Static Caravan Insurance UK: What You Need and What It Costs (2026 Guide)

Static caravan insurance protects your holiday home against damage, theft, weather events, and public liability claims. It’s not always a legal requirement, but most holiday parks require it as a condition of your pitch licence — and without it, a single serious incident could cost you tens of thousands of pounds.

This guide explains exactly what static caravan insurance covers, what you should expect to pay in 2026, and how to make sure you have the right policy.

Do You Need Static Caravan Insurance?

Static caravan insurance is not required by UK law. However, it is almost universally required by holiday park operators as a condition of your pitch licence agreement. If you cannot provide proof of insurance, your park may refuse to renew your licence — putting your entire investment at risk.

Even if your park doesn’t require it, opting out is a significant financial risk. A serious fire, flooding event, or structural collapse on your caravan could easily cost £20,000–£50,000 to repair or replace. Third-party liability claims — for example, if a visitor is injured on your pitch — can run to six figures.

The short answer: yes, you need it.

What Does Static Caravan Insurance Cover?

Buildings Cover (Structure)

Covers the physical structure of the caravan — walls, roof, windows, doors, and fixed fittings — against damage from fire, storm, flood, subsidence, vandalism, and accidental damage. The sum insured should reflect the full replacement value of the caravan, not its market value.

Contents Cover

Covers furniture, appliances, soft furnishings, personal belongings, and other contents against theft, accidental damage, and loss.

Accidental Damage

Covers unexpected damage that isn’t deliberate — for example, a broken window or a damaged kitchen unit. Some policies include this automatically; others require it as an optional extra.

Public Liability

Covers your legal liability if a third party is injured on your pitch or if their property is damaged due to your caravan or your negligence. Most policies include £2 million to £5 million of public liability cover.

Storm and Flood Cover

Coastal and riverside parks carry a higher risk of storm and flood damage. Most comprehensive policies include this, but check the exclusions.

Fire and Theft

Covers damage caused by fire, including electrical faults and gas leaks, and theft of the caravan’s contents or fixtures.

Loss of Use / Emergency Accommodation

If your caravan becomes uninhabitable following a covered incident, some policies will contribute to temporary accommodation costs while it is repaired or replaced.

What Is Not Covered?

• Damp and condensation — Damage caused by gradual moisture ingress is typically excluded as a maintenance issue
• Wear and tear — General deterioration over time is not covered
• Unoccupied periods — Many policies limit cover during extended non-use (often 30 or 60 consecutive days)
• Commercial letting — If you let your caravan commercially, you need a specialist policy
• Subsidence at specific parks — Some high-risk locations may be excluded or subject to additional premiums

How Much Does Static Caravan Insurance Cost?

Static caravan insurance premiums in the UK typically range from £150 to £600 per year for a standard holiday use policy, with the average for a mid-range caravan on a reputable park falling around £200–£350 per year.

• £5,000–£15,000 caravan value: £150–£280 per year
• £15,000–£30,000 caravan value: £220–£400 per year
• £30,000–£60,000 caravan value (lodge): £350–£600+ per year

Factors That Affect Your Premium

• Age and value of the caravan — Newer, higher-value caravans cost more to insure
• Location of the park — Coastal, flood-prone, or exposed sites carry higher risk
• Security measures — Wheel clamps, hitch locks, ground anchors, and alarm systems can reduce premiums
• Claims history — A history of claims will increase your premium
• Excess level — Choosing a higher voluntary excess typically lowers your annual premium
• Use (holiday only vs commercial letting) — Commercially let caravans require specialist policies and cost more

Specialist vs Home Insurance Add-On

Some home insurance providers offer a static caravan add-on as an extension to your main home policy. While convenient, these add-on policies often provide more limited cover. A dedicated specialist static caravan insurance policy is generally the better option. Leading UK specialists include Caravan Guard, Shield Total Insurance, Saga, Leisuredays, and A-Plan Insurance.

What Does Your Holiday Park Require?

Most UK holiday parks require you to hold a minimum level of public liability insurance — typically £2 million — as a condition of your pitch licence. Check your pitch licence agreement for specific requirements before purchasing a policy.

Tips for Reducing Your Static Caravan Insurance Premium

• Improve security — Fit a wheel clamp, hitch lock, and ground anchor. Insurers routinely offer 5–15% discounts
• Choose a higher excess — Increasing your voluntary excess can reduce your annual premium meaningfully
• Pay annually — Monthly payment plans usually carry an interest charge of 10–15%
• Compare specialists — Use a comparison site, but also check directly with caravan specialists
• Build a no-claims record — A clean claims history earns discounts with most providers

New for Old or Market Value? The Settlement Basis That Decides Your Payout

Two owners on the same park can hold policies with almost identical premiums and receive completely different sums after a total loss. The reason is rarely the insurer — it is the settlement basis written into the schedule, and it is the single most important line in a static caravan policy.

New-for-old cover

A new-for-old policy replaces a written-off caravan with a brand-new equivalent model, with no deduction for age or wear. It is the strongest cover available, and it is usually offered only while a caravan is under a set age — commonly up to ten or fifteen years, depending on the insurer. Premiums are higher, but on a newer caravan the difference between new-for-old and market value can run to many thousands of pounds at the point of claim.

Market value cover

A market value policy pays what the caravan was worth immediately before the loss, not what it would cost to replace. Because static caravans depreciate steadily, that figure can be far below what an owner expects — and far below what they originally paid. Most caravans move onto market value cover automatically once they pass the insurer’s age threshold, often without the owner noticing, because the premium may barely change.

How to find out which one you actually have

Read the policy schedule rather than the marketing page. Look for the words “new for old”, “replacement as new”, “market value” or “indemnity”. If the schedule states market value, the sum insured is a ceiling, not a promise — the insurer will pay the lower of the sum insured and the assessed value. Owners who are unsure what their caravan is currently worth can start with our guide to what a static caravan is worth, or request a free valuation.

What Static Caravan Insurance Costs in 2026: A Closer Look

The headline ranges above hold for most owners, but they hide a wide spread. Understanding what sits inside a premium makes it far easier to see why a quote is high and what can realistically be done about it.

What a typical premium is actually paying for

A static caravan premium is not one price. It bundles buildings cover on the unit itself, contents cover, public liability — usually the largest single component required by parks — and a set of add-ons such as accidental damage, loss of use and, on some policies, decking and external structures. Public liability is generally the least negotiable part: most UK holiday parks set a minimum, commonly £2 million and increasingly £5 million, and a policy that falls short will simply be rejected by the park.

Why two owners on the same park pay very different premiums

Value and age explain most of the gap, but not all of it. Exposure matters — a caravan on a coastal or low-lying pitch carries a materially higher storm and flood loading than one set back inland. So does use: a caravan let out commercially, even occasionally, needs a policy that permits letting, and that costs more than a holiday-use-only policy. Voluntary excess is the lever most owners forget; raising it is often the fastest way to bring a renewal quote down.

Where insurance sits against everything else

For most owners, insurance is a smaller line than pitch fees, and often smaller than rates, utilities and winterisation combined. It is worth seeing it in proportion — our breakdown of static caravan running costs sets out the full annual picture, which is the number that actually decides whether keeping a caravan still makes sense.

Insuring an Older Static Caravan

Age changes the insurance conversation in three ways at once, and they compound.

First, cover narrows: new-for-old falls away and market value takes over. Second, the pool of insurers shrinks, because some specialists decline units over a certain age outright, which reduces competition and pushes the price up. Third — and this is the one that catches owners out — insurance interacts with the park’s own rules. Many parks operate an age limit on units, and a caravan approaching that limit can become harder to insure and harder to keep on site at the same time.

If your caravan is nearing a park age threshold, it is worth reading how those rules work before renewal, not after: see our guides to the static caravan age-off policy and to holiday park age limits. Owners who find themselves paying rising premiums on a unit with limited time left on the pitch often find the arithmetic points towards selling — we buy caravans of any age and condition, and our guide to how to sell a static caravan covers the options.

Storm, Flood and Weather Damage: What Actually Gets Paid

Storm damage is the most common significant claim on a UK static caravan, and also the most commonly disputed. Insurers do not treat every windy day as a storm: most policies define a storm by measurable thresholds, typically sustained wind speeds above a stated figure, and a claim made after ordinary bad weather can be declined on that definition alone.

Three exclusions do most of the damage to claims. Gradual deterioration is excluded almost universally — if a roof seam has been failing slowly and a storm finishes it off, insurers will often treat the cause as wear rather than weather. Poor maintenance is excluded on the same logic; loose flashing, blocked guttering and perished sealant are the usual culprits. And unsecured external items — decking, sheds, hot tubs, garden furniture — are frequently not covered as standard, even when they cause the damage.

Flood is a separate question again. Cover is normally included, but caravans on low-lying or riverside pitches may carry a higher flood excess, and a small number of sites are effectively uninsurable for flood. If you are buying onto a park, it is worth asking about flood history before you commit, not after.

Making a Claim: Five Things That Get Claims Reduced or Refused

Most declined claims fail on paperwork and process rather than on the substance of the loss. These five account for the majority.

1. Under-insurance. If the sum insured is materially below the caravan’s true value, insurers can apply average — reducing the payout by the same proportion the caravan was under-insured. Insure for 60% of value and a partial claim can be settled at 60%.

2. No evidence of value or ownership. Keep the purchase invoice, the site agreement, the serial or chassis number and dated photographs of the interior and exterior. Photograph the caravan at the start and end of each season; it takes minutes and it settles arguments.

3. Undeclared letting. Letting a caravan on a holiday-use-only policy can void cover entirely, including for losses unrelated to the letting.

4. Missed winterisation conditions. Many policies carry an express condition that the water system is drained down over the closed season. Burst-pipe claims are routinely declined where it was not done and cannot be evidenced.

5. Late notification. Policies set a window for reporting — often as short as thirty days, and shorter for theft or malicious damage, which usually also require a police reference number obtained promptly.

Insurance Value and Resale Value Are Not the Same Number

This is the point most insurance guides miss, and it matters more than any other single thing on this page.

The sum insured on a policy is an estimate of replacement or market value made for the purpose of settling a claim. It is not a selling price, and it is not what a buyer will hand over. In practice the two numbers diverge sharply, in both directions. Owners renewing on figures set years earlier are often under-insured against a caravan that has held its value better than expected. Far more often, owners carry a sum insured that reflects what they paid rather than what the unit is now worth, and are surprised when a valuation comes in below it.

Neither figure is wrong — they answer different questions. But an owner deciding whether to renew a policy, absorb another year of pitch fees or sell is making a decision that needs the resale number, not the insured one. That is the number we deal in every day. Our guides to static caravan valuation and static caravan values in 2026 explain how the resale figure is actually arrived at, and how it differs from a park’s own trade-in offer — a distinction we cover in detail in selling to a trader versus selling through the park.

If a renewal notice has prompted you to reconsider whether to keep the caravan at all, a valuation costs nothing and takes 24 hours. We buy UK-wide — see the areas we cover across our regional pages — including caravans with outstanding finance and units being considered for part exchange.

Frequently Asked Questions About Static Caravan Insurance

Is static caravan insurance a legal requirement in the UK?

No. UK law does not require you to insure a static caravan. However, the vast majority of holiday parks require proof of insurance as a condition of your pitch licence agreement.

Can I insure my static caravan through my home insurance?

Some home insurers offer static caravan extensions, but these are often more limited than dedicated specialist policies. For proper protection, a specialist policy is generally recommended.

What happens if I sell my static caravan — do I need to cancel my insurance?

Yes. Once the caravan changes ownership, you should notify your insurer immediately and cancel or transfer the policy. When you sell to The Caravan Swap Shop, we handle the ownership transfer and will advise you on notifying the park.

Does insurance cover me if my caravan is damaged while being transported?

Not automatically. Transit cover is an optional extra on most policies. When selling to The Caravan Swap Shop, we arrange and pay for all transport — any damage in transit is our responsibility.

Can I insure a very old static caravan?

Yes, but options become more limited as the caravan ages. Some specialist insurers have a maximum age limit (often 25–30 years). It’s worth shopping around and being transparent about the caravan’s age and condition.

What should I do if I want to sell my static caravan rather than insure it?

If you’re planning to sell and don’t want to continue paying insurance costs, your fastest route is to sell directly to a specialist buyer like The Caravan Swap Shop. We can complete most purchases within 7–14 days. Get a free valuation and we’ll advise on timing.

What is the difference between new-for-old and market value static caravan insurance?

New-for-old replaces a written-off caravan with a brand-new equivalent, with no deduction for age or wear, and is normally available only while the unit is under a set age. Market value pays what the caravan was worth immediately before the loss. Most caravans switch to market value automatically once they pass the insurer’s age threshold, and the premium may not change enough for the owner to notice.

How much is static caravan insurance per year in the UK?

Most holiday-use policies fall between £150 and £600 a year, with a mid-range caravan on a well-run park typically landing around £200 to £350. Value and age drive most of the difference, followed by how exposed the pitch is, whether the caravan is let out, and the excess chosen.

Does static caravan insurance cover storm damage to decking and sheds?

Often not as standard. Decking, sheds, hot tubs and garden furniture are frequently treated as external items requiring a specific extension. Check the schedule before assuming they are included, and secure or store loose items ahead of forecast storms — damage caused by an unsecured item is a common ground for reduction.

Can my insurer reduce my payout if I under-insured the caravan?

Yes. Where the sum insured is materially below true value, insurers can apply average and reduce a settlement in the same proportion as the under-insurance. Reviewing the sum insured against a current valuation at each renewal is the simplest protection.

Do holiday parks require a minimum level of public liability cover?

Almost all do. £2 million has been the long-standing minimum and £5 million is now widely required. A policy below the park’s stated minimum will be rejected, so check the site licence conditions before buying cover on price alone.

Is my sum insured the same as what my static caravan would sell for?

No, and the gap is often wide. The sum insured is a claims figure; the resale value is what a buyer will actually pay. If you are weighing up another year of premiums and pitch fees against selling, the resale figure is the one that matters — and it is the one we provide free within 24 hours.

Ready to Sell Your Static Caravan?

If you’re considering selling your caravan rather than renewing your insurance, we can help. The Caravan Swap Shop offers a free, no-obligation valuation within 24 hours, with free collection and payment before collection.

Get My Free Valuation Now

Or call us on 07770 603800 to speak with Sean or Chris directly.