Park Home Owners Club

Top Ten Tips

You are insuring your most prized and important asset, price is important but so is the reputation and pedigree of the insurance company. The true test of insurance is how claims are handled. We therefore recommend you speak to other resident’s on the park for some impartial advice.

You are advised to use a specialist park home insurer and there are quite a few. Park Homes are a quite unique construction being built on a chassis in a factory and using a lot of wood. They are considered by most insurers to be of a ‘non standard’ construction and may therefore attract higher premiums. Specialist insurers know and understand park homes and recognise that they do in fact represent a very good risk indeed.

The policy MUST insure your home and its contents on a replacement as new basis to include an allowance for site clearance, re-siting and delivery fees. It is crucial that the sums insured are adequate because the consequences of under insurance could mean that the sum insured is insufficient to replace the home. Some insurers are now automatically offering very high sums insured as standard, Towergate Bakers include up to £500,000 on a twin unit and up to £250,000 on a single unit, such amounts are very re-assuring and should result in an end to under-insurance and complete peace of mind.

As the owner of a property you are liable for its maintenance and upkeep. You are also liable if anyone should be injured as a result of your failure to properly look after your property. It is therefore very important that your policy includes a Property Owners’ Liability protection and we would suggest, given the level of some compensation awards nowadays, a minimum protection of £2m.

Be aware of exclusions and small print, specifically ask your insurer what excesses apply, some can be quite prohibitive, ask what is not covered particularly if your home is likely to be unoccupied for 30 days or more and check that you are covered for flood loss or damage. Many parks are located in flood risk areas so be careful to check.

In the unlikely event of a claim which renders the home uninhabitable, a severe fire or flooding for example it is very important to ensure that your policy provides sufficient cover for the cost of temporary alternative accommodation. It is not uncommon for severe flooding to result in a home being uninhabitable for as long as 12 months so the costs of alternative accommodation for you and possibly your pets too could be very high indeed.

Many park home residents are elderly and we are aware unfortunately that there are some ‘cowboys’ who look to take advantage of elderly park home owners producing very poor quality work at very high cash prices. Some insurers offer a 24 hour emergency assistance service which is very useful indeed because it guarantees a reputable contractor attends your home at any time of the day or night. Some policies also include the first £250 or more of the call out charge.

If possible use a specialist insurance provider who also handles the claims as well. They are likely to better understand the nature of your claim and to be able to respond very quickly too without having to refer you to what may be an overseas call centre or a large and relatively impersonal insurance company claims department.

How easy is the insurer to speak to? Are they friendly, knowledgeable and patient? If you constantly get engaged tones when trying to buy insurance it is likely you will get the same at the critical moment that you need to make a claim. Customer service is important as is a thorough knowledge of parks homes your requirements as a Park Home owner.

The Internet. Many insurers now have excellent web sites providing information 24 hours a day. Some provide on line quotations and some offer the facility to buy on line, this can be very useful if you work unsociable hours or have difficulty getting to a phone. Some will also have claim forms on line all in all enhancing the service that they provide and making them and their product more accessible to you – at YOUR convenience.