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UK Holiday Home Insurance

UK Holiday Home Insurance from Cover4LetProperty is aimed at people who have a second home, or a holiday home that they let, in the UK.

Using standard owner-occupier home insurance to cover a holiday let or second home will not suffice. This is because properties of this type tend to face different and often increased risks than a standard home.

If you have the ‘wrong’ type of buildings and / or contents insurance for your holiday home, you could find it is invalid. If you require verification on any aspect of the insurance cover which most suits your needs, therefore, then please call us on 01702 606301.

Key benefits and policy options include:

    • get immediate online quotations from specialist providers and buy online
    • loss of rental income and alternative accommodation costs
    • cover for periods when the property is unoccupied (subject to terms and conditions being met)
    • up to 20% discount if you have been claims-free for 3 years
    • options for accidental damage and breakages by the owner and / or guests – including malicious damage;
    • buildings and contents cover for theft, fire, lightning, explosion and subsidence
    • frost damage to fixed water tanks, apparatus or pipes
    • replacement of locks following theft or loss of keys up to ÂŁ750
    • property owner’s liability insurance up to ÂŁ5m
    • cover for domestic staff (e.g., cleaning or gardening staff) up to ÂŁ5m.

UK Holiday Home Insurance

Getting the most appropriate and cost-effective cover for your second home is important, so if you prefer to talk to us, please ‘phone us on 01702 606301 to discuss your own individual cover needs.

Holiday homes insurance FAQS

Following are some of the frequently asked questions we receive on insurance for holiday homes. If you have a question relating to your second home and insurance that we have not answered below, please get in touch! Please also feel free to browse the rest of the site for useful tips and guides.

What is holiday home insurance?

Insurance for homes is important. You are probably quite familiar with standard home insurance – as an owner occupier you are already likely to have taken the precaution of arranging home building and contents insurance.

If you own buy to let property, you may also know about specialist landlord insurance, which protects not only the bricks and mortar of your let property but also a number of those risks and liabilities which threaten the business itself.

In many respects, holiday home insurance might be as a unique blend of both home insurance and landlord insurance, since:

  • you own the property and probably occupy it from time to time as your holiday home away from home; and
  • because you are not using it all the time, however, a holiday home may also be a business and so offers a potential opportunity for earning extra income by letting the property to paying guests for parts of the year – you effectively take on the role of landlord to a succession of short-term tenants.

The special – almost hybrid – nature of holiday home insurance is what distinguishes it from both standard home insurance and landlord insurance.

Our own Guide to UK Holiday Homes may help to explain that need in somewhat greater detail.

Do you need it?

Do you need specialist holiday home insurance? To uncover the answer, it might be helpful to consider some of the basic principles of property insurance.

If you are a property owner, there is at least one simple and compelling reason for your insuring it:

  • you are likely to have made a significant investment in its purchase;
  • the building and its contents are vulnerable to a range of risks and perils, with the possibility of considerable damage or everything being totally destroyed;
  • without property insurance, you have no financial help in repairing the damage or rebuilding the property; so
  • you risk the loss of every penny you have invested.

Mortgaged homes

If you are buying any property with the help of a mortgage, the lender is almost certain to insist that you have building insurance to protect the structure and fabric of the property – the lender, of course, has an interest in safeguarding the security of the loan.

The same principles apply to the purchase of a second or holiday home.

What does holiday home insurance cover?

Just as there are many different types of holiday home, so there are various kinds of holiday home insurance. Nevertheless, all are likely to include the following key elements of insurance cover:

The building

  • protection for the structure and fabric of the property itself against such potentially serious risks as storm damage, flooding, fire, impacts, theft and vandalism – some of which might result in your holiday home being completely destroyed and in need of reconstruction;

The contents

  • insurance protection of the contents against theft, loss or damage – a detailed inventory may reveal quite how valuable, and expensive to replace, many of those contents may be;

Liability insurance – please see our next FAQ for further details

Unoccupied property cover

What also makes the holiday home a special case in insurance terms is the frequency and duration of periods when it is likely to be standing empty and unoccupied for a consecutive number of days (typically a property may be classed as unoccupied after 30-45 consecutive days or more of having no-one stay there, but this will depend on your insurance policy).

These are times when your holiday home is likely to be at its most vulnerable – not least because there is no one on the premises to raise the alarm if repairs or other immediate action is required.

Holiday home insurance therefore occupies a special place in the range of different types of property insurance – if you are fortunate to own such a second home, therefore, you might want to make sure that you have the appropriate, specialist form of holiday home insurance.

Additional elements of cover

There are other elements of holiday home insurance that you may require, such as loss of rent cover or accidental damage insurance. Depending on what insurance provider you got your insurance quote from, these may be included as standard or available as add-ons. Please ‘phone us on 01702 606301 if you are unsure as to what insurance cover you need, for an insurance quote, or to find out what your policy entails.

Please note that we can only provide an insurance quote for second home insurance for UK properties. Our holiday home policies do not cover properties overseas.

Do I need public liability insurance for a holiday let?

If you are wondering if you need public liability insurance for a rental property, then you should note that any property owner has a general duty of care to take all reasonable precautions against third parties, members of the public, or neighbours from sustaining an injury or suffering property damage through some sort of contact with your holiday home.

Holiday home insurance needs to provide you indemnity against that source of claim but needs to go further still because of similar liabilities you may have towards tenants and paying guests who become short-term tenants – in other words, an element of landlord’s liability insurance also needs to be included.

What are the different types of UK holiday home?

When considering insurance for a second home in the UK, bear in mind, that the properties themselves may come in all shapes and sizes.

They include the picture-postcard, chocolate-box cottage in a peaceful English village, or a beach house somewhere along the coast, of course, but the recent boom in staycation holidays means that holiday homes now also include luxuriously appointed lodge-style cabins – sometimes equipped to a higher standard than you might find in your own permanent home.

All are highly sought-after as holiday lets and, so, offer the opportunity for you to earn a little extra income through letting the accommodation to others for short periods of time.

Insurers invariably consider any property which is let to tenants – on however short a stay – to be more than usually vulnerable to loss or damage.

Specialist holiday home insurance – filling the role of holiday let insurance – is a necessity, therefore, to ensure that your interest not only as the owner of the holiday home, but also as its occasional landlord, is fully and appropriately covered by insurance.

How can I keep my holiday home safe?

As holiday homes are typically left unoccupied on a regular basis, it means they are more susceptible to burglary and theft as well as damage caused by maintenance issues that could go unnoticed.

Here are some pointers on what you can do to keep your second home safe …

Maintain your property

It is often the little things that go unnoticed which cause major damage to a property, such as a tiny leak in a water pipe causing water damage or blocked gutters damaging the structure of the building and causing damp.

That is why it is so important that you keep your second home just as properly maintained as your main residence.

Tackle small jobs as soon as they become evident and diarise seasonal checks of the property, such as checking the gutters, and looking at the roof for any loose or slipped tiles.

Regularly check the internal workings of your property to make sure there are no leaks or invasion of pests.

As part of your insurance cover, you will also be required to have annual Gas Safe registered checks of your boiler, so don’t forget to arrange this.

Apart from the legal obligations relating to electrical safety checks, it also makes sense to have regular inspections to check any electrical appliances as well as plug sockets.

While a lot of this may sound common sense, for some people, particularly those whose second home is at the other end of the country, it could be out of sight, out of mind.

Avoid break-ins

As part of your holiday home insurance, typically you will be required to have certain levels of security in place such as:

  • a regularly maintained burglar alarm;
  • 5 Lever Mortice Deadlocks (conforming to British Standard 3621) on external doors;
  • key operated bolts to top and bottom opening sections of patio doors in addition to a central locking device;
  • key operated security locks to all ground floor and other accessible windows.

While this may sound burglar proof, there are still additional steps you can take, such as moving valuable items out of immediate view of the window, as well as locking away smaller items.

Keep hedges and trees regularly trimmed so that anyone trying to break into your property can be seen from the street.

You could consider fitting security grills on ground floor windows for when the property is unoccupied. You can get retractable ones for when you have guests at the property.

Install security lights around the exterior of the property. Not only will this deter burglars but will make any guests returning to the property after dark feel safer.

Know your insurance cover

Finally, make sure you fully understand your obligations under your UK holiday home insurance. These could typically include informing your insurance provider if the property is going to be unoccupied for more than 30-45 consecutive days; preventative measures you need to take to avoid burst pipes during the winter; and so on.

What are the differences between a UK holiday home insurance policy and a second home insurance policy?

There is no difference whatsoever. They are two different names for the same type of specialist cover.

If my holiday home is being used purely by myself and my family and it not let to paying guests, do I still need holiday home insurance? Why can’t I use home buildings and contents insurance?

If you have a second or holiday home (so a property that is not your main residence) then you will need holiday home insurance. This is because your second home is unlikely to be occupied all the time, so will face greater risks.

A standard owner-occupier buildings and contents insurance policy would not cover these extra risks and any claim made under the “wrong” type of cover will typically be declined.

Does your policy include public liability injury to guests and third parties, and employers’ liability for injury to domestic staff, such as cleaners or gardeners at my second property?

At Cover4LetProperty, our policies include up to £2m public liability for guests and third parties (with options up to £5m), and up to £5m for domestic staff (contents only). Other policy providers’ limits and cover may be different.

Is my permanently installed jacuzzi / hot tub / swimming pool covered under the buildings section of the holiday home insurance?

You should check with your insurance provider. With Cover4LetProperty policies, these are covered, but there are some exclusions. For example, if your swimming pool / hot tub / jacuzzi is damaged by storm, flood or weight of snow or damaged by frost, then typically you will not be able to make a claim.

Are freezer contents covered?

At Cover4LetProperty we regret do not offer freezer contents cover within our second home insurance policies.

Are any discounts available when I buy my holiday home insurance from you? 

Yes, if you have had at least three years’ claim free under your existing holiday home insurance, we will discount your premiums up to 20%.

Is malicious damage to contents covered? 

Yes, it is under covered under our policies, provided the person who causes the damage has a lawful right to be within your property (for example, if they are a paying guest). Claim limits apply.

What happens if my property is left unoccupied for more than 30-45 consecutive days?

Please let us know. At Cover4LetProperty, as long as you advise us that the property will be unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days, your insurance policy remains valid.

Note that there are certain obligations you will need to fulfil, such as making regular, logged inspections of the property (typically every 30 days).

The property also needs to be furnished.

Why choose Cover4LetProperty for your insurance?

At Cover4LetProperty, we are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), so you can feel assured you are dealing with a reputable provider of insurance policies.

We provide ourselves on offering a quick quote and buy online service backed with a first-class customer service. All our customers are assigned a dedicated Account Handler. This person will help you from quotation through to placing you on cover with your insurance. They will be there if you have any questions or queries and will advise you in the unfortunate event of a claim.

If you would like to know more about this specialist cover, then please feel free to get in contact with us free on 01702 606 301, Monday-Friday.

Or drop us an email at cover4letproperty@alanblunden.co.uk and one of our highly qualified, friendly, staff will call you back.