Holiday Home – Insurance Guide

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Making sure that your holiday home has the right level of insurance cover is essential, as it could be rented out or left unoccupied for days or weeks at a time.  If you’re insuring a holiday home for the first time, or you want to check that you have the right holiday home insurance to meet your needs, then this article can help you to protect your property.  Whether your holiday home is a house, a villa, a flat or a lodge, then it’s worth talking to a specialist holiday home insurer.  As well as understanding your requirements, you may well find that the insurance is less expensive.

What does holiday home insurance cover?

Policies differ but your main goal is to protect your home and the contents inside, so holiday home insurance mainly comprises buildings and contents cover. 

Buildings insurance covers the structure of your property against risks such as fire, storm and flood, and could assist in repairs or building work that may need to be carried out if the property is damaged.  You must take into consideration the cost to rebuild your home to make sure you that have the right level of buildings cover.

Be specific with your insurer and let them know exactly what you would like covered.  If, for example, you these must be specifically added to your policy.  

Contents insurance can cover possessions inside your home and it’s essential if you are letting out your home – either to friends and family or on a commercial basis.  Normal home insurance will cover your family and guests in your home, however if you are renting your property, you face extra risks as a landlord.  You must take into consideration the cost of the contents inside your holiday home to make sure you have sufficient cover. 

Consider all aspects of your insurance!

For example, emergency travel cover is included as standard for some countries, which may be a significant cost if you need to visit your property in the case of an emergency.  You are also covered for the loss of rental income if you are unable to rent your holiday home for a period of time – for example if it is damaged by flood or fire.

What type of property can holiday home insurance cover?

There are numerous types of properties that can be covered under holiday home insurance, such as: holiday apartments in coastal resorts, holiday lodges in holiday parks, holiday cottages, villas or houses in the UK or abroad and holiday caravans. 

Do I need to let my insurer know it will be a holiday home?

Yes you do!  A standard home insurance policy could be invalid if you do not let your insurer know it is not your main home.  If your holiday home is left unoccupied for more than 30 days, a standard home insurance policy will not cover you.  You must request cover for a property that is not your main residence to avoid non-payment in the event of claim.  Making sure you have the right level of cover for your holiday home is essential, so always read the policy documents. 

What sort of cover could I get if I insure my property with My Holiday Home

Insurance? 

Standard holiday home insurance buildings cover includes:

  • Comprehensive cover for loss or damage directly caused by fire, storms, lightning, weight of snow, fallen trees
  • Damage caused by escape of oil or water
  • Subsidence cover
  • Alternative accommodation cover
  • Emergency travel cover
  • Public liability cover up to £5million

Standard holiday home contents cover includes:

  • Household goods and personal property within the home
  • Accidental damage to televisions, audio and video equipment and computers
  • Theft of contents in the outbuildings
  • Garden furniture up to £1,000
  • Domestic freezer contents up to £500 

Optional Cover:

Accidental damage to both buildings and contents. (Please note that this is excluded when the property is let.)

Please note that terms and conditions apply.  Further information is available on what cover is included with our holiday home insurance policies, and you can download an example policy document and a policy summary of holiday home insurance.

Contact us  for more information about holiday home insurance, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

 

Holiday Home – Winter Preparation

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Enjoying your Holiday Home in Winter

After such a long, hot summer, Autumn is upon us and it’s time to prepare for winter. Cold bright winter days are an ideal time to go for countryside or coastal walks when holiday resorts are less crowded, and it’s a great time to see wildlife. It’s a good to plan ahead now and take a few precautions to ensure that your holiday home provides a cosy retreat in the colder weather.

Ten tips on preparing your holiday home for winter

  1. Ensure that your boiler is serviced regularly, ideally before the winter months
  2. Check the roof for broken or missing tiles and slates and have them repaired or replaced
  3. When you can, keep the house warm and the heating on to avoid frozen pipes
  4. Ensure that you know the location of the stopcock in case you need to turn off the water in your holiday home quickly
  5. Repair any dripping taps
  6. Clear drains and gutters to avoid any blockages – especially important at this time of year because of all the fallen leaves
  7. If your holiday home is in the UK, visit the environment agency website to check if it is at risk of flooding
  8. Install insulation in the loft to reduce heat loss through the roof
  9. Seal any gaps around the edges of doors and windows to prevent draughts, but still try to maintain good ventilation
  10. Check your insurance policy for its unoccupancy clause and save your holiday home insurer’s contact details on your phone in case of an emergency

Taking these steps could help you to avoid the stress of having to make a claim and allow you to enjoy your holiday home in the winter months.

If you’ll be staying in your holiday home less frequently, then check your insurance policy for conditions relating to unoccupancy and see the information below as a general guide.

Unoccupancy

If your holiday home is left without an occupant for 60 consecutive days or more you must ensure that a responsible person is appointed to supervise and check the property both internally and externally at least once every 60 days.

Between 1st November and 31st March (both days inclusive) if the holiday home is left without an occupant for more than 48 hours you must ensure that the main water supply is turned off by means of a stopcock at the first available point of entry of the water supply to the home. Where the home is left without an occupant for 14 consecutive days, in addition all water tanks must be emptied by leaving both hot and cold kitchen taps fully open.

Alternatively, you may leave the water supply turned on between 1st November and 31st March (both days inclusive) as long as the following applies:

  1. The entire home benefits from a heating system (either gas or oil -fired central heating or a geothermal or full electric heating system – not night storage heaters) fitted with automatic controls and a separate thermostat. The system must be set to operate continuously for 24 hours of each day (not controlled by any timing device) and the thermostat set at not less than 10 degrees Celsius and, where fitted, the loft hatch door left open.

or:

  1. If the heating system as described above is installed and is additionally fitted with a “frost stat” that is designed and installed to override all other heating controls, irrespective of their functional status, then this may be set to operate at not less than 4 degrees Celsius.

If you have any queries about the conditions of your holiday home insurance policy, then see the example holiday home insurance policy or call our customer service team on 01604 946 787.

This is a marketing article from My Holiday Home Insurance, a specialist provider of insurance for holiday homes, leisure homes, holiday lodges and static caravans. To stay up to date with similar topics, please like and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Wrap up well and stay safe and warm this winter.