If you’re one of the thousands of lucky people to own a holiday home in the UK or abroad, you’ll know that it is as vulnerable to risks like fire, flood and theft as your main property. For peace of mind, holiday home insurance is a must-have. If you also let out your property to paying guests, there are extra insurance options that need to be considered.

Read our guide to holiday home insurance in the UK and overseas, and how the cheapest options might not always be the best for you.

Why can’t I just choose standard property insurance for my holiday home?

Most home insurance policies won’t cover a property if it is left empty for more than 30 days a year because it is considered too risky. And typically they don’t cover you at all if the property is let out to paying guests for any period of time. Instead, you need to look for specialist holiday home or holiday let insurance. At Easy2Insure we can compare quotes from a number of insurers to find the best deal for you.

Buildings insurance

This needs to cover the cost to rebuild your home, including things like a swimming pool or outbuildings. The rebuild cost is different to the market value of your home. If you don’t have a recent figure for this projected cost, you can appoint a surveyor from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors to calculate the costs for you. If your holiday home is overseas it can be trickier to get this figure, so you might want to select a policy with an ‘unlimited’ rebuild limit.

Contents insurance

Even if you don’t keep anything particularly valuable in you holiday home, you might be surprised how much it would cost to replace furnishings and contents. Don’t forget to include items outside or in sheds, such as a barbeque or garden furniture.

Home emergency cover

Some policies offer access to a 24-hour emergency helpline if there’s a problem like a burst pipe. This is available to you or paying guests, and can be especially useful if you don’t live close to the property.

Loss of income insurance

If you rely on the rental from your holiday let, you could consider loss of income insurance. This pays out if you are unable to rent out your property for a period of time, for example, because of a fire or flood.

Public liability insurance

This insurance pays out for your legal costs and expenses if anyone is injured when they are visiting your property. If you let out your home, it can provide valuable peace of mind that you won’t face hefty legal bills if an accident does happen.

Do I need employer’s liability insurance?

You might employ a gardener or a cleaner to help you to take care of your holiday property but that doesn’t automatically mean you’ll need to take out employer’s liability insurance. A gardener who comes once or twice a month and works for other people too is not considered an employee. However, you may need to consider employer’s liability insurance if you have a member of staff who works solely for you or you run your holiday let as a Limited company. Speak to your insurance broker for more clarification.

Value for money insurance without cutting corners

Beware of cheap holiday home insurance that might not give you the level of cover you need or could have exclusions hidden in the small print. Saving a few pennies now could cost you big in the long run if your insurance is invalidated or simply not enough for your needs.

Tips to keep your holiday home safe and reduce your insurance premiums

One of the best ways to keep your holiday home insurance premiums as low as possible is to be claim free. You can help to keep your holiday home safe by:

• Improving security. Locks on doors and windows and a fitted security alarm can help to put off thieves. Installing these devices can help to reduce your insurance premiums too.
• Carrying out regular maintenance. Check for things like broken or blocked gutters and missing tiles on the roof to help prevent water damage.
• Insulating pipes. Pipes which have frozen and burst are a common issue for homes left empty over the winter months. Keep heating on at a constant low temperature and insulate pipes well to protect them from frost.
• Maintaining the garden. An untidy garden serves as a big welcome sign for potential thieves. It can also lead to accidental damage, for example, if overgrown branches fall onto a roof in stormy weather.

Keep holiday home insurance premiums down by shopping around for the best value deal or speak to an independent broker like Easy2Insure, who can give you expert advice. Our friendly team brings 30 years of experience in the industry to help you get the right level of cover without and nasty shocks in the small print. You’ll know exactly what cover you’re getting and we can negotiate the best price deals from some of the UK’s biggest insurance companies. Call us now on 0800 917 9522 or get in touch here.