Holiday home cover for properties for your own use or for rental.
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Escape of water is included as standard. There are certain conditions dependent upon your occupancy and the country where your holiday home is located so please check the policy wording.
Our UK and overseas holiday home policies cover damage caused by storm, flood and weight of snow. Please see your policy wording for full details of relevant exclusions.
We have a dedicated, specialist team to help you set up your policy, make changes to your policy and renew your policy. They are available weekdays between 9am – 7pm.
In the event that your home becomes uninhabitable, we can cover the cost of alternative accommodation or loss of rent, subject to the cover limits shown in your policy wording.
Whether you use your holiday home for yourself or choose to let it out, it is important to ensure you are covered for liability to the public or any domestic employees. Our policies include liability cover up to the amounts shown within your policy wording and schedule, with the potential to increase the cover as required.
If your property experiences a claim that exceeds £1500, with the insurer’s agreement, you will be able to claim for the cost of a return journey by air, sea, or rail to your holiday home to enable you to better manage the situation (subject to the limits set out within your policy wording).
We call this 'escape of water or oil', and this cover is included as standard. Terms and conditions will apply dependent upon on the occupancy and whether the property is furnished. For full details please refer to the policy wording which is available during the quotation process.
Should you need to claim on your holiday home insurance policy, to ensure you have a simple and straightforward claims experience, we utilise a UK based claims call centre staffed by insurance professionals. They will have access to your policy wording, which is tailored to be compliant with local requirements wherever your holiday home is located.
When you need to make a claim, we'll guide you through the process and get your claim settled as quickly as possible.
Holiday homes need a specific insurance policy, as they can be left unoccupied, rented out or located abroad. Whether you've got a flat or a villa, in the UK or abroad, read our article and video guide to protecting your holiday home.
Your holiday home is probably made of bricks and tiles, or something similar, just like any other home; so why do you need specific holiday home insurance? The truth is, that while a holiday home is subject to many of the same risks as any standard home, there are additional ones; and these are often not covered by standard home insurance.
The first factor to consider in this instance is whether the property is in the UK or overseas. Properties outside of the UK are likely to always need holiday home insurance, especially if the property is being let to others for short periods throughout the year and you are not staying at the property for the majority of the year yourself.
Similarly, if the property is in the UK and you are using the property intermittently throughout the year, or if the property is short-term let to others, you are most likely to be suited to a holiday home policy.
The next factor to consider when distinguishing between a holiday home and a second home is the frequency and routine with which you occupy the property.
If there is no regular pattern or frequency for your occupation of the property, then it would be best suited to the holiday home product. An example would be if you only go to the property during the school holidays, so there are periods of unoccupancy in between your visits.
If, however, you have a set pattern for your occupation of the property such as every weekend, fortnightly, monthly, then you would be better suited to a second home insurance policy. This is due to the property being left unoccupied for shorter periods of time between your stays and thus reducing the risk of certain claims.
Property insurance cover has two main goals: to protect the building and to protect the contents.
Key factors to consider about holiday home cover are:
We understand that a sense of security and comfort is important, so we provide cover for reasonable cost to replace locks, keys, alarm systems and domestic safes - up to the limits specified within your policy wording.
Our holiday home insurance policy can only cover properties in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Spain, France, Portugal, Southern Cyprus, and Greece.
If you are planning on renting your property, you will need to let us know so that we can update your policy. Optional extended cover for accidental damage is also available for rental guests, subject to policy conditions. Speak to one of our friendly advisors to find out more.
Swimming pools and fixed hot tubs (excluding soft tubs) are included under our definitions of buildings and so are covered under your policy. Please review your policy wording in full for details of any applicable exclusions.
Our policies allow cover for valuable and portable items, however, we will not cover any item already covered under your main residence/UK home insurance. Please review your policy wording for our definition of valuables and the limits of cover.
If you prefer to spread the cost of your annual premium, we offer a quick and easy Direct Debit scheme. When you choose to pay premiums in instalments, you will be paying under a premium finance plan. We will give you full details of the finance provider, and the additional cost of finance, when we provide you with your payment plan quotation. This will include the total payable, the number of monthly instalments and the cost of each, as well as the representative APR.
Getting the right insurance for your property or properties is the key to protecting what’s probably your biggest investment. But for most people it’s still just an annual hassle - and they try and get it over and done with as quickly and cheaply as possible.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is in not reading their policy documents, or taking the time to understand the nuances of their cover. You could be paying for something you don’t need, or missing something you really DO need. You’re not going to know unless you actually read the policy.
Lots of us just let our policy auto-renew each year, without looking around at what else is available. Switching providers really can save you money, especially if your current insurance provider has hiked up the price since last year.
If you are shopping around, and particularly if you’re using price comparison sites, just make sure you’re comparing like with like. Not all policies are the same. There will be different inclusions and exclusions, and different levels of cover. The cheapest policy might not actually be the right one – and might not cover everything you need it to.
One way to make sure you’re getting insurance that you can really trust is to look for industry quality markers – for instance a Defaqto score. It’s an independent organisation that has a 5 star rating system for the quality and comprehensiveness of financial services products.
You probably wouldn’t pick a restaurant without checking out what other diners say about it – and the same should apply to insurance and their providers! Take a look at what people are saying on trusted service review sites. Not all customers will be happy all of the time, but it might help you to find out what people are saying, and how the organisation responds.
Make sure you’re really honest – with yourself and with your insurer and you broker - about your property, how you use it, and what particular risks it faces. Do you travel a lot – how long is it really left unoccupied? Is it actually in a good state of repair? How is it built? Is it listed? Is it a second home? A holiday home? Do you have frequent guests, do they pay? Do you work from home? Have you had previous criminal convictions? Do you really know what type of door and window locks you have, or how old your boiler is? How much of your roof really is flat?
If you don’t reveal everything about your property you won’t get the cover you might well need, and in a worst-case scenario your policy could be voided when you come to make a claim.
One of the things people often don’t know about their property is their BSI or Building Sum Insured. It’s not the value of the property if it were for sale, but what it would cost to rebuild the property to the same standard from scratch. Over estimate and it can put your premium up, under estimate and if you did have to rebuild, you might not have enough cover.
For standard properties, a good place to start is with the BSI calculator from the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS).
Don’t be afraid to talk to your insurer or broker about deals. For instance, it may be you can get a discount if you’ve got multiple properties with one provider - or plan to move them across when they come up for renewal.
If something has changed at your property, do make sure to let your insurance company know about it when it happens. If it’s a change to how you use the property, a new bathroom or a refurbishment, you might need to update your cover options mid-term to make sure you stay on the right policy.
If the property is going to be unoccupied for more than 30 days, most standard home insurance policies will not cover you. This is due to the increased risk of damage caused by incidents such as burst water pipes, storm damage and break-ins, which could be limited if you are present.
For example, a water leak can cause serious damage to a property if nobody is there for an extended period, whereas if you are at the property every day you would notice the damage quickly and therefore the extent should be reduced.
A holiday home policy will be able to cater for extended periods of inoccupancy, meaning that unoccupied property cover is not required. However, it is important to be aware of the restrictions and requirements imposed on a property during the unoccupied periods.
Holiday home insurance is designed to account for the increased risks resulting from renting the property out. If you are short-term letting the property to holidaymakers then holiday home insurance would be better suited than second home insurance, which is primarily for your personal use on a set occupancy pattern.
Many types of property can be covered under holiday home insurance, including chalets, villas, flats, houses, listed buildings and even overseas static caravans.
If your holiday home is a long way from your main residence then you might want to look for a policy which offers temporary accommodation cover. If an insured event (such as a fire or flood) meant you couldn’t stay at your property, alternative accommodation could be very expensive while the damage was being repaired and this protection could cover that cost.
We have provided a summary of the key features of the policy, above. For details of the terms and conditions applicable, please refer to the insurance product information document and policy wording, which are available during the quotation process. We have provided a summary of key features in the product information documents linked below.
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