasmania too) if you travel to each mainland State with your caravan or trailer during the contract period.

Some insurers also cover the costs for accidental death and vet fees up to $5000 if you’re transporting animals in the van and they are injured or die as a direct result of loss or damage to the trailer.

Some will cover up to $500 to replace food in the caravan or annexe that's spoiled, as a result of an incident.

Common insurance jobs

According to Dave Barnes of well-known repairer Barnes Caravans in Lansvale NSW, awning replacement is the most common insurance job that Barnes Caravans sees; either though wind damage, storm damage (water pooling on the open awning and tearing the canvas) or the rolled-up awning being hit against something when towing.

According to Dave, the next most common is the side-swipe repair, where the van has been towed against a pole, tap or post and suffered some damage.

Hail damage is the next most common insurance claim repair to come through and the most time-consuming to repair.

Finally, make sure that if you are paying your policy at regular intervals (by the month, for example) via an automatic payment that your account details are up to date. Also periodically check that your insurance payments actually are being deducted by the insurance company.