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Static Caravan Insurance Choices

October 1, 2012 By

They may have wheels and legally considered to be mobile homes, but static caravans are, for the most part, stationary and stored in the same place for many years. In recent years, static caravans have become increasingly popular and there are many different places that you can find them on sale – often at a coastal seaside resort or in a beautiful countryside location on holiday park sites.

Like any other residence, static caravan insurance is essential. These are valuable assets and the prospect of replacing one that has been damaged beyond repair that isn’t covered by insurance is not an inviting one. Most static caravan insurance will include both buildings and contents cover, but check this is the case before going ahead with a policy.

Mobile home insurance is similar to a normal house insurance policy. The buildings cover will cover the structure and permanent fixtures, including outdoor fixtures such as a patio or garden wall. Contents cover is for anything that is usually kept in the mobile home but can be removed easily.

And just like normal house insurance, the policies can be customised to suit your needs – especially if you go through a specialist insurer like Look Insurance, which specialises in leisure insurance.

For example, you can choose the level of contents cover to match the value of the items that you keep there. In general, a lower level for contents means lower premiums.

If you are planning to let your static caravan to other people to other people, make sure that the insurance policy you choose includes public liability protection and that the insurance will still be valid for occupancy by holiday makers. Look Insurance offers this as a standard, but other insurers may not do, or only include it as an optional extra.

As with every kind of insurance, you should go through the detail on any policy before you sign on the dotted line. That way, you know exactly what you’ll be covered for and at what price.

Bio:

Owen is a keen car blogger, but sometimes he also likes to write about the financial side of automobiles. He will provide you with some really useful tips – everything from what kind of insurance you should go for when buying a caravan or just cars in general. Simon owns a static caravan and he normally uses it for leisure. But right now, he’s renting it out and naturally will he have static caravan insurance from Look Insurance.

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Why Do So Many People Choose Vauxhall Contract Hire?

May 30, 2012 By

You’ve probably noticed, in recent years, that an inordinately large amount of people have begun to take part in Vauxhall leasing deals and alternative methods of acquiring a car. This is partly due to the economic climate, how recession has affected the UK; it’s also to do with just how cost-effective and advantageous a Vauxhall lease can be, when compared to an outright purchase.

Vauxhall contract hire is one of the most popular forms of leasing, and is part of the reason why leasing deals have become so sought after. There are a number of reasons as to why it has become much more commonplace to enter a contract hire, but it’s most likely that a lot of the incentive to take part is due to the enormous amount of benefits available.

A great Vauxhall contract hire deal will come with varying levels of coverage, maintenance, and servicing etc. Additional features such as this aren’t just great motivators because they’re extras; they also serve an extremely valid purpose. Safety-wise, you and your family (or even your staff, depending on the type of lease) will be much more secure.

Your financial stress and any money problems you may be experiencing are also important to consider when thinking about the coverage available through Vauxhall contract hire. Having these included within the contract makes budgeting a lot easier and much simpler to understand. It also helps relieve any weight from your shoulders about responsibility, as you don’t have to actively seek the coverage out yourself now.

Contract hire isn’t the only way to lease a Vauxhall though, it may be in the title for the text, but it’s certainly not the single greatest lease deal ever. Many people find that contract hire doesn’t suit their needs or their lifestyle, so it’s worth taking a good look at the other options available and consider which you’ll benefit the most from.

Personal contract purchase (PCP) is one of the most successful lease deals, in terms of popularity. It’s gained a huge fan base because of what it offers; with a PCP deal you can transfer ownership of the car to yourself once the contract has finished. For some people this is ideal, making a final balloon payment and getting to become the owner of the car is perfect for them.

As with every major investment, take your time and figure out which Vauxhall lease deal you would be best taking advantage of. Do your research and ensure that you know exactly what you’re doing before taking part!

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Camping holidays are great for children

May 18, 2012 By

When you’re deciding where to head for your summer holidays, you’re bound to consider who will do what while you’re on holiday. Many people choose the activities they enjoy and then a destination second.

A great choice for a family holiday is to go camping. Not only do you have that feeling of being on an adventure together but there’s nearly always plenty of entertainment for children on campsites. This can be in the form of planned activities hosted by campsite employees who are there to put on entertainment, but also informally, there are always a lot of other children on the campsite to make friends with and spend time with. Bigger campsites usually have great sports facilities, too, with swimming pools and tennis courts and a playground for younger kids.

In fact, if you go camping, you might have trouble getting the children to stick around with you – they’ll have too much to do! This, of course, shouldn’t be a problem as it leaves you with time to relax and read a book or catch some sun in a deckchair.

Once you’ve tried camping a few times, you’ll know whether it’s something that you enjoy doing. But if you find the idea of living under canvas for a week a bit stressful, there is another way. You can stay in a static caravan or touring caravan. This is how many camping and caravanning enthusiasts first get bitten by the camping bug. And if it really appeals, you could consider getting your own static home or touring caravan.

Year on year, you’ll gradually recoup the investment in a static home or caravan as you enjoy cheap holidays in them. Of course, there are some additional costs to owning your own static home. You need to pay rent for a pitch and get it insured. You can get great prices on Park Home now if you’re looking to find an insurance policy.

And although insurance isn’t compulsory for a touring caravan, with the value that is held within any touring caravan it’s definitely worth the relatively low premiums you’ll need to pay. You can click to quote for Touring Caravan Insurance here and often if you organise it online, you’ll get an additional discount.

Filed Under: Transport, Travel

Hydrogen cars coming to the UK

April 23, 2012 By

Thought to be the real future fuel for transport, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are pretty thin on the ground to date. Honda introduced its FCX Clarity back in 2008, but for the moment, the car is still only available on a lease from Honda, rather than being purchased outright by the drivers.

However, in the UK this month, UKH2Mobility was launched to make hydrogen powered cars a reality in the next couple of years. Three UK government departments are involved, as are 13 companies including several car manufacturers.

Business minister Mark Prisk said at the launch: “Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are increasingly being recognised as one of the viable options as we move to a lower carbon motoring future.”

It’s another step towards increasing the type of eco cars UK consumers could choose to buy, alongside an increase in the number of hybrids and electric vehicles that are coming onto the market.

As well as the technology behind fuel cell electric vehicles, the initiative will also work on establishing the infrastructure necessary for hydrogen vehicles in the UK. Currently, there is only one commercial hydrogen filling station – in Swindon at the Honda car manufacturing plant. It will be necessary for a great deal of investment to put in a national hydrogen charging infrastructure, but it is hoped that developing hydrogen fuelled motoring will create many new jobs.

The way hydrogen powered cars work is by the fuel cell drawing oxygen from the air and combining it with hydrogen in the car’s tank to produce electricity. The electricity then powers electric motors, which propel the car’s wheels. So, in this way, hydrogen cars are EVs without the range limits imposed by EV batteries.

With zero exhaust emissions, the fuel is a carbon free one, but the energy sources used to produce the hydrogen still need to be considered when deciding exactly how green hydrogen powered transport is.

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Some of the best eco holiday destinations.

March 21, 2011 By

It really does come down to your own preferences in terms of what sort of holiday or climate you might want but there are some very popular choices when it comes to eco travel holidays. One of the world’s most conserved places is Costa Rica; around twenty seven per cent of Costa Rica is believed to be untouched. These special areas are conserved by local organizations. In Columbia diving in a coral reef is an opportunity as is hiking up snow capped mountains. Sweden is very popular for husky rides and dog sledding. If you love to be surrounded by water Finland could be a good eco holiday choice, there are literally thousands of pristine lakes in Finland creating some spectacular views. For the adrenalin junkies there is always New Zealand, here you can experience extreme adventures along with volcanic activities and marvelous beaches. Some areas of France are also members of the eco holiday club with lots of opportunities to go ‘glamping’, this is luxury camping and is very trendy at the moment. Latvia will provide chances to go horse riding, hiking and canoeing. Norway offers plenty to enjoy, boasting mighty cliffs and waterfalls that will take your breath away. Remember these places have natural beauty at the heart of them and the reason it still exists is because of conservation companies. They need our support to preserve what we have and make sure many generations from now the features of these places are still there.

 These are just some of the more popular destinations for eco travelers to take a look at, there are many more you just have to find them. Eco travel is a relatively new idea and like anything new we need to educate ourselves about it to understand it properly and use it efficiently. Eco travel is for everyone, now you just need to embrace it.

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Where to start….

March 18, 2011 By

If you Google the term eco travel you will get thousands of results, most offering you the best and most ethical holiday of your life. Of course they do, it is what we searched for after all. How do start sorting the real eco holidays from the ‘greenwashed’ ones? That is a difficult task as seen as there are literally thousands I would not know where to start. Speak to friends, who may have been on such a trip, recommendations are often a good place to start. Forums are also useful as you are not getting a company’s facade; it is real people saying it like it is. ‘The Green Providers Directory’ is a very useful web site that is a nonprofit source of all things green and this includes holidays. Looking into a directory like this, that is a not for profit organization will usually be a good place to start as they have nothing to gain from you booking a certain holiday.

 Until the definitions and codes of practice are determined for eco travel it will always be problematic finding a true ethical holiday. An ethical holiday may find you sleeping in a yurt on the Isle of Wight or reading a book in a mud hut in Sri Lanka but a green washing company could provide you with this too. There are often opportunities to holiday in places that have experienced natural disasters, these places may still be getting back on their feet and tourism will help injected some much needed help into the economy that has taken a battering. Take the Boxing Day tsunami that devastated many coastlines a few years ago now, the countries struggled to maintain their tourist industry, places like these need all the support they can get. They are stunningly beautiful places that have taken a huge blow; to holiday in these countries would no doubt be a good ethical choice.

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Education and Eco Travel.

March 15, 2011 By

If you are serious about booking a real eco travel holiday then expect to spend a lot of time researching the area you plan to visit. It is important to learn exactly where you will be able to go and how you will go about moving around the area. Remember keeping things very low impact is a fundamental of eco travel. To leave an area exactly how you left it for future travelers for years to come is the objective. Do not expect to book your holiday and then go shopping for new swim wear, expect to book then buy yourself some reading materials so you know exactly where you are going what to expect. Researching the local customs is a must too; respecting the local ways is expected of any holiday maker but even more on an eco travel break. On any quality eco travel holiday you should expect a well educated guide and their instructions should be adhered to at all times. They will instruct you in a way that is going to cause the minimal amount of impact to the local environment. There may well be places where you are not permitted to walk at all so listening to your guide at all times is of the upmost importance.

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Are there any problems with ecotravel?

March 11, 2011 By

In a word ‘yes’ there are problems with eco travel and this mainly involves the fact that there really is not any definition of ecotravel. Some groups would argue,’ what is the point of an eco holiday if you are going to fly there?’ This is a good argument but surely a holiday that financially benefits the local community where you will stay is better than your average break organized by a company operating in a mass tourism operation (Even if you do fly there)? I would think so but really both sides of the debate have very valid points. There are plenty of tour operators who label some of their holidays as being ‘green’ but it is difficult to see where and how it is in fact ‘green’. With no definition though who is to tell this tour operator the holiday they advertise under the category ‘eco travel’ is not that at all. To put a stop to some tour operators mis-leading customers there are organizations that are now coming together to put a valid definition together. This itself would be a difficult task because there are so many opinions on what constitutes an eco travel holiday. Soon enough there should be clearer definitions and a code of practice in place that will determine exactly which types of holidays deserve the right to be labeled an eco travel holiday.

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Beware of ‘Greenwashing’!

March 8, 2011 By

It is common place today to receive a leaflet through your letter box from a company telling you of the latest eco friendly make over that big brand or maybe local store has just completed. So now they are all morally correct and ethically balance, or are they? Perhaps they are or maybe they have been green washing. Green washing is the practice of going over a whole business and making everything seem environmentally friendly and super kind to the environment. Notice I said ‘making it seem’ and not making it, a company can play the eco friendly game without actually doing a thing to up their ‘green’ factor at all. So green washing is basically making your company seem ‘green’ when in fact it is not.

Not only is green washing dishonest it ruins people’s faith in this type of practice and the companies that are making the effort will be approached with caution and maybe even accused of green washing. The things to learn from green washing are that you have to do your own research into the company’s claims. Green washing is particularly popular at the moment within tourism because the eco travel industry is growing fast. When this happens every company wants a piece of the action. To do this they will green wash their company and what they have to offer. For certain individuals running tour operations it will just be good business sense to provide what the customer wants, in this scenario it means green washing to get the desired attention.

There are plenty of companies who are practicing ethically and it is important to remember this. To find them will take a little bit of research but it will be worth it. The green washing that is going on is made all the more possible by the lack of definition and there being no code of practice as such within eco travel. This should all change and the green washers will have their true colors exposed.

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Who is encouraging ethical holidays and eco travel?

March 4, 2011 By

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) is one of the oldest organizations that actively encourage people to travel to natural areas in the most responsible way they can, the area should be one that focuses on conservation and the wellness of the local people. People should approach TIES when seeking information on sustainable travel and helping communities living on conservation sites to preserve it for generations to come. We are all aware of the rainforests and other sites of natural beauty that are destroyed so that multinational organizations can use the land to build new plants or perhaps develop a new resort. This is exactly the kind of practice TIES is working hard to stop and with the support of holiday makers large companies will have to sit up and listen.

 Although TIES will have lots of answers if you approach them for advice, they are still learning all the time themselves. Research is a big part of their organization and they are constantly strengthening their knowledge on ecotourism. TIES also strongly believe that passing their knowledge onto the next generation is essential. Education is a fundamental part of what TIES do. They want to know TIES will carry to educate many generations to come.

 Ultimately it is the people who travel that can make the difference and TIES understand this. This is why they offer a wealth of knowledge and support to those looking to travel and more importantly to travel in the ethical way. TIES ask you to remember responsible travel equals travel with a purpose. It will take a little research but it is time worth investing, to be able to make informed choices about which are the responsible airlines, destinations and accommodation providers. Always remember a true ethical holiday will put money back into the destination, this is the key thing to look for.

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