Your Story – Sarah & Caravan Insurance

Travel trailer camping in a morning light

Getting into caravanning is often something that’s passed on from generation to generation, from learning how to hook up your touring caravan and tow it across the country, to knowing which are the best family campsites in the UK; there’s a wealth of knowledge to be learnt. However, for some, it’s just a hobby that is picked up later in life.

Background

We caught up with our customer Sarah and her husband, who bought their first touring caravan this year (2024). Initially, Sarah said they were looking at buying a motorhome as they liked the idea of just being able to drive off without having to hook up a caravan, however, the downside to this is you can’t just jump in the motorhome and go off and explore once it’s all parked up.

In the end they decided that a touring caravan would give them the best of both worlds – the option to just pack up and drive to a camping site, yet still have the flexibility of using their car to get around once they’ve pitched up.

Sarah said: “We bought it as a bit of fun but have actually used it quite a bit.”

Sarah and her husband also have two rescue dogs, Colin and Barney, that both enjoy their caravan holidays.

Choosing Touring Caravan Insurance:

Sarah said: “As we were novices to owning a caravan, I joined several caravanning Facebook groups and lots of people recommended various insurance companies. I then used comparison websites and came across The Insurance Emporium. As I wasn’t familiar with the brand, I looked at Trustpilot reviews to see what customers said, and as you also sell Pet insurance, I looked at those reviews too as I know Pet insurance can often get a bad rap regarding payouts, but there were lots of good reviews. I was also impressed by the low excess on the quote from yourselves, considering we have a high valued item to insure, the excess was only £150 .” (Excess may vary).

Your Experience with The Insurance Emporium:

Sarah explained: “We had only had our touring caravan around seven to eight months when we unfortunately wrote it off. There were no exit signs for leaving the car park, so we were following a motorhome in front, and it was down a one-way road and we swung wide as you’re longer in a caravan and there was a loud bang. My husband said it’s gone, so I said what do you mean? And he said, the caravan, it’s a mess come and have a look. So, we took a look, and it was like a tin can opener had lifted off the roof, and the side had gone in.”

What Sarah and her husband learnt was that a gate had been taken off for repair after it had been hit by someone else, however the gate hook was still sticking out and when her husband swung out, they scraped their van across the hook.

Sarah continued: “My husband was in tears when we wrote it off. I said it was only a caravan, but he was absolutely distraught.

“Having had an accident you soon learn that caravans aren’t made of anything really, just fibre glass and polystyrene. So, it makes you think about that in the future and how your treat them and manoeuvre them.”

How Did You Find the Claims Process?

At the time of having to make a claim, Sarah had also experienced a sudden illness in her family, so it was a particularly stressful time. Sarah called The Insurance Emporium to find out how to make a claim, but upon filling out the form it transpired that she’d insured a different model of caravan, so she didn’t think her claim would be successful because of the error.

While the claim did take several weeks to process, due to the nature of the high value item, after getting an update Sarah was reassured the claim would be successful. Sarah said she: ‘felt looked after’ during the claim’s process.

Luckily, Sarah and her husband went back to the dealership that they bought their original caravan from and were able to buy the exact same caravan, again! It was even £2,000 cheaper than what they had previously bought it for, and they decided to put that money towards the storage fees.

When looking to insure their new caravan, Sarah again did her research and was surprised that The Insurance Emporium was still one of the better value insurers, despite having made a claim previously. Having had such a positive experience, she decided to insure with The Insurance Emporium again.

Speaking about the plans they have for holidays in their new van, Sarah said: “We’re hoping in January/February to get up to see family in Hexham in Northumbria, as long as it’s not too icy on the roads, we don’t mind the cold. We’re also planning on going up to Scotland.”

Loch Ken in Southern Scotland on a tranquil but generally overcast day

As we have learnt from Sarah, accidents happen and can take you by surprise even when you’ve been extremely cautious. Our Touring Caravan insurance policies include benefits such as New for Old, Loss or Accidental Damage, European Use, Family Cover and more. We’ve recently introduced seasonal pitches and store & stay campsites to our policies, offering customers more choice when it comes to where they store their caravans, even when it’s not in use.

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We offer a variety of cover levels, so please check the policy cover suits your needs before purchasing. For your protection, please ensure you read the Insurance Product Information Document (IPID) and policy wording, for information on policy exclusions and limitations.