One of the biggest gripes from customers about insurance is probably "well they add on all of those expensive add on products that you don't need" and this is particularly prevalent with motor insurance.
Those experienced caravanners who have caravan insurance, however, will know that there are very few additional covers that can be applied to caravans. The caravan insurance policies are normally "all in one" standard covers with standard protection for fire, lightning, earthquake, storm/flood, theft and attempted theft, accidental damage and malicious acts or vandalism with other covers that the levels vary between insurers.
One example of a caravan insurance add-on however is legal expenses. This type of cover has become very popular in the last few years as society has become more litigious and the suing culture is increasing rapidly.
The base cover under a touring caravan legal expenses policy is for an amount of cover (typically £50,000) and this provides the customer with legal costs to negotiate over the purchase or sale of a caravan and any nuisance or trespass relating to the caravan.
The legal expenses would also typically cover costs to pursue uninsured loss and personal injury claims arising from the use of a caravan against those responsible and contract claims against those providing defective goods or services in connection with the caravan.
Another key feature is legal costs to defend against criminal prosecutions arising from owning caravans and contract claims brought by a person to whom private goods have been sold.
There are always exclusions within policies and legal expenses are no different, there is always an exclusion on incidents arising before the contract of insurance began, as in if you have a pre existing problem this cannot be covered under this insurance.
Most sections of the policy will have limits, such as the amount in dispute must be at a certain level (e.g over £125) and an excess of typically £250 where the customer is liable.
As with all insurance policies it is best to advise the insurer as soon as you become aware that a claim may arise, and this is so that you can get the best possible advice, you are paying for it after all!
The touring caravan legal expenses is the ideal additional policy to add on to your caravan insurance and the cost is typically £10-£15, which is not a lot in comparison to the potential outlay in the event of a legal dispute. It is also important to include this cover as this may not be covered under other policies, as normally your legal expenses is to cover the specific item that you are insuring.
As mentioned above the number of caravan tourer legal expenses taken in the last few years has increased with the demand for legal action, we have all seen the adverts on the television asking if you have had an accident etc and so with this in mind the more protection you get the better!