TOP MARKS FOR UK CAMPSITE

TOP MARKS FOR UK CAMPSITE

AA caravan and camping award winners...

 

LEADING CAMPSITES AND CARAVAN PARKS in the UK have been confirmed and are featured in the AA Caravan and Camping Guide

 

The leading campsites and caravan parks in the UK have been confirmed and are featured in the AA Caravan and Camping Guide 2023, out now from AA Publishing. Amongst those celebrating is Silverdale Caravan Park in Lancashire, the AA Campsite of the Year for England and this year’s overall winner.

A rise in eco-friendly camping has shown holidaymakers are looking for environmentally friendly destinations. Camp Katur, winners of the AA Glamping Site of the Year, focuses on upcycling materials with fire pits created from washing machine drums and galvanised bucket washbasins.

Among the regional winners is Beaconsfield Holiday Park, winner of AA Campsite of the Year Heart of England, a purpose-built, family-run park on farmland in open countryside which offers quality in every area. Simon Numphud, Managing Director at AA Media says: “With people spending their holidays in the UK and exploring the great British countryside, we are thrilled to celebrate the UK’s best campsites for 2022.

“This year’s winners have demonstrated outstanding quality, high levels of customer care and fantastic facilities which meet customers’ growing expectations. “With UK staycations continuing to prove popular among holidaymakers, the AA Caravan and Camping Guide offers an invaluable guide to holidaymakers choosing to stay in a tent, caravan, motorhome, or glamping site.

We hope this new guide inspires people who are set to embark on new journeys.” AA Media connects the UK with travel ideas and rated places to stay and visit. It includes AA Hotel & Hospitality Services, which rates and publishes information about the hospitality industry, including hotels, guest accommodation and restaurants.

They introduced the renowned star rating scheme for quality in 1908 and have inspected restaurants for the Rosette award since 1956. Ratedtrips.com showcases all AA-rated places to stay and visit, and they publish a well-established range of lifestyle publications such as their camping and restaurant guides.

 

MORE HOLIDAYMAKERS are looking for environmentally- friendly locations to pitch their tents and caravans.

 

BEST SELLER
Britain’s best-selling caravan and camping guide provides the very best places for people to take their tent, caravan, or motorhome across the UK. This guide enables travellers to discover over 580 sites from five Pennant premier parks to more affordable options. Now in its 55th edition; being in the guide means the sites have been professionally inspected by the AA’s highly experienced inspection team, it also features AA award-winning parks and.

Top sites with gold and platinum pennants across as well as AA’s Campsite of the year. The guide consistently sells year on year, which demonstrates a loyal readership. Just one or two bookings via the guide covers the outlay of the assessment fee. Inspectors look for best in class in any given region, where the owners and team have created a top-class experience within their site’s grading level.

All winners will feature in the 55th Edition of the AA Caravan & Camping Guide. All the destinations featured in the guide have been inspected and rated by AA professional inspectors, grading sites from one to five Pennants, based on their facilities and hospitality.

Each entry within the guide includes location, ratings, contact details, directions, prices, opening times, facilities, and a description to help holidaymakers select the right site for their needs. Mirroring the increasing popularity of luxury camping, this year’s winners include glamping facilities, including yurts, shepherd’s huts, and vintage caravans. The winners include a focus on family friendliness, eco-friendliness, fishing, best views and sites for lake lovers.

 

Don’t Slip Up

Don’t Slip Up

Be sure to choose an insurance company that structures cover around your needs.

Be sure to choose an insurance company that structures cover around your needs.

Recent times have highlighted the need for robust insurance protection as climate change brings unprecedented challenges to the UK holiday park sector.
We have not yet witnessed a re-run of the disastrous 1987 storm but we are seeing a rise in the frequency of significant flooding and storms across the country. We have also seen the effects of earlier than anticipated and prolonged winter periods.
Holiday parks offer a unique blend of risks to the insurance market and choosing the right partner can be the difference between success and failure in the event of a catastrophe. Parks are, by their very nature, exposed to the elements, presenting challenges to the insurance market.
Lorica Insurance Brokers specialise in the leisure sector, providing individual solutions for the protection of property, income and legal liability to employees and visitors. Stefan Puttnam, executive director at Lorica explains: “When considering risks to a holiday park we tend to concentrate on the core facilities and what would happen were they to suffer loss but, just as important, is the interdependent relationship between this and the guest accommodation whether it be holiday homes, chalets, lodges or caravans. Losing one will impact on the viability of the other ultimately leading to lost revenue.”
He adds: “There are many complex and supposedly sophisticated ways to arrange cover but the simple fact is that nothing beats a straightforward conversation based around ‘what if’ scenarios. Every business is different, so when it comes to insurance, it’s not a case of one size fits all.”

MIND THE PITFALLS

Coast Insurance stress that insurance doesn’t just protect against small accidents, losses or theft, but it could save a huge financial bill in the event of something beyond control.

Coast Insurance stress that insurance doesn’t just protect against small accidents, losses or theft, but it could save a huge financial bill in the event of something beyond control.

Stefan urges holiday park owners to insist upon your insurance advisor not accepting any policy warranties or conditions precedent to liability within the contracts of the insurance they arrange for you. These restrictions are particularly dangerous as they will require you to do, or not to do certain things. Failure to comply can result in policy cancellation or refusal to pay a claim despite the fact that the breach may bear no relevance to the claim itself. They should be avoided at all costs.
Basic level cover falls under the banner of Increased Costs of Working, which merely provides protection for additional expenditure reasonably and necessarily incurred after a loss. However, park owners should be made aware that there will be no cover to meet lost revenues.
Stefan says: “Like anything, there needs to be a balance between peace of mind and the level of premium you are able to expend.
“My advice is to firstly explore your unique exposures before considering the costs. Rash decisions based merely on premium costs could cripple your business. Understand the exposure, establish the cover needed, define the mitigating factors and let your broker sell it to the insurance market rather than the other way around.”
Insurance policies generally contain an overarching requirement for holiday park owners to disclose all material facts to an insurer. Failure to do so can ultimately render the cover void. Whilst it is unlikely to be able to negotiate removal, it is possible to water down the requirement so that in the event of an innocent non-disclosure of a material fact, it will not render the cover void and insurers will meet the claim subject to park owners paying an additional premium.
When taking out insurance, Stefan advises holiday park owners to consider less obvious scenarios – “What would happen if your guests were unable to gain access to their brand new holiday home due to an incident outside the park? What would happen if there were an outbreak of a notifiable human disease?
Ultimately you know your business best, align this to the specialist support of an insurance broker who understands the holiday park sector to put you at the front of the queue to not only survive a catastrophe but thrive where others may not.”

Company Contacts

Lorica Insurance Brokers
Tel. 0844 573 7691
www.loricainsurance.com

Coast Insurance
Tel. +44 (0)1892 784059
www.coastinsurance.co.uk

Wilby Ltd
Tel. +44 (0)1422 358525
www.wilbyltd.co.uk

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