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I was just wondering is it a legal requirement to have caravan insurance or is it up to the individual? 

Thanks

AFAIK it's not a legal requirement, although it's worth checking your car insurance policy to check for any restrictions on the size of trailers that you may tow. You should be covered by your car insurance for any damage/injury you may cause to 3rd parties whilst the caravan is attached to your car.

Simon H

I think this topic has been covered before. (not sure)

Best advice IMO would be to contact your own Insurance company and ask them direct. (even get it in writing)

I believe some companies consider the caravan/car combination as one unit whilst towing. However once parked up/set up at a campsite then your car Insurance would perhaps have nothing to do with damage/theft from your van.

Has all the makings of a legal minefield !!!

Get it sorted from the company you deal with. Vans are expensive so dont take any chances.

Just rectified the dilemma I had with the trailer

It was only insured when attached to the car but re-insuring the caravan (at renewal) with CC gives the option of covering trailers as well for a small extra premium.

As Jennifer says it could lead to a very large bill

A couple of sites i have been on have had a sign up saying any damage caused by your van to other vans/property etc is your responsibility, but thats them covering for any comebacks as this is the case anyway, But if your van is insured seperatly this will be covered, if not you would have to pay. 

Yuor car insurance, as said, should cover your for 3rd party, ie if you damage a car in an accident etc the other vehicle is covered, but not your vans damage, and depending upon the policy the towcar may be reduced to 3rd party as well.

Im also debating upon insurance for the van, itll cost me £125, the van only cost me £200!

It is not a legal requirement to have seperate insurance for your caravan but you must notify your car insurance that you intend to tow a caravan and they will then let you know if that is permissable on your policy. in some cases this will give you a third party type cover when the caravan is being towed, however, I would strongly and most highly recommend that you get insurance seperately for your caravan AND notify your car insurance as well. While your car insurance MAY cover you for third party insurance it very likely may not and should you have an accident you could find yourself having to lay out a very sizable sum in fees and compensation.
My caravan is getting to be very old and i still carry insurance on it from NFU, this covers me fully comp and should I have an accident then I will get a few coppers for the old van but more to the point I and my passengers and any third party will be covered and that give s me and the missus peace of mind.
Get insured and be safe! NFU Insurance is the one I use and am very hapy with, 60% no claims this year saves me even more and that can't be bad!

NFU is very good and they paid out with little fuss or delay when we had a slight accident last year.

The only reason for defecting to CC was to get the extra trailer cover which was not available via NFU

Personally I shudder at the thought that someone is on the road with a potentially lethal weapon which isn't insured. Whether you get anything for your damaged van is really your problem - it's damage to other people's property and, more importantly, other people, that is the point. You'd never be able to afford to compensate a family for the loss or serious injury of a father if you and your caravan should cause his death or injury and you had no insurance.

Get insured - please! It doesn't have to be that expensive, there are loads of choices around and I doubt if basic third party insurance alone would cost that much and it could be worth it.

Nora

Always tell your car insurers that you intend to tow a caravan or trailer. I always trawl the internet for the cheapest quote every year and as a result I change insurance companies quite regularly. The T&Cs are different for each company. My current insurance is brokered through the AA and I spotted a clause in the T&Cs about not being covered for towing a twin axled trailer. I queried this before signing up and once the company were satisfied that I having been towing large trailers and caravans for many years they added twin axle trailers to my cover. IN WRITING. As stated above, this insurance only covers third party damage the trailer/caravan may cause to somebody else's property WHILST ATTACHED TO THE CAR. And that is a grey area... I know of someone who was in a head on (almost) collision whilst towing a loaded car transporter trailer. The accident happened on a corner on a main road, the offending driver was travelling way too fast in the opposite direction and strayed to the wrong side of the road just as my mate was taking the bend. The other car side-swiped the tow car and collided heavily with the front offside of the trailer with enough force to detach the towbar from the towcar. The trailer carreed off into the scenery and demolished a dry stone wall. Since it was not attached to the car at this point the insurers refused to pay out for the wall. BTW, the 'other' driver was uninsured... And unemployed... With no equity... so no chance of any re-imbursement through the courts.

Simon H