CaSSOA, explained

By British Classic Cars · Last reviewed May 25, 2026

Part of our guide: British classic car glossary

CaSSOA is the Caravan Storage Site Owners’ Association, the UK trade body that accredits storage facilities to a published set of security standards. Despite the caravan in the name, the membership has broadened substantially over the years to include facilities specialising in classic cars, motorhomes, motorbikes, trailers and other valuable vehicles. For classic-car owners, CaSSOA accreditation is the most widely-recognised signal that a storage facility meets professional standards for security, fire safety, and operational practice.

The Gold / Silver / Bronze rating system

CaSSOA accredits member facilities at three levels. The grade reflects the cumulative scoring across perimeter security, internal security, access control, fire-prevention measures, lighting, CCTV coverage, staffing arrangements, and several other criteria. In rough terms:

Gold sites have the strongest combination of physical security (substantial perimeter fencing, intruder-resistant gates, 24-hour monitored CCTV in many cases), procedural security (logged access, regular patrols, named-driver-only entry), and fire-prevention infrastructure (proper extinguishers, sprinkler or suppression systems in indoor storage, hot-work permits for any maintenance). Insurance discounts at specialist insurers are most generous for Gold-rated sites.

Silver sites meet the same broad set of criteria at a lower-but-still-substantial standard. They typically have full perimeter security and CCTV but may not match the staffing and procedural depth of a Gold site.

Bronze sites meet the entry-level CaSSOA requirements: perimeter security, basic CCTV, controlled access. Bronze is still a meaningful step up from leaving a car on a public driveway, but it’s the floor of the rated scheme rather than the ceiling.

The full criteria for each grade are published by CaSSOA on their website and reviewed periodically. Member sites are inspected and re-graded on a rolling basis.

Why insurers care

Specialist classic-car insurers (Hagerty, Footman James, Adrian Flux, Lancaster, Heritage Insurance Services, Carole Nash and others) treat CaSSOA accreditation as a significant input to the risk model. A car stored at a Gold-rated site presents a much lower theft risk than the same car on an unattended driveway, and the premium typically reflects that.

The discount varies by insurer and isn’t always advertised upfront; it tends to show up when you compare quotes with different storage details supplied. Some policies are written conditional on storage at a CaSSOA Gold or Silver site for the agreed value to apply, particularly for higher-value vehicles.

Why owners care beyond insurance

Aside from the insurance question, owners look for CaSSOA accreditation for the same reasons insurers do: it’s a quick proxy for “this facility takes security seriously.” A Gold-rated site will typically have:

• A staffed entrance during business hours, plus monitored access outside hours
• Vehicle-by-vehicle logged collection and drop-off
• Restricted access (you can usually only collect your own car; third parties cannot collect without prior written authorisation)
• A specific approach to fire risk, including no unauthorised work on vehicles in storage
• Pest control, climate management in indoor facilities, regular maintenance walk-rounds

These are the things that distinguish a purpose-built classic-car storage facility from a generic warehouse with a fence around it.

How to find a CaSSOA site near you

CaSSOA maintains a searchable directory of member sites on their official website. The directory shows the grade for each site, the postcode area, the contact details, and any specialisations (classic-car-only, indoor-only, heated, climate-controlled).

When choosing a facility, the practical considerations beyond CaSSOA grade are:

• Distance from home (a Gold site you can’t easily visit becomes Bronze in practice)
• Indoor versus outdoor storage (most classic-car owners want indoor)
• Climate control or simple drying (matters for long-stored cars)
• Access hours (some facilities are 24/7, others 9-to-5)
• Pricing and payment terms (usually monthly or annual)

The storage hub on this site covers the full picture of choosing a storage facility for a classic car, with CaSSOA accreditation as one input among several.

Related

• Classic car storage covers the broader topic of where and how to store a classic.
• Agreed value insurance is the typical insurance structure on cars in long-term storage.
• Historic vehicle status is the DVLA tax class many stored cars sit in.