Are you preparing your second home for a new season of holidays? Then it’s probably a good time to think about your UK holiday home insurance. Ensuring that your property is covered by the appropriate type of cover is one of the fool-proof ways of protecting your investment.
What is UK holiday home insurance and why do you need it?
UK holiday home insurance is similar to your regular home insurance in that protection against loss or damage to the building itself and to its contents (if required) are core components of any policy. But there are significant variances – and these make all the difference.
Unlike your main place of residence, for example, you might:
- use your second home as a weekend retreat or for holidays with your family or friends;
- rent out your holiday home for short-term lets;
- need to take in to account periods when your holiday home might also stand empty and unoccupied for significant parts of the year.
UK holiday home insurance is specifically designed to extend cover to these unique sets of circumstances. That’s why you need specialist holiday home insurance and cannot rely on standard home insurance.
What types of UK holiday home insurance cover are available?
In addition to the core elements designed to protect against loss or damage to the structure and fabric of the building or (optionally) to its contents, UK holiday home insurance typically may also incorporate a whole raft of further advantages or additional add-ons:
- public liability insurance will be essential if you let your holiday home – however irregularly or short-term – because it indemnifies you against injury or property damage suffered by your guests or tenants;
- malicious damage – some policies may include cover against malicious or accidental damage caused by your short-term tenants;
- unoccupied property insurance – your holiday home may be more than usually vulnerable to extended periods when it is unoccupied. UK holiday home insurance may, therefore, typically provide cover for periods when the property is unoccupied (subject to terms being met);
- loss of rental income – common to many landlord insurance policies, loss of rental income cover will compensate you for income lost if your holiday home is temporarily uninhabitable following an insured loss.
What exclusions should you watch out for?
As with many other forms of general insurance, there are exclusions and policy requirements to which you must pay attention.
These will vary from one policy to another but typically may relate to:
- loss or damage caused through fair wear and tear;
- an obligation to maintain the property in a good state of repair; and,
- regular inspection visits during times when your holiday home is unoccupied.
What should you look for in a UK holiday let insurance policy?
When reviewing or renewing your UK holiday home insurance, you might want to pay particular attention to the limits of cover provided and the relevant sums insured, any exclusions and policy requirements etc.
If you are unsure of any aspect of your cover, please do contact us, and we’d be very happy to clarify.
Summary
As you prepare to begin or renew your holiday home insurance, it is important to understand precisely what the policy entails. This will include any cover options, along with extras or additional elements of protection likely to be especially relevant to your particular property.
When comparing policies, of course, it is important to make sure you are comparing like with like to find the most suitable cover.
Remember that we are always here at Cover4LetProperty to answer any queries about your UK holiday home insurance or to offer you a quote. For further reading, check out our Guide to UK holiday homes.
