Tree limb vs camper trailer

Shouldn,t be too hard to replace the bent poles. Can't imagine any joy out of the parks insurance.

Tent was torn in about six places and the internal, fixed spreaders were either bent or broken completely....we also lost two tables and three chairs. We then had to tear the main canvas through to be able to get out before old mate (manager) turned up with his chainsaw...

Take the stress out of your misfortune and contact your insurance company.

They will deal with the repairs and replacement of anything that cannot be repaired and on top of all that they will deal with old mate that owns the park as well as his insurance company should they be at fault.

Depending on the cover you have they may even put you up for a few days whilst you are arranging to get your camper trailer home.

G'day Andrew,
Not sure what state you are in but we have bought quite a few things from Outback Campers in Carrum Downs Victoria, over the years & very happy dealing with them.
They do all sorts if canvas work in house for their Slideon campers & Camper Trailers. I know they do plenty of custom work too.
Cheers Stu.

Andrew, Poles Apart can custom make poles and frames for you. If you are in Sydney Bell Canvas or Shade N Shelter can do the canvas work.
Keith

Hi Andrew,

So sorry for your misfortune, glad you are all ok. Sorry can’t help with suggestions with regard to repairs, however as others have stated, contact your insurance company (hopefully you are insured), you may be able to nominate you choice of repairer once you have decided.

Macca.

Hi Andrew,
I agree here with a few guys, If your camper is insured, just use your own insurance. If your insurance company can claim on another party, you usually will get your excess back eventually. Any other path is time consuming and more hassle. Michael

Andrew,
I feel for you mate. Don't buy any more Tatts tickets - your good fortune has been tested to the extreme.
As others have suggested in my opinion, you are better off separating yourself from dealings with the park's insurer and deal with your own insurer. Your insurer has obligations to you that a third party insurer doesn't have. If you are not insured your claim is against the park owner - not his insurer unless the park has a specific cover for falling limbs. I have heard of such positions but I don't think it is common. They then seek indemnity from their liability insurer. You need to take care in drafting your claim if it gets to that. Also, as others have said, trees can be tricky when it comes to liability. There is quite a bit to it. Act of God is not specifically an insurance position. It is a common law defence - ie you can't be held liable for damage that was caused by things beyond your control ie storms etc. Don't assume that is the case automatically in your circumstances though - there is more to it.
Best case scenario - I would think your insurer would consider it an economically unrepairable proposition under the circumstances and pay you out the sum insured. If that was to occur, you could ask them if you could retain the salvage. They might be happy to negotiate that at a reasonable cost. Then you are at liberty to shop around for a canvas repairer to rebuild the tent with cash in your pocket. If they don't write it off the repair is up to them and the warranty afterwards is also their issue.
Good luck with it - hope it all works out for you.

Kenell

Hi Andrew.
Sorry to hear about your miss-fortune, what a way to be woken in the morning.

As others have suggested I would be going through your own insurance. They are more likely to get things done in a timely manner as they are looking for your next premium renewal. They are then also working for you to obtain all the costs involved from the guilty or responsible party.

Do not do, or organise, any repairs until you contact your insurer.

In most cases if the responsible party can be identified then any excess is either not paid, or is fully refunded when the costs are recovered.

Hope your day only gets better.
Regards
Athol

Close call. Glad all are ok. I assume there were no kids in there. That was my first though when I saw the pic.
Supapeg in Brisbane supply all the main camper builders and do custom poles.

+1 ( or is it +5 when counting the others in ) with going to your own insurance.

I for one believe we are accountable for our own actions - and that "act of God" is exactly that - something that cannot be foreseen and therefore not liable on the park.
Otherwise parks will simply cut off all trees (where's the shade then), and hike up their fees to cover their added insurance cost, or worse still stop camping altogether.
We always try to camp under the shade of a tree, knowingly, and with full knowledge that something might fall. It is our choice. It is no different if it is in my own backyard, out bush at a billabong, or in a council park.

CJ

Hi All,

Thanks for the suggestions. We're in the ACT so we don't have a huge selection of canvas repairers here....

I'll know more once I speak to the park's insurer on Monday. The park managers indicated any loss would be covered (but I'm well aware they don't get to make that decision, the insurance company does). And once I know the cost to fix/replace the tent then I can make a call on which path to go down.

Having had a short conversation with my insurer I got the feeling they hadn't received many claims like mine - where the trailer was fine but the tent was stuffed. They did give me the option to cut the tent and dump it there and then but I decided that with a bit of manoeuvring of bent frames etc, getting it back on top and under the cover would at least allow a decent template to be available to replace the whole thing.

The other option is to get a payout and then buy another (second hand) Customline (because the camper had served us well and despite them no longer existing, they were good honest no frills campers).....

There is some caravan insurers that won't cover you for tree limb dropping unless its caused by a storm