Holiday Home Insurance

Assetsure are pleased to be able to offer Holiday Home Insurance, (sometimes referred to as overseas property insurance), a class of insurance business that is sometimes a little difficult to obtain cover for. With a buy to let building, you purchase a property as an investment, rent it out to a tenant and hopefully the rent received will cover your mortgage rate costs and at some stage in the future, you will be able to sell the property and make a profit. Holiday home ownership on the other hand presents you with other more attractive opportunities. Many people are now buying holiday homes in their favourite areas as a means of having a second home that they can enjoy and also as a means of providing an income via short term holiday letting. Later you can choose to retire to the property or sell it and receive the benefit of valuable tax concessions. The tax man considers holiday home ownership to be earned income and you are taxed accordingly.

Why is Holiday Home Insurance so difficult to place?

One of the main reason it can sometimes be difficult to find adequate holiday hoe insurance is the periods of occupancy that are sometimes associated with Holiday Homes. It is often possible that property is unoccupied for many months and insurers are worried about the increased likelihood of Theft, Burst Pipe & Flood Claims. Holiday home insurance can be difficult to source for this reason. Of course if your Holiday Home is located in Spain, then the chances of you experiencing burst pipe claims are diminished and this will factored in to the premium that insurers charge. However, in the United Kingdom burst pipes and more recently flooding are quite common. At Assetsure, we are able to offer your Buildings & Contents holiday home Insurance for your Holiday Home and provide you with a similar set of insurance perils that you would expect to receive under your own home insurance policy for your UK Home. If your property is located in Spain or France for example, the cover will be tailor made to fit local requirements and local tax rules. One of the other problems experienced by owners of Holiday Homes is obtaining the appropriate insurance cover for public liability should you decided to rent your property out for commercial purposes (or perhaps just to other family members and friends.) If this is this case, even if it is only for a few weeks of the year, you must inform your insurance company or you may find that in the event of a claim, you do not receive the full cover. At Assetsure, the policies we arrange will allow you to rent or lend the premises and you will receive the correct Public Liability cover.

Tips on Finding Suitable Holiday Home Insurance

When arranging your holiday home insurance, the same principles apply as to standard home insurance. You will need to calculate your building sum insured and make sure it is adequate as well as providing a new for old replacement value on the holiday home contents. It is worth remembering that many insurers will not want to insure valuable items that are left in the holiday home, these would include items of jewellery or valuable collections for example. To make sure you holiday letting business runs as smoothly as possible, we suggest that you compile a comprehensive inventory of the contents in the property. Photographs of larger items help and a note of the condition they are supplied in. At the start of any rental period it should be pointed out to your guests that any breakages should be paid for and the method by which you intend to take payment. Serious incidents at the property such as Fires, Floods or Break-ins should be reported immediately.

Rules and Regulations for Renting Out Your Holiday Home

Before you rent out your holiday home, it is important that you not only find adequate holiday home insurance, but you are fully aware of all the rules and regulations relating to running this type of business. Holiday homes in the UK, will be subject to different rules and regulations, to those in France and Spain. It is important that you make yourself fully aware of your legal obligations before you allow your home or dream holiday cottage to be occupied by tenants. In the United Kingdom, your property will be subject to specialist requirements, for example you will need to make sure that all furniture supplied with the holiday home satisfies the fire & furnishings safety regulations. This law is often overlooked, particularly by people that are letting out their own property, perhaps just to make some extra money. There are other laws relating to the use of gas appliances and safety certificates and you will also have to make sure that all electrical appliances are safe for use. Local letting agents are usually up to speed on all the requirements, but you may not want to pay for their services. If you do not use a specialist holiday home letting company, you may find that the local tourist information office or local council will be able to able to give you guidelines to help you comply with any requirements.

Renting your holiday home abroad, may prove a little more complicated and it would be wrong to assume that whilst France & Spain (members of the EU), that their property letting rules and regulations are the same as ours. This is not the case, in fact on the continent, you will find that more “localised” rules apply and in some cases, they can be quite complicated. In France for example any property that has more than 5 bedrooms is classed as a small hotel and will thus require specialised fire protection equipment. This is where the services of a notary can prove really useful. Always check the current rules and regulations before you rent your property.

General Homeowner Tips for Renting Out Your Holiday Home

Of course running a holiday let takes a bit more work than a buy to let, in the later, you select your tenant and hopefully they will stay for quite some time. Holiday lets traditionally involve periods of less than 30 days and taking booking etc can be quite time consuming. The individual that wishes to take on the letting responsibility must be fairly confident that they are able to offer a service to incoming guests. If you purchase your property in a popular tourist area, you will probably find a selection of good quality holiday home agents are available, many actually specialize in holiday home lets and the value of having an expert in this type of rental cannot be under estimated. A further advantage of using a local agent is that they will have experience of the area and you are more likely to rent your property from an agency that specializes in this area of the market as they will no doubt be attracting inquiries from an established client bank. Keeping you home in a good condition is of paramount importance, holiday home owners find that their guests are quite loyal and with a little bit of work you can almost guarantee that your holiday cottage will rent year after year.

If you do own a Holiday Home, the following risk management techniques may make keeping your property claim free easier:

Arrange for the property to be kept looking tidy at all times. This would involve preventing build up of rubbish around the property.
Arranging for the removal of postage, circulars such as pizza offers, free newspapers etc.
Make sure the pipes are well lagged.
Drain down the water systems and switch off electrics during period on occupancy.
See if you can arrange for a trusted local person to keep an eye on the property for you.
Consider the services of a professional agent if you intend to do a lot of letting.
Letting your renters know their responsibilities can help prevent almost all disagreements with regard to letting your holiday home.
Before you rent out your holiday home make sure that it is fully compliant with all rules and regulations.
Make sure that your have insurance for your holiday home from a specialist insurance company who are aware exactly how you intend to use the property.
Prepare a detailed inventory.
Make your guests aware of all of their responsibilities.
Provide them with a property hand book.
Deal with any enquires as quickly as possible to help ensure maximum bookings.
Being honest with your advertising.
Make sure you obtain full cleared payment before you release the keys to the property.
Take a security deposits that reflects the value of the contents you have supplied with the holiday home.
Clearly state in the contract for letting, how soon after the holiday period that you will return the deposit to the renter.

See what customers are saying about our cover...

Latest News and Advice

More news

Spanish Rental Property

For many people, buying a Spanish Rental Property is the first step to moving on a permanent basis, often people will spend part of the year at their Holiday Home and for the rest of the time it is empty. Renting out your own home can help pay the bills especially if you have a mortgage on the property to contend with. Spain is a very popular tourist destination and with the right amount of advertising, you may find renting your property to be quite easy....

Spanish Property Contracts

With all the talk about house prices in Spain we thought it would be a good idea to run over a few tips for purchasing a home and some things to look out for. The housing market in Spain is a bit up and down at the moment so take your time before you rush in to any purchases. The golden rule of purchasing from a selection of apartment rentals in spain is never sign any legal document until you have had it checked over by your solicitor....

Spanish CGT Rebate

During the last 20 years the price of holiday homes in Spain have enjoyed an unprecedented boom, with values reaching a peak in 2007. Many UK residents though decided to dispose of their property and were subject to capital gains tax, levied by the Spanish government. If you were previously the owner of a holiday home property in Spain and disposed of the property between 1997 and the end of 2006, you would have paid 35% capital gains tax on the sale whereas Spanish residents only paid 15% tax. Many thought this was unfair and The European Court of Justice have now confirmed legal arguments put forward by a Spanish lawyer, representing a larger number of sellers that this difference in the amount of tax charged, contravenes European Community Treaty discrimination rules and should not have been charged at this level....

Spanish Apartment Insurance

The purchase of Apartments in Spain has become very popular, prices have been increasing steadily and more and more people ( first time buyers mainly) are buying Apartments as a means of getting on the ladder. Apartments are seen as a good bet, they are more affordable, you can use them for your family holidays and if they are correctly sited, you can obtain a good rental income to help pay the bills. Obtaining Contents Insurance for your Spanish apartment can be costly and time consuming but we are able to issue a policy to cover you which can be extended to include cover on a first loss basis for your portion of the Building. Our policy wording has been specially written to cover Spanish property so you can rest assured that all the special clauses will be taken care of...

Spain Guide Zaragoza

Zaragoza province is situated in the district of Aragon located in northern Spain. it is also the name of the capital city of the same region and of the former Kingdom of Aragon. It has a population of nearly 900, 000 and nearly three quarters these people live in the capital city. This beautiful region of Spain offers a wide diversity of landscapes and architecture and there is something for everyone here. Holiday home ownership is not widespread by any property located near Zaragosa city will give the occupants access to a modern cosmopolitan city whilst retaining the feel of being away from it all. This area has a warm Mediterranean climate and you will find a healthy amount of property in this region that is ripe for conversion in to modern dwelling houses. Visitors simply love this province. The scenery is very varied: from the foothills of the Pyrenees to the high, snow-capped peaks of El Moncayo in the Iberian mountains. There are also vast wheat growing plains and beautiful valleys. Of all the territories that make up Aragon, this has the, most to offer the person that wishes to settle in this part of Spain....

Spain Guide Teruel

Teruel is a district in the Spanish province of Aragon. First mentioned in the 10th century it has a broad and diverse history that can clearly be seen through it’s buildings and architecture. As with Huesca, there is very little in the way of Holiday home ownership in this district. There is some agriculture but very little else in the way of industry. The area has something of a reputation for a fairly harsh climate producing some extremes in temperature, in the winter months; temperatures can drop to -20 degrees. Teruel is well known for producing some wonderful hams. But apart from this it can best be described as a very picturesque backwater....

Spain Guide Tenerife

Tenerife is probably the most well known of the Canary Islands, it is the largest and has the most diverse features in terms of landscape. This volcanic island is dominated by Mount Teide, the largest peak in Spain which rises some 3700 meters above sea level and is a landmark throughout the archipelago. The extremes of temperature on Tenerife are best demonstrated by the fact that during the winter months, Mount Teide can be covered with snow whilst on the beaches below; people are swimming and basking in the sun. Tenerife started to emerge some 5 million years ago and the whole island gravitates towards the central mountain region. This whole area is now a national park and at it’s eastern entrance, the El Portillo information centre can provide you with information and you will also have the opportunity to join walking tours of the area....

Spain Guide Taking Pets

When emigrating, one of the major considerations is what to do with your pets. Most people want to take their pets with them and moving to Spain should not present you with too many problems. To take your pet to Spain, you do not any special type of permit other than an animal export certificate. This document will be issued to you after a successful medical examination by a veterinary surgeon based in the United Kingdom. The certificate must be prepared and presented to you no more than 15 days prior to your entry in to Spain. An application for a certificate and valuable information with regard to other regulations may be obtained from the Department of the Environment....

Spain Guide Residency

Spain as a country has changed considerably in the last 40 years. In this relatively short space of time it has achieved what many other countries have taken several centuries to do. Spain is now considered to be a western democracy with all the usual elections you would expect from this type of society. The country is both economically and socially very stable. Through more difficult times Spain has always been blessed with the fact that it is a naturally beautiful country and when in 1959 the Spanish government lifted the requirement for holidaymakers to have visas the tourist industry was born and Spanish economic revival began....

Spain Guide Lanzerote

Lanzerote is a firm favourite with holiday makers and has been so for many years. It is the eastern most of all the Canary Islands and is situated less than 126 kilometres from the coast of North West Africa. It has a developed market for persons wishing to buy holiday homes but often property is in short supply. There are approximately 1123,000 residents on Lanzerote, many of the local people are now employed in the tourist industry and the population is growing and a steady pace, people are attracted to this island because of it’s peace and quite and relatively simple way of life. It’s capital Arrecife has many small shops and plenty of wonderful restaurants The larger cosmopolitan establishments much in evidence on Tenerife & Gran Canaria are not yet on Lanzerote and perhaps this is a good thing....

Spain Guide La Palma

La Palma is one of the smaller of the canary islands and is the furthest away from the North African coastline. Affectionately known as La Isla Bonita or La Isla Verde, if is often considered superior to the other Canary Islands on account of it’s out standing natural beauty....

Spain Guide La Gomera

La Gomera is the second smallest of the Canary Islands and is dome shaped containing a sunken central plateau. The island like all of it’s near neighbours is of volcanic origin and rises to nearly 5000 feee at the central peak of Garajonay. It is 23Km by 25Km at it’s widest points but the roads can be tricky and circumnavigating it can be difficult. La Gomera is characterized by it’s deep ravines or barrancos. There is hardly any coastal flat land on this island and this has helped it escape the mass tourist industry. Holiday Home ownership is not that evident on this island although there is some property that can be rented for holiday purposes and there are two recognized resorts on the island as well as some fine hotels. The island has a tiny airport that communicates with Tenerife but most persons arriving from Northern Europe on charter flights will land at Tenerife South and then take the 40 minute ferry trip to La Gomera. If you take the ferry, you will arrive at San Sebastian and unlike El Hierro, there is documented evidence that Columbus stopped here in 1492 to visit the church Iglesia de la Asuncion....

Spain Guide Huesca

Huesca is the name of a district located in the Spanish province of Aragon. It is also the name of the capital town. Located at the foot of the Pyrenees it is known as a centre for agriculture. Huesca is bounded by the mountain ranges, Gratel, Gabardiella and Guara in the North and in the South by Tardienta and Granen. It also shares a border with France via the Somport, Portalet & Bielsa passes. This quiet district of Spain is easy to reach by both road and air transport. There is a modern dual carriageway that links Huesca with Zaragoza. You can catch a bus to Zaragoza, Barcelona, Pampalona and many other cities. Trains run regularly between the area and Zaragoza, Barcelona, Mardrid, Valencia and neighbouring Teruel. The closes airport is located in Zaragosa about an hour away....

Spain Guide Health

We all like to go travelling but one of the major concerns, is, what we happen if we fall ill or have an accident whilst we are abroad. If you are going to Spain for a short period of time, you should obtain an E111 card. This used to be a form but from 2006 it has been replaced by a credit card sized piece of plastic, that you can keep in your wallet. This card also known as a EU medical card contains your name, date of birth and your national insurance number. It entitles you to free or reduced charged medical treatment whilst you are abroad from the state run national health You can obtain your card by completing a form from the post office or you can go on line EHIC. You should allow a period of up to 3 weeks for your card to be delivered and on receipt, carefully check the information. If you are taken ill and need treatment, you will also be asked to produce your passport and the information on the card and your passport must match or you may be refused cover. The card is valid in Spain and in other EU countries as is usually issued for up to 5 years....

Spain Guide Gran Canaria

The third largest island in the archipelago, Gran Canaria is located some 211 kilometres from the North African coast. It is also well known for it’s resorts and has been a popular holiday destination for many years. Gran Canaria is often referred to as a continent in miniature, an island where you can experience both extremes of landscape and temperature. The land ranges from lush valleys, through dark pine forests to Sahara like sand dunes, and the temperature ranges from hot and arid through to cool and snowy on the mountain slopes. As with Tenerife, the northern part of the island is cooler than the south and the bulk of the resorts tend to be located toward to the south and east of the island....

Main Menu