Amid a cost of living crisis, you might be tempted to cut corners on your home insurance. But even when it comes to traditional bricks-and-mortar properties, this is not a good idea – in fact, it’s fraught with danger. For specialist dwellings like park homes, leisure lodges and holiday caravans, the risks of penny-pinching are even greater. Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about finding the right insurance broker – our A to Z directory of the sector’s premier players contains all the information you could ever need, along with some top tips and expert advice too…

With people struggling more than ever with their finances, it’s still important not to scrimp on things like getting the best insurance for your park home or holiday dwelling. The cost of home insurance is relatively small, especially compared to the huge bills that can arise if your home becomes subject to flood or fire or other risks. There are many specialist brokers that serve the park home and holiday home market. Like most insurers these days, these companies have a good online presence but, as they are usually smaller, friendlier, specialist brokers, you can normally call them to have a chat and arrange the best insurance for you in a way that’s often not possible on the large internet-only insurance sites.

Because these companies provide insurance that is tailor-made for park homes and holiday homes, their policies can often be even cheaper than more generic mass-market home insurance policies. This is because they recognise the lower risk that park home communities represent, when it comes to things such as burglaries.

Why choose specialist insurance?
Compared to traditional brick-built homes, park homes and holiday homes come with their own unique advantages as well as some unique risks, where traditional home insurance may not be up to the job of offering the best cover. In addition, because park homes and holiday homes are classified as non-standard-construction properties by most traditional house insurers, some of these companies won’t even offer cover for park homes or holiday homes.

Specialist insurers will take into account both the advantages and disadvantages of park and holiday homes when creating their policies. Looking at one of the major advantages, park homes and holiday homes are usually located in secure communities, with very little crime. Specialist insurers are well aware of this and can offer cheaper cover as a result. Park homes, in particular, are often occupied by older people who are well used to looking after a home, with less chance of damage inside the home from misuse, especially by children.

Other unique benefits also include the timber construction of park homes, meaning they can be relatively cheap to repair in the event of any minor damage that is covered by insurance. The cost of totally replacing a home that has been destroyed by something like fire may also be cheaper and easier with a park home than with a traditional brick-built home, with the ability to just order a new home from a manufacturer.

On the riskier side, this timber construction can, of course, be more of an issue when it comes to fire damage – a factor which specialist insurers will also take into account.

Another risk can be the location of the site, particularly with holiday homes. That nice seaside or riverside spot might make for a perfect holiday, but there can sometimes be a greater risk of flooding and, again, specialist park and holiday home insurers are well aware of this and can offer advice as well as special cover. They have maps showing which locations are at more risk of flooding than others.

So, to sum up, a specialist insurer will be much more aware of both the problems and benefits when it comes to park or holiday home living. As a result they can offer you tailor-made cover so that you are properly insured. The other advantage is that specialist insurers are often much smaller operations than the large companies that insure traditional homes so, when you contact the company, you are more likely to get a friendly welcome, as well as speaking to someone who is a real expert rather than just an inexperienced call centre operative.

 

In the December 2022 issue of Park Home & Holiday Living – everything you need to know about the UK’s best specialist insurance brokers of residential park homes, leisure lodges and holiday caravans in our unmissable directory!