“For girls who go plump in the night” is the rather strange title of an album by 1970’s rock band Caravan, which is not the kind of thing you would expect an insurance man to know, even if he does actually own one, (a caravan I mean!) An insurance man in a caravan is probably not that unusual but an insurance man in a caravan listening to Caravan? Surely not!

I can’t remember exactly what got me thinking about this, but I think it’s to do with when I was looking over some photos from last year’s Glastonbury festival the other day and I noticed the sheer amount of caravans there in one outfit or another. Of course, being an insurance man, I immediately began thinking about the cover that these caravans may or may not have had and whether or not the underwriters knew exactly what they were being used for.

Caravans were being used for almost everything you can think of that needs a sturdy shelter, i.e. people were living in them, some were being used as resting places for tired musicians, some were being used for paid showers and some were being used shops by refreshment vendors, and I still mean proper caravans, not mobile catering units.

In the camping areas there were caravans being used as shelter from the rain for the security staff, as meeting points for lost festival goers and as weekend homes for ageing rockers who either could no longer handle the rough nights of tent camping, or who just happened be fellow caravan fans.

Of course, the musicians themselves are among the biggest users of caravans at music festivals, they usually use the huge ones with extra wheels on the front for steering and they use them for changing in, preparing for the show in, and then use them to indulge in general after-show rock-star behaviour which I think is probably best left to the imagination! I’m not sure if Caravan ever used one, I think that would just be too good to be true! Caravan in a caravan listening to their debut album (which was called, as you may have guessed, “Caravan”). Or even better, if they had arranged a convoy with some friends, a caravan of caravans including a caravan with Caravan in it listening to Caravan!

Anyway as I said, I started thinking about whether or not they had the correct insurance cover and let’s face it, they probably didn’t did they? If you’re thinking about taking your caravan along to a festival this year it’s worth thinking about proper insurance. A caravan can get damaged by careless fellow festival goers, it can slide off of its own accord into the mud, they can get flooded inside, catch fire, get blown away and, well, almost anything can happen. Luckily you can insure your caravan against most things - even collisions with uninsured caravans being used as tea shops!

Tags: Travel Tips

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