Preventing theft
Owning a static caravan is a fantastic way of having a holiday home, somewhere where you can just kick off your shoes and relax or get close to the countryside or seaside.
The very nature of having a static caravan as a holiday home means that its likely to be un-occupied for extended periods of time, especially in the winter months. The very fact that the caravan is predictably unoccupied makes it a risk to break-ins and theft.
In addition, your holiday home is most likely on a caravan park with both holiday rentals as well as owner only caravans. This makes it harder to spot who should and shouldn’t be there.
There are things you can do to help reduce the risk of your static caravan being broken into or stolen from.
Empty your caravan of valuables
This may sound extreme but if you know you are not going to be using your caravan for a long while its well worth removing any valuables from it to reduce the impact of any break-in. It is also a good idea to make sure that valuables can’t be seen from the outside of the caravan. This will help reduce the temptation of a thief to make a ‘smash and grab’ break-in.
You many also find that when you shop around for static caravan insurance there are limits in cover provided when the caravan is not used for more than a month.
Mark your valuables
Some insurance providers will send you a special marker kit to mark your valuables when you buy from them. Even if this isn’t the case it can be a good investment to purchase a kit and make sure all your valuables are marked or micro-dotted. This can really increase the chances of getting your possessions back.
Securing your caravans doors and windows
Sadly it is very difficult to secure a static caravan effectively. There are a few things you can do to help reduce the risk of theft
- Make sure the doors and windows are closed and locked when you are not using the caravan even if you are just at the pool.
- Remove or place valuables out of site and leave the curtains open so that a thief can see that its going to be harder to find valuables or that there is nothing to steal
- Do not leave a spare key (just in case) hidden around the caravan.
- Use other security devices to help improve the security e.g. additional locks and alarms
Intruder Alarms
Many static caravan sites will have a warden on the park and often you will be offered a security alarm package that is monitored by the site team. This means that if the there is an incident and the alarm goes off the warden can be on site quickly and call the police if needed. An alarm is also a visual deterrent and many thieves will simply choose another caravan. Some caravan insurance policies will give you a discount if you have a monitored alarm.
Do remember though:
- To always set the alarm
- To ensure that the alarm is working
