How to compare holiday home insurance quotes
If you are trying to compare holiday home insurance quotes, please gives us a call to see if we can provide you with a competitive and alternative quotation. We are able to provide both building and contents insurance for your holiday home, with a broad set of perils that are similar to those found in most residential UK home insurance policies. To secure a quote the first step will be to accurately calculate the correct building sum insured, as well as a new for old replacement value on the contents within your holiday home.
Insurance for holiday homes and second homes is becoming quite competitive at the moment, as many insurance companies are finding that many existing holiday homeowners are shopping around to compare renewal premiums. Likewise, if you are considering purchasing a second UK home to use as a holiday home, it is likely you will have little difficulty in finding a range of specialist insurance providers to check alternative prices and contrasting levels of cover.
In general terms, a holiday home insurance risk differs from a traditional residential home insurance risk, due to the nature of the usage of the building. For example, many people are cashing in on long-term rises in amount of equity in their own homes, and using this equity to purchase a second home or holiday home in popular hotspots, such as the South West and coastal areas. Consequently, many of the homes are left empty during the winter months. This presents additional risks for the insurer to factor into their calculation of price, and how they construct their policy wordings. Most insurers will be concerned about the additional risk that while the holiday the property is left empty, it has a much greater chance of being burgled or a burst pipe may cause flood damage. Likewise, UK landlords are now choosing to let out their holiday property on a short-term holiday lets basis, resulting in many unplanned tenancy void periods. With tenants coming and going from the property, there are additional risks (such as content breakages) for the insurance companies to consider.
When making comparisons between insurance companies’ holiday home policies, check what exclusions or restrictions the policy wording may contain in the terms and conditions. For example, some policies may exclude renting out of the property commercial gain altogether. Similarly, check what levels of public liability insurance exist to cover situations where third parties may be entering the property. Some insurers may be able to extend the liability section of their holiday home insurance policy to include commercial letting. This will give you protection against claims from you tenants who may injure themselves, or damage the property in your holiday home – and claim turns out to be your fault.
Failure to tell the insurance company that you intend to rent out your holiday home, may invalidate a future insurance claim – particularly if the claim relates to damage caused by a tenant. So when sizing up the differences between policies, also scrutinise the excesses on contents items that may be valuable. Check this off against your inventory of contents for your holiday home, to make sure there is nothing which is excluded within the policies you are comparing. A good tip is to photograph any expensive items, should they be accidentally broken, lost or stolen, and subsequent proof be required in the event of a large insurance claim. from a practical perspective, you may wish to exclude smokers and pet owners from your holiday home to limit the chances of internal damage to carpets and other items that are likely to suffer wear and tear during a holiday let.
As many homes are inherited due to a death in the family, many people choose to keep a second home or holiday home for retirement purposes, or because they are struggling to find any buyers in a difficult property market. However, once you inform them that you are planning to use it as a holiday home, you may find that the existing insurance company may wish to change the type of insurance policy, or may even become reluctant to provide cover at the point of renewal. Their biggest worry is the extended period during which the home is left unoccupied. If the heating is left off, water pipes may freeze and burst leading to huge flood related insurance claims.
Most standard home insurance policies in the UK will allow for the property to be unoccupied for a period of up to 30 days. Therefore, make sure you examine and carefully analyse all the varying policies you are considering, paying particular attention to any practical stipulations upon you as the new holiday home owner. These conditions relate mostly common sense things, such as visiting the property on a regular basis, or arranging your letting agent to do so every couple of weeks. Many policies will probably stipulate the water system should be drained and switched off at the stop cock. Never assume that the conditions and warranties of each holiday home insurance policy you are comparing are worded in exactly the same way.
