Deciding where to store your caravan? You have a lot of options. I actually wrote a blog post all about them, which you can read here. One popular storage option is CaSSOA storage. But what is it and is it really a good option?
CaSSOA accreditation is given to caravan storage sites that meet a certain set of security criteria. All CaSSOA accredited sites are independently assessed to guarantee they have the necessary security features.
Caravans aren’t cheap, so you need to take security seriously. One way to do that is by storing your caravan at a CaSSOA accredited site.
In this blog post, I’m going to give a bit more background on CaSSOA itself and explain what’s needed to earn their bronze, silver, and gold accreditations.
What Is CaSSOA?
Before looking at how sites are accredited by CaSSOA, I thought it would be interesting to briefly explore the history of CaSSOA.
This video produced by CaSSOA gives you a brief history and explains a bit more about CaSSOA and what they do.
CaSSOA, which stands for Caravan Storage Site Owners’ Association, was formed in 1999 by AmTrust Europe Ltd and a select few leisure vehicle storage owners in the UK. Caravan theft was rife and CaSSOA was founded as a response.
CaSSOA fights against caravan theft by encouraging high standards of security. They do this by accrediting leisure vehicle storage owners if they take security seriously and make big efforts to secure the vehicles they’re storing.
Sites are only accredited by CaSSOA if they conform to the standards set out. Each accredited site must meet the security standards set out by CaSSOA, with an independent surveyor visiting the site to ensure the standards are being met. Depending on the level of the site’s security solutions, they will earn one of three accreditations: bronze, silver, or gold.
For caravan owners, you know that you’re storing your caravan securely if you choose a storage location accredited by CaSSOA. Furthermore, CaSSOA approved sites are actually recognised by most caravan insurers. It actually states on the Caravan Guard website that “some insurance companies offer policy discounts for caravans stored on secure CaSSOA sites.” As they state this on their site, I imagine that they are including themselves in that statement and offer a discount if you store your caravan on a CaSSOA accredited site.
So what’s the difference between bronze, silver, and gold accredited sites? Which one should you pick? Here’s everything that’s required to earn each of the three accreditations.
What’s Needed To Earn CaSSOA Accreditations?
Sites are independently assessed for security features and access control and are then rated on a points-based system. Here’s a breakdown of what storage sites have to have in place to be a certain level.
BRONZE
- Access control:
- Full movement records
- Entry/exit gate:
- Manual system
- Natural surveillance
- Some lighting
- Fire protection:
- No combustible material stored within 20 metres of the caravans
- Danger notices:
- When and where there is a known hazard/danger to visitors
- Vermin control
- There must be no danger from:
- Falling trees
- Flooding
- Storm damage
- Public liability insurance
SILVER
- Perimeter fencing
- Access control:
- Full movement records
- Entry/exit gate:
- Manual system
- Part site CCTV
- Entry/exit lighting
- Fire protection:
- No combustible material stored within 20 metres of the caravans
- Danger notices:
- When and where there is a known hazard/danger to visitors
- Vermin control
- There must be no danger from:
- Falling trees
- Flooding
- Storm damage
- Public liability insurance
GOLD
- Perimeter fencing
- (BS1722) relative to Palisade and Welded Mesh Fencing
- Access control:
- Full movement records
- Site to be laid out as per CaSSOA guidelines
- Automated entry/exit
- Full site CCTV
- All round security light
- Fire protection:
- No combustible material stored within 20 metres of the caravans
- Danger notices:
- When and where there is a known hazard/danger to visitors
- Vermin control
- There must be no danger from:
- Falling trees
- Flooding
- Storm damage
- Public liability insurance
The minimum you should expect from a CaSSOA accredited site is perimeter protection, lockable gates, vermin control, and full access control. Even entry-level (bronze) storage sites offer a good standard of security for your caravan.
Entry-level CaSSOA accredited sites have a good standard of security, with perimeter protection, lockable gates, vermin control, and full access control required of bronze accredited sites.
Sites that have the gold CaSSOA accreditation are extremely secure, with perimeter fencing, full access control, full site CCTV, all round security lights, and vermin control just some of the minimum requirements for a gold CaSSOA accredited site.
At the end of the day, caravans are very expensive. Why wouldn’t you want to make the effort to protect your investment? By choosing a CaSSOA accredited site, you are ensuring your caravan is as secure as can be.
Why Store Your Caravan On A CaSSOA Accredited Site?
You might wonder whether it’s really worthwhile using a CaSSOA accredited site. After all, your caravan’s never been nicked so far and your caravan insurance is cheap as it is. Why spend more than you have to for storage?
According to the Camping and Caravanning Club, approximately 1,200 caravans are stolen every year in the UK. Perhaps counterintuitively, considering the increased appreciation for security, it appears that caravan theft is actually on the rise.
Why use a CaSSOA accredited site to store your caravan?
- Increased security: I’d struggle to name anywhere more secure to store your caravan than a leisure vehicle storage site with a CaSSOA gold accreditation. Protecting your investment is obviously important. You can expect that your caravan will be well protected if it is stored on a gold accredited CaSSOA site, especially when you consider how strict the criteria is.
- No-hassle storage: Storing your caravan can be a big challenge logistically, depending on the size of your drive! Using a CaSSOA accredited site makes your life easier because the storage of your caravan is handled for you. Once your caravan is at the storage facility, you don’t need to worry about it until you want to pick it up. The storage facility owner will take care of it for you.
- Lower insurance premiums: As I briefly mentioned earlier in this blog post, caravan insurers factor in where your caravan is stored when pricing up your insurance. Most insurers recognise CaSSOA accreditations, so storing your caravan on an accredited site might actually reduce your insurance premium. Ultimately you can end up saving yourself a lot of money, even if storing your caravan on a CaSSOA accredited site costs you more in the short term.
I hope this blog post has helped you to learn a bit more about CaSSOA and hopefully revealed to you the benefits of using a CaSSOA accredited site. If you’d like to find out more about caravan storage, it’s well worth reading our caravan storage guide. In our guide, I detail all the different places that you can store your caravan.