It’s a place of escape, somewhere to retreat, and probably a favourite holiday haunt. But let’s be honest, insurance is hardly the most exciting aspect of owning a second home. To avoid giving it a second thought, you might be tempted to activate an automatic renewal each year.
But, in fact, your second home insurance renewal is worth more than a passing thought and reflex renewal. Let 2026 be the time for a more considered review.
Reasons why you might be glad you reviewed your holiday home insurance for 2026
Change is all around us – and that goes for the insurance of your second home just as much as anything else. An annual policy review may help to ensure that you keep abreast of those changes as far as your holiday home is concerned.
Review for relevance
An annual UK holiday home insurance review is designed to check whether your current insurance continues to offer the cover you need. So, check:
- are the sums insured still relevant (have you added a new kitchen, for example)?
- are you planning to let your holiday home this season?
- have you added (or taken away) possessions to increase the contents insurance?
- and so on.
These are all the types of question to raise in any second home insurance renewal exercise.
Valuation update
One of the main changes that may typically affect the insurance of your second home is likely to be reflected in its rebuild valuation. The rebuild valuation of the property is critical for calculating the total building sum insured – the total amount payable by your insurer in the event of a total loss.
This valuation and the total building sum insured envisage a severe damage scenario in which your holiday home is so damaged it must be demolished and rebuilt – with insurance to cover those costs, along with fees for services such as engineers, architects, solicitors, and site clearance etc.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) offers a free calculator (at the time of writing) for those reconstruction costs – and may help you calculate the relevant sum before completing your UK holiday home insurance renewal.
Insurance also relies on regular maintenance
One of the conditions of the insurance for your second home – just as with any other type of property insurance – is that the structure and fabric of the building are kept in a good state of repair.
To ensure you are complying with that requirement, your second home insurance renewal review might also be just the time to check and activate your maintenance schedule for the property.
How Cover4LetProperty can help
Insurance for your second home might not have been uppermost in your mind as you prepare for the coming season of spring and summer. But a second home insurance renewal review is likely to prove invaluable – to ensure that you have the cover you need, with terms that remain appropriate.
At Cover4LetProperty, we understand that no two second/holiday homes are the same, and insurance needs can change over time. Whether your property is used occasionally, left unoccupied for parts of the year, or let to paying guests, it’s important that cover reflects how the home is actually used.
We can help you review your existing arrangements, talk through any changes to occupancy or use, and explain how different policy features may apply in practice.
Our role is to help you explore insurance options that are the most appropriate for your circumstances, subject to insurer terms, conditions and underwriting criteria, so you can make an informed decision about your cover.
Further reading: Holiday let insurance UK: Essential cover for short-term rental owners in 2026.
