Caravan Insurance

kimlizziebee

Hi. everyone. I've been a caravanner for many years but have only recently become aware of the following issue. Whilst renewing both car insurance and caravan insurance (with different providers), it appears that my caravan insurers do not provide me with any third party liability cover whilst towing (the policy states that this should be provided by the tow vehicle policy). Having checked my vehicle policy and carefully read through terms and conditions, it appears that my car insurance covers me for any third party liabilities whilst the caravan is attached to the tow vehicle but not if the caravan becomes detached. I have asked the car insurance provider to confirm that I would be covered for any third party liabilty arising from a road traffic incident/accident which causes the caravan to become detached but I'm not getting a reassuring answer. This has caused me at least one sleepless night - the "nightmare scenario" of a caravan plowing down a motorway following an incident/accident and causing injury and damage (for which I could subsequently be deemed responsible). Even when I've assured the insurers that I only ever tow lawfully (that is within the weight parameters etc) and both car and caravan are roadworthy and services, they seem reluctant to confirm that I would be covered and the policy wording suggests that I wouldn't. Any thoughts or advice greatfuly received.

Sandtree

If one says it covers only when towing and the other says it covers except for when towing then you have no gap between the two? There may be a dispute in your nightmare scenario between the two but unless "towing" is a defined term in the policy then both are reliant on the plain english definition of the word so it cannot create a gap.

In the first instance I would assume it to be your motor insurer's responsibility in a similar way to an unsafe load which comes off the roof of a car/the back of a pickup and damages a following vehicle... its no longer attached to the vehicle but is still covered.

davidmcn

kimlizziebee said:

Having checked my vehicle policy and carefully read through terms and conditions, it appears that my car insurance covers me for any third party liabilities whilst the caravan is attached to the tow vehicle but not if the caravan becomes detached. I have asked the car insurance provider to confirm that I would be covered for any third party liabilty arising from a road traffic incident/accident which causes the caravan to become detached

Can you quote us the exact wording you're talking about? I would expect you to be covered for everything arising from an accident, even if during the course of that the caravan becomes detached. Are you sure it's not just an exception for incidents after you've unhitched the caravan?

kimlizziebee

Ok the one e mail I received states " We will only cover claims against you caravan if they're connected to your vehicle which is towing the caravan. We will not cover claims if the caravan gets detached for some reason." Please excuse the grammar - these are their exact words.
Another e mail stated "This cover also applies to an accident involving a single trailer, caravan or broken-down car you may be towing (as long as you hold the correct driving licence entitlement to do so)." This provided us with some comfort but earlier in the email the following was stated "We do cover the towing of a Caravan/Trailer/Horse box. The level of cover for a caravan/trailer/horse box is Third Party Only whilst attached to the risk vehicle."
Hope this helps and thanks for responding.

kimlizziebee

The problem is that common sense and the law of reasonable assumptions could be outweighed by the statement "we will not cover claims if the caravan becomes detached for some reason" - this seems to be an all-embracing statement (which they express in writing). My experience of insurance providers leans towards cyncicism unfortunately.

Sandtree

You really need to look at the policy wording of both contracts as this is the legally binding T&Cs 

kimlizziebee

I have looked at the policy wording and this is reflected in my earlier posts. This is why I contacted the customer services  department initiall and began what has turned into a saga. 

davidmcn

kimlizziebee said:

Ok the one e mail I received states " We will only cover claims against you caravan if they're connected to your vehicle which is towing the caravan. We will not cover claims if the caravan gets detached for some reason." Please excuse the grammar - these are their exact words.
Another e mail stated "This cover also applies to an accident involving a single trailer, caravan or broken-down car you may be towing (as long as you hold the correct driving licence entitlement to do so)." This provided us with some comfort but earlier in the email the following was stated "We do cover the towing of a Caravan/Trailer/Horse box. The level of cover for a caravan/trailer/horse box is Third Party Only whilst attached to the risk vehicle."
Hope this helps and thanks for responding.

What does the policy say though? That's what matters, not the (probably not particularly educated) interpretation of somebody at a call centre.

As I said though, it would be absurd for them to refuse a third party claim for damage caused by your caravan on the basis that it had become detached from your car 0.2 seconds before impact.

kimlizziebee

This is really at the crux of the matter. I think I am most concerned by a scenario where the caravan becomes detached just after  impact and then the insurer treats it as a secondary event (for which I may not covered for third party damage/injury).

Sandtree

kimlizziebee said:

This is really at the crux of the matter. I think I am most concerned by a scenario where the caravan becomes detached just after  impact and then the insurer treats it as a secondary event (for which I may not covered for third party damage/injury).

This is all one incident though... you hit someone, it causes your trailer to detach and it spins across the road hitting a third party vehicle.  Now if you are talking about the above but the trailer comes to a stand still and 15 minutes later someone drives into it then you have multiple incidents but also the other driver is then at fault for hitting a stationary object that was there to be seen and avoided.

davidmcn

kimlizziebee said:

This is really at the crux of the matter. I think I am most concerned by a scenario where the caravan becomes detached just after  impact and then the insurer treats it as a secondary event (for which I may not covered for third party damage/injury).

Yes, I understand that, but you still haven't told us what the policy actually says!