A touring caravan, static caravan, chalet or boat is movable property that stands unattended on a site or in storage for most of the year, and that is precisely why your household policy does not cover it.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Home contents insurance covers belongings in the home and buildings insurance covers the building you live in. Recreational property falls outside both: a caravan is a trailer, a static caravan or chalet is usually movable, and a boat is a vessel. Each of those categories calls for its own policy with its own area of cover and its own storage condition.
The defining feature is the fact that it stands empty. A recreational object is used for a few weeks a year and stands idle the rest of the time, often unheated and unsupervised. Insurers translate that into conditions: draining the water pipes before winter, an approved hitch lock, a fenced storage site and an obligation to report if the object has not been visited for longer than a given period. If those are not met, cover lapses for exactly the risk that most often materialises.
If you let the property, the character of the cover changes; private use and letting are two different bases for acceptance. For expensive furnishings, look at valuables cover, and for larger vessels at yacht insurance.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The basics
Liability
AVB for property damage and injury, BAV for professional errors.
Damage to third parties
Employers' liability
Care, custody and control as an extension
Your business
Assets and continuity
Business contents, goods and lost turnover during downtime.
Business contents at replacement value as new
Goods at cost price
Business interruption or additional costs
If you employ people
Staff
Sickness absence, accidents and the traffic risk.
Continued pay for 104 weeks
Group personal accident
WEGAS for traffic risks
What is covered
Situation
AVB
BAV
Cyber
Injury to a visitor or customer
Yes
No
No
Damage to a client's property
Sometimes
No
No
Financial loss caused by an advisory or calculation error
No
Yes
No
Downtime after a ransomware attack
No
No
Yes
Data breach involving personal data
No
Sometimes
Yes
Damage to property in your care
No
No
No
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Frost and water damage in an unheated property
Freezing of pipes, the boiler or the heating system is the most common damage to a static caravan or holiday home. Virtually every policy therefore imposes a condition: drain and shut off the water, or maintain a minimum temperature. If you do not comply, frost damage is excluded and usually so is the consequential damage to floors and furnishings. Record when you prepared the property for winter.
Storage determines whether theft is covered
For caravans and boats a storage clause often applies: during the winter the object must stand on a locked or supervised site. Insurers also require an approved hitch lock or wheel clamp. If the vehicle stands on the public road or on your drive, theft is not reimbursed, however sound the lock was. Ask for written confirmation of your storage address.
Deferred maintenance is not damage
Wood rot, failed seams, a leaking roof edge and damp patches from slow water ingress are wear and tear. They are excluded under every policy, even where the consequences only show years later. Only a sudden, unforeseen event is insured. With a static caravan or chalet this means maintaining the roof and the sealed joints demonstrably; otherwise the discussion ends at the exclusion for inherent defect.
Liability for the object and the site
If your awning blows onto the neighbouring caravan or a visitor is injured by a loose paving slab at your chalet, you will be held liable. Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code applies to defective structures and Article 6:162 DCC to other wrongful acts. Personal liability insurance often covers this, but not always for a second object on a permanent site; check that separately.
What does your premium depend on?
Type of object — A touring caravan, folding caravan, static caravan, chalet or vessel each has its own rate and its own form of cover.
Insured value and year of construction — Replacement value as new, market value or agreed value cover is determined by age and purchase price.
Storage address and security — A supervised site, fencing and an approved lock reduce the theft risk and the premium.
Period of use and area of cover — The Netherlands only, Europe or beyond, and the number of weeks the object is in use.
Let out or not — Letting to third parties is a different basis for acceptance and is rated more heavily than private use only.
Contents and structures attached — Insured furnishings, an awning, a veranda and a shed are valued separately.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Does my caravan fall under my home contents insurance?
No. Home contents insurance covers the belongings in and around your home; a caravan is a trailer and falls outside it. The furnishings of the caravan are not covered under your household policy either. That requires caravan insurance, in which the body, the contents and the awning are declared and valued separately.
What happens if I do not drain the water?
Cover for frost damage then lapses, and under most policies so does cover for the water damage that follows. This condition appears in the conditions as a prevention obligation and is not advice. If you cannot drain the pipes, choose a policy that accepts a maintained minimum temperature and record how you arrange that.
Am I insured if I let my holiday home?
Only if letting has been declared and appears on the policy schedule. Letting brings with it varying use by unknown people and therefore changes the risk. If you fail to disclose this, Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code on the duty of disclosure when entering into the insurance comes into play and the insurer can reduce or refuse payment.
Is theft of the static caravan itself covered?
With a static caravan or chalet, theft of the object is rare and often limited or excluded; there the risks are more storm, fire and frost. With a touring caravan, theft is indeed the core of the cover, but always subject to the storage and lock conditions. Read which of the two forms applies to your object.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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