Staying safe in a storm

The recent extreme weather has affected several of our customers, and many more have contacted us to express their concerns about the safety of their caravan or motorhome.

Unfortunately it’s impossible to 100% accurately predict when and where bad weather will strike and whether your leisure vehicle will be at risk. However, we’ve put together a few tips to help you reduce the chances of suffering damage if you find yourself in the eye of the storm:

• Keep an eye on local weather reports so you know if rain and/or high winds are likely in your area
• If a storm is predicted and your caravan or motorhome is parked on your driveway, you might want to consider moving it temporarily to a more sheltered location
• If you can’t move it then look for potential hazards surrounding it such as empty bins, loose fence panels or terracotta plant pots. Remove or fix these as necessary
• For those of you whose leisure vehicles are stored at a secure site, it might be worth contacting the site owner to make sure they’re aware of the weather reports
• If you’re on holiday and a storm is predicted, take down your awning as this is the item at most risk of suffering damage – and in strong winds they could even blow away and cause damage to someone’s caravan or motorhome
• At the end of the day, the most important thing to look after is yourself. This could mean staying the night at a local hotel if a severe storm or flooding strikes while you’re staying in your leisure vehicle
• Should you choose to leave your caravan or motorhome, make sure it is firmly anchored and securely locked before departing the camp site
• If possible, don’t drive your motorhome or tow your caravan during heavy rain and high winds. For necessary journeys, make sure you maintain a sensible speed, avoid exposed roads and leave plenty of stopping distance between yourself and other vehicles

Even after taking every possible precaution, sometimes accidents happen – that’s why Coast offers storm damage protection as part of our touring caravan insurance and motorhome insurance policies.

To find out more about our caravan cover or motorhome cover call Freephone 0800 614 849.