Holiday Home Insurance UK

Holiday home buildings insurance should cover the cost of rebuilding your holiday home in the UK, including the structure of the building (walls, windows, roof) plus permanent 'fixtures and fittings' such as fitted kitchens. It should also cover any external property such as domestic outbuildings, garages, fixed fuel oil tanks, garden sheds, swimming pools, drives, patios, walls and fences.

When calculating how much buildings insurance you need, note that the sum insured should cover the full rebuilding cost of your holiday home in the event of total loss. The rebuild value does not reflect the market value of the property under any circumstances.

To obtain your rebuilding value, refer to your purchase survey, index link the figure provided if the survey is old and add the cost of any improvements you’ve made. To achieve the most accurate rebuild valuation, appoint a professional surveyor to assess your home and provide an insurance valuation. It is your responsibility to provide an accurate rebuild value to avoid underinsurance.

To help you calculate how much you should insure your buildings for check out our guide.

Holiday home contents insurance should cover furniture, household goods, electrical equipment, carpets and curtains, plus items kept in the garden, garage or outbuildings. Typically, contents are considered to be anything you could reasonably remove and take to another home if you moved house.

Contents insurance should cover the cost of replacing all your household goods as new. To calculate your contents sum insured, use an online contents calculator or simply go around your house from room to room, adding up the value (new for old) of everything.

To help you calculate the cost of your contents, check out our guide.

Insurers use several factors to calculate your insurance quote - the property location, property type, security, risk of flooding or subsidence, the level of cover you need and how likely the insurer thinks you are to claim.

For buildings insurance, the premium is based on the rebuild value and contents insurance is based on how much it would cost to replace your belongings. There may also be an additional cost to add additional cover e.g. accidental damage and legal expenses insurance.

When you compare holiday home insurance quotes and cover, choose the most comprehensive insurance for your holiday home with the fewest exclusions. Value your quote in proportion to the cover you’re getting rather than just the price.

Our flexible 'catch-all' policy covers you whether you use your holiday cottage yourself, lend it to friends and family or rent it out to holidaymakers. The specialist insurance for short-term lets covers the risks associated with letting out your holiday home.

Such as injuries sustained by guests on your property, theft or damage by guests/pets, the cost of alternative accommodation and loss of rental income if your property becomes uninhabitable due to an insured event.

Less comprehensive policies out there don't cover commercial holiday letting or friends staying at your property. Likewise, some policies cover letting, but not personal use. Something to check when you compare holiday home insurance policies.

If you let out your holiday home to paying guests or friends and family, you'll need public liability insurance. Especially if you let via an agency, as they’ll insist you have it.

We will pay for your legal liability as owner or occupier of your holiday home for any amounts you become legally liable to pay (of up to £5m) for claims from an injured person or damaged property. Cover is provided under our buildings or contents policy (we don't offer a standalone public liability policy).

This cover will protect you if someone is injured, falls ill or dies while they're on your property and takes legal action. Even if you don't let your holiday home, you still need this cover as a tile could fall off your roof and injure a visitor, or someone could trip on the stairs.

Likewise, employers' liability of up to £5m is also included. This protects you in the event of someone directly employed by you having an accident and claiming for injuries, such as a gardener or housekeeper.

While holiday home insurance isn’t a legal requirement in the UK, if you are applying for a mortgage, your lender will probably insist on seeing proof that you have buildings insurance before they will lend to you. Also, to get a short-term let licence in Scotland, you must have buildings and public liability insurance.

Even if you own your holiday home outright, it’s wise to protect your property for peace of mind. Without insurance cover in place, you risk facing significant financial losses that you may be unable to cover the cost of yourself if disaster strikes.

Likewise, contents insurance isn’t mandatory, but you should also consider including it in your policy to protect your possessions.

Many holiday homes are left empty for long periods when they are more likely to be targeted by burglars, squatters or vandals, and damaged by the elements. If you’re not around to notice a water leak or a slipped tile, the damage escalates. To stay protected, you’ll need a policy that doesn’t restrict cover during periods of unoccupancy.

We are confident that our unoccupancy cover and winter warranties are much more flexible than those of other insurers. You'll have complete peace of mind knowing your property is protected when you're not there.

Our cover:

• As standard, there are no unoccupancy restrictions or winter warranties. There are no requirements to drain down, leave the heating on or turn off the water. However, upon review of applications, the Underwriters may apply terms.
• Excess: The first £500 of every claim for escape of water from fixed water tanks, apparatus or pipes. The excess can be reduced for an additional premium.
• We don't require specific security measures and cover theft by non-forced entry.

Other insurers typically:

• Will not pay for loss or damage unless the water pipes, tanks and appliances are drained, or that the minimum temperature is maintained (15oc) when holiday homes are not being stayed in overnight or left uninhabited for more than 48 hours in winter.
• Exclude theft unless specific security measures are installed or there is forcible and violent entry.

Before you buy, check what security measures you need to comply with and any restrictions in cover when your property is left empty.

A holiday home or second home risk is one where the property is:

• Occupied as a weekend or holiday home by the proposers family/friends or
• Let commercially on a short-term basis as holiday accommodation
• No more than 8 bedrooms (whether used as bedrooms or not)
• Situated in England, Scotland and Wales
• Built of brick, stone or concrete and roofed with slates, tiles, asphalt or concrete
• A wooden property securely built on a concrete base with a pitched roof tiled with tiles or slates

The home should not be:

• Used for business (other than holiday letting)
• Your main residence or an unoccupied main residence
• Let on a long-term basis to tenants
• Permanently unoccupied
• In the course of construction
• Being renovated
• We do not cover static or mobile caravans

Yes, our overseas property insurance covers holiday homes in Spain, France or Portugal and is designed to cover the specific risks of the country where your property is located.