What Is a Mobile Home?

In English law static caravans, touring caravans and motorhomes and also residential park homes can all be described as mobile homes. However, each of the aforementioned 'mobile homes' have very different characteristics and present different types of insurance risk. It is important therefore to know what things to look and search for when insuring your touring caravan, static caravan, motorhome or park home. Hopefully this guide will decipher the jargon and leave you somewhat wiser in regards to what type of protection plans you need.

The legal definition of a mobile home is the same as that for a caravan. Broadly speaking, it covers "any structure designed or adapted for people to live where is with the capacity of being moved from one spot to another (whether when you are towed or when you are transported on an automobile or trailer) and any automobile so designed or adapted.....It can include twin units separately constructed and designed for assembly on site, provided that the twin unit is physically with the capacity of being moved when assembled (whether by being towed or by being transported on an automobile or trailer). The twin unit should be no more than 60ft long, 20ft wide and the living accommodation no more than 10ft (3.048 metres) high."(Source: Communities.gov.uk)

Some mobile homes such as for example static caravans and park homes are obviously not very mobile but can be transported on an extremely large low loader unlike a bricks and mortar house! Of course you may have seen this happening once you have driven on the motorway. Despite often having small wheels for slight movement into position during siting, park homes and static caravans spend all or the majority of their useful lives in one place. Occasionally, an owner may want to move site.

When shopping for insurance it's really only the terms "park" and "mobile" home that are sometimes used interchangeably, in other words a park home insurance coverage may sometimes be labelled a mobile home insurance policy.

The others are pretty straightforward. Ultimately it's advisable to look for a specialist insurance policy specific to your type of mobile home. So when insuring a static caravan, seek out 'static caravan insurance' and so forth.

There a large differences between covers for the several types of mobile homes.

For example park home insurance is a residential policy which reflects you living in your park home regular and having all your worldly possessions kept within. Whereas touring caravan and motorhome policies very often limit your usage to holidays for up to six months or 8 months in per year. A motorhome policy covers you for road risks including third party liabilities. A static caravan policy covers you for the likes of debris removal, resiting and reconnection - obviously if your static caravan is destroyed by for example storm, flood or fire it's quite costly to remove the damaged unit, and resite a fresh one (often by crane) and reconnect all the utilities.

When searching for Find more information recognised terms are caravan insurance (aka 'touring caravan insurance'), motorhome insurance, static caravan insurance and park home insurance.

Caravan Guard Limited specialises in touring caravan insurance and motorhome insurance. Sister brand Leisuredays specialise in static caravan and park home insurance.