Holiday home insurance specialists Intasure give us some pointers on how homeowners can safeguard themselves against loss of rent, damages and other unfortunate circumstances when they're not using their home abroad.
A holiday home can bring relaxation and serenity. However as much as we’d like to, we can’t be on holiday all the time, so the question is how do you make the most of your holiday home when you’re not using it? One answer could be to let the property out so that others can enjoy quality time away too.
Some people may worry about letting their property out, as this can lead to risks they may not have considered. What if a guest accidentally damages the property or what if they trip and injure themselves in the house?
It’s worth bearing in mind different eventualities but don't let this put you off. With proper management and the help of a specialist insurer, these problems don’t need to stop you making your holiday homework for you. The key to making sure you have the right cover in place is making sure the insurer fully understands your situation by providing as much information and answering all of their questions to the best of your knowledge.
Once they have all the details, a knowledgeable insurance broker will put together a package according to your situation.
- Short term or long term lets – It’s become a popular trend for people to list their homes on sites such as Airbnb, HouseTrip and HomeAway. If this is something you’d like to try, double check first that your policy covers you for this type of use as it’s not always covered on your standard policy.
- Landlord – If you are considering letting out the property more permanently, rather than a standard home insurance policy, you might want to look at the possibility of a landlord policy which can cover you for things like loss of rent.
- Unoccupied periods – Whether you opt to let out your property or not, it’s likely at some point the house will be left unoccupied for at least a small period of time. Insurers will usually have a maximum limit as to how long you can leave the place unoccupied for, so when looking for insurance you might want to double check that you find a policy which covers your place for a sufficient amount of time if you need to leave it vacant for a while.
- Static Caravan insurance – Holiday homes don’t always come in the form of brick & mortar. If you own a static caravan, why not look for a specialist insurance provider which can offer similar cover to a standard holiday home policy? Meaning you can let out your caravan and know you’re covered for things like Accidental Damage and Public Liability.
Choosing the right cover is important because it should take into account the features of the property as well as the commercial aspect of letting the property, capturing liability risks. If the package doesn’t quite fit all of your requirements, then speak to your provider as it may be possible to tailor the policy to better suit your needs. At the end of the day, one of the most important things is to check the policy covers the elements you wish to be insured.
When you’ve got the risk covered then you can let your holiday home as much or as little as you like, safe in the knowledge that should the worst occur, you can call your insurance provider to help you. Making your holiday home work for you could be one of the best decisions you make, providing an income to support your next holiday!
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