There are not many factors within your control which will lower your trailer tent insurance premium but you might find it possible to lower your premium by agreeing to only park and camp on secure camp sites, or by providing an insurance company with details of the type of locks and hitchlocks you use to secure your trailer tent and affix it to your automobile.
Some insurers are happy to lower the prices of a premium if the features of the trailer and the features of the policy itself allow for less risk from their side of the bargain. For example, you might opt for a policy with a high excess amount (excess being the amount of money you need to contribute yourself in the event that you make a claim.) Or if you use tracking devices on your trailer they might offer you a cheap trailer tent insurance. Caravan club membership and storage of your trailer at registered, well respect and secure camp sites can also lower the amount of money an insurer expects you to pay.
Other Ways to Lower Premiums
As with motoring, a no claims history can also stand you in good stead with some trailer tent insurers and security features such as the type and brand of wheel clamp you use or the type or model of hitchlock you secure the trailer to the car with can also factor in to earning you big savings.
There are lots of ways to impress insurers by making a personal effort to reduce the chances of you needing to ever make a claim too. Telling an insurer that you never leave expensive things where potential thieves can see them, that you keep doors securely locked and that you take good care of your belongings within your trailer tent will all reassure them that you are less likely to make a claim and could lower your premium.
You can also keep items which you need to store outside such as a generator or bicycle safe by chaining them to the chassis of the trailer but it’s prudent to cover them with a tarpaulin or other suitable cover where possible to avoid attracting thieves and reduce the chances of the trailer and adjacent items taking natural damage (such as rust or rain damage.)
Choosing Wisely
Where you choose to park your car can alter your car insurance premium at home, for example cars in garages pay lower premiums than cars parked on the street. Sometimes insurers use a similar system to decide how much to charge you for trailer tent insurance. Trailers which are parked in secure camp sites are less likely to be quoted high premiums than those parked in rural and unofficial sites. That’s one reason that Caravan Club membership can be a huge asset, because people with a Caravan Club membership are more likely to choose well established, professionally run camp sites than potentially dangerous or risky ones.
It can be a good idea to list the precautions you take on a notepad before you call an insurer or apply for insurance online. That way, you can easily make sure that they’re aware of all the factors which could lower the price of your trailer tent insurance quotes.
Sometimes trailer tent owners don’t realise this but it is a legal requirement that any vehicle or trailer which is driven or pulled on a public road has appropriate insurance. The legislation which governs the legal requirements pertaining to towed trailers is The Road Traffic Act 1988 and in some cases, motor insurance policies already include cover for any attached trailers. Have a look at your car insurance policy to see if it includes insurance for trailer tents.
This sort of ‘towed trailer inclusive’ insurance is not always part of a policy, so it’s prudent to check to see if yours includes it and make arrangements to take it out if it doesn’t. The minimum legal level of insurance which is required for using a trailer tent is third party insurance which is intended to provide cover for any accidents that befall other people either as a result of, or otherwise involving your trailer.
If you do have car insurance cover which includes towed trailers then that insurance only ever applies when the trailer is attached to the vehicle. So, if the trailer wasn’t attached to a car and an accident occurred then the policy would not apply. It also doesn’t provide coverage for theft or damage, it only offers cash towards a third party accident, not any other kind of mishap. That means that with the minimum legal level of insurance, if there were a crash, fire, theft or natural catastrophe which damaged your trailer tent or its contents you’d have no insurance money to buy replacement items or fix the damage.
Also, because third party cover (as sometimes included with a car insurance policy) doesn’t cover the trailer when it is detached from the vehicle, accidents can happen outside of the jurisdiction of existing policies and cause major problems. If a detached trailer rolled on uneven ground and damaged someone else’s property such as a parked car or caravan an ordinary towing inclusion on a car insurance policy would not cover that accident. Ordinary towed trailer, third party insurance policies which come with car insurance only cover accidents which occur when the trailer is attached.
Apart from third party cover, which must either be included in your car insurance or added if it isn’t, there’s no legal requirement for any additional types of insurance. However, you could find that taking out additional cover for your trailer tent offers assurance and peace of mind. For example, trailer contents insurance or insurance which protects your trailer from theft or vandalism might be a good idea.
Legal experts advise that unless you know for certain you have third party insurance which covers your trailer tent, you shouldn’t take it out on to the road whatsoever. This is because you would be breaking the law and also putting yourself and others at great financial risk. In the event that you had an accident involving an unsecured trailer you’d be legally obligated to pay potentially large sums of money to the third party who was involved in the accident for any medical and court costs.