Ensure you’re insured
Many of us think of insurance as one of life’s necessary evils. But when fate steps in, your insurance broker is probably the first person you’ll call.
The American filmmaker Woody Allen once said there are worse things than death... you can, for example, spend an evening with an insurance salesman. And cartoonist and humourist Kin Hubbard once quipped: “Fun is like life insurance; the older you get, the more it costs”. We can admit amongst each other that no one really likes paying their insurance premium every month. Many of us feel it’s too expensive to pay for something that may or may not go wrong. But speak to someone who’s suffered serious damage and they’ll quickly tell you how grateful they are for insurance. Or chat to someone who doesn’t have insurance and had something go wrong and you’ll realise it’s worth every cent. But what do you do when it comes to insuring your caravan, camping trailer or motorhome? Not all insurance is created equal, and what exactly do you need if you want to insure your home on wheels? We chat to Ian Lesar from CaraSure, who underwrites our own Sleepseker product, and to Eric Scriven, an insurance broker at CertiSure in Kroonstad.
The specialist
One of the first things people usually want to know about caravan insurance is what exactly it entails, says Ian. It’s easier to explain it in a nutshell and to highlight how it’s different from things like motor, household and building insurance. “We offer insurance for leisure vehicles such as caravans, offroad caravans, camping trailers, and motorhomes on a ‘standalone’ basis, meaning there is no car, household or building insurance attached. The reason for this is that caravans and other leisure vehicles are generally low risk. “We offer complete and comprehensive cover for your caravan, which includes accident, theft, hijacking, malicious damage, and storm and hail damage. In all our policies we include contents worth R30 000. That is for standard camping equipment and accessories
like bedding, crockery, clothes, electrical appliances, as well as tents like dome tents, ordinary tents and awnings. We also offer optional additional contents coverage of either R45 000 or R60 000.” Ian says the coverage for caravans, off-road camping trailers and motorhomes is similar. “Generally it’s the same, but you can customise your policy to also cover things like jerry cans and portable fridges.”
That little something extra
Specialised caravan insurance also includes additional services like roadside assistance for when your towing vehicle or caravan needs to be towed in an emergency. Then there’s also assistance with flat tyres, keys locked in vehicles, running out of fuel, accidents, etc. that is part of your policy. Ian says another important part of the policy is assistance with the recovery of vehicles from neighbouring countries like Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi and Zambia. In case of medical evacuations you are also assisted with general advice, a helpline, and a list of medical emergency services available.
Other options
Someone with a specialised service like CaraSure isn’t your only option when you want to insure your caravan. Eric says although the big insurers like Hollard Santam, and Mutual & Federal don’t sell insurance specifically for caravans, they insure your leisure vehicle together with your household and other vehicles. “Even if I have to say so myself, it’s relatively cheap insurance. We have few claims on caravans and usually a standard excess payment of about R1 000. The premiums are low, especially if you add it to your existing policy,” he says. “Basically you insure your caravan like you would your car. You also have the option of insuring it only for third-party damage. So, for example, when your caravan unhooks and causes damage to another vehicle or to property. You can of course take out comprehensive insurance to cover things like fire and hail damage, and an all-risk insurance type cover.” However, Eric warns that mechanical damage isn’t included in your cover. “These types of things are always excluded. You’ll struggle to get insurance for wear and tear.”
By the book
Like with any insurance of vehicles, you need to ensure that your personal paperwork and your camping vehicle’s documents are in order. “It’s incredibly important,” says Ian. “If you don’t have the right driver’s licence – for example a code EB – for your caravan, we won’t be able to insure it. And a bank or financial institution won’t give you financing.” Eric agrees and also warns that people should make sure their camping vehicle’s licence disc hasn’t expired. “You’ll run into trouble if there’s something wrong with your driver’s licence or your caravan’s licence disc. If you are involved in an accident and your licence or that of your vehicle’s has expired, the insurance won’t pay out.” With regards to GVM and load weight and vehicles’ towing ability, Ian says the insurer doesn’t have any control over it. “It’s very difficult because we don’t ask what the towing vehicle is. In the past 15 years, however, we have not had any issues with this. But something all drivers should keep in mind is that the insurance will only pay if the insured has complied with all the rules of the road ordinance.”
What about my fridge?
Ian has bad news if you thought you could claim for a new fridge if it fails. “The short, simple answer is no. Why not? Insurance will indemnify the insured against certain perils like storm, accident, theft and malicious damage. “We often get this question and we simply answer with a question of our own: If the client had a broken fridge in the house, would the insurance pay for that?” Electrical failure, lack of maintenance, and mechanical failure are not covered by any insurance company. “The other big question is wood rot. It’s something we >
Specialised caravan insurance includes additional services such as roadside assistance, and even the recovery of vehicles from neighbouring countries.
compare with rust on a vehicle – it isn’t covered.” Eric says that which comes with the camping vehicle – the fridge, microwave, tent, etc. – is automatically part of the vehicle. “But that brings us back to wear and tear. If it breaks because it’s old, we can’t help you. But it’s a different story if the fridge is stolen or there’s lightning damage. In these cases you are covered.” Ian and Eric both point out that it’s crucial to separately specify any new additions to your camping vehicle, like an aftermarket air conditioner or TV.
Do it yourself
If you installed LED lights or redid the electricity system in your vehicle yourself, Ian says they don’t ask too many questions. “Things like that are beyond our control. But if there’s fire damage and it’s because of negligent electricity installation, there will probably be issues.” The problem is when people want to insure self-built vehicles. “We don’t offer coverage for that because the repair network in South Africa and in neighbouring countries wouldn’t be able to accommodate it,” says Ian.
All dolled up
And what if you kitted your 4x4 out with things like a bull bar, canopy, winch and snorkel? “You have to add these things to your vehicle’s policy as you install it, and it has to be specified as extras,” says Eric. “We look at your vehicle’s resale value. If it is stolen and you didn’t specify the extras you’re going to lose money.”
go! Drive & Camp says
If you plan on taking your camping vehicle abroad, chat to your insurer and find out about the territorial limits of your policy. Include the duration of your journey and the countries you plan on visiting.