What is the best static home insurance?

Jul 18

The insurance that is best for one static homeowner might not necessarily be the best for another.

Individual situations can be very different from one static to another.  Generalisations about the insurance cover can be risky!

Even so, there are a few key points well worth considering.

Price

It is understandable that insurance providers often major on the headline ticket price of their product.  Offers of “cheap static home insurance” abound.

However, it can be difficult to work out what the real price of a policy is.  For example:

  • if a policy carries a particularly high excess, that is an additional cost that you won’t see until you find yourself in the position of needing to make a claim;
  • some policies may have much more substantial opportunities for discounts than others, for example rewarding good responsible owner behaviours like fitting alarms. That can make a significant difference to your final cost too;
  • certain additional features may be included automatically in some policies but you’ll have to pay for them in others.

So, it’s worth looking closely at the figures and then matching them against your own situation before deciding what is the most cost-effective solution for you.

The breadth of cover provided

What is and is not covered under typical static home insurance can also vary significantly from one policy to another.

The conclusion is simple – you need to read the cover details very carefully and again understand how they are aligned to your own unique situation.

Terms and conditions

All insurance policies, including static home insurance, will come with their own terms and conditions.  That is normal.

However, it’s important to be clear that you understand how those “Ts & Cs” affect your situation.

To provide another crude example, some policies may have conditions relating to the minimum site facilities that will need to be in place before their cover will be fully valid and in force.  If your site does not have such facilities or they are only available at certain times of the year, elements of your cover may be at risk in a claim situation.

In passing but on a closely related subject, make sure that if something significant changes about your static home, you notify your insurance provider in advance.  For example, if you fit a new kitchen it may change the risk profile and insurance valuation of your property.

Your policy may not be able to accommodate that unless you notify the provider.

Third party liability cover

This exists to protect you from the financial consequences of being successfully sued by someone else for injury or damage they may have suffered as a result of your static home.

The levels of such cover and their applicability though can be viewed very differently between policies.  It is an area that needs to be studied closely.

Summary

It’s not unusual to encounter static homeowners who have relatively little understanding of what their insurance really entails.  Many may admit to selecting a policy based on its price alone.

That might be a risky strategy.

Ultimately, it will be advisable to be sure that you are totally comfortable with the nature of the cover provided by a policy and that you are getting it at a price you believe to be cost-justified and cost-effective.

If you’re able to tick those boxes, then you might be able to think about identifying the most appropriate static home insurance for you.