While your home in the sun may seem idyllic, sadly that still doesn’t stop it being vulnerable to thieves. Here are our top ten tips on how to keep your overseas home safe, hopefully giving you peace of mind whether you are there or at home, and reducing any potential claims on your holiday home insurance.

• it may seem like commonsense, but locking all the doors and windows securely before you, or your holiday rental guests leave your property (whether you are popping out for a few hours, or returning home) makes sense. In the event of a claim, failure to do so could mean your claim will be refused – especially if your policy excludes theft by non-forced entry;
• buy a small safe for personal valuables (jewellery, ipads etc.), but note both yours and guests valuables are unlikely to be covered by holiday homes insurance – insure them under a travel or main residence policy;
• increase your security, and think about installing security lighting, window locks, shutters, grills or even an alarm, where possible. Having certain security measures in place (such as those described above) may also be a condition of your holiday home insurance policy, too, so ensure you fulfil those obligations in order to keep the cover valid;
• if you have people accessing your property while you are not there (e.g. cleaners) or are letting it to holidaymakers, do not hide a set of door keys for them – install a keysafe, a small metal box which can only be opened by a code that you set. Again, check that your insurer is ok with this;
• don’t put temptation in the way of potential thieves by leaving valuables visible through a window;
• the same thing goes for garden tools and expensive outdoor furniture, plus items like bicycles and barbeques – lock them away safely. If you don’t have anywhere to lock stuff away, then cover them up and chain them to a fixed structure;
• items that could be used by a thief to access your property (for example, using ladders to access a window) should be locked away and/or secured;
• if you expect to be away from your second home for several weeks arrange for someone to keep an eye on your property and check it regularly, whether it is a trusted neighbour or a managing agent. You may wish to arrange to have a gardener visit to keep the outside looking neat and tidy – or ask a green-fingered neighbour to help;
• keep an eye out for signs that a burglar could be scoping out your second home – look for strange signs or symbols near your property, or items in left in your grounds (placed there to see if anyone in residence moves them);
• finally, do carry out regular maintenance and safety checks on your property. Whether it is checking the roof for loose tiles or testing electrical equipment, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

Doing so will make you feel confident that you are keeping your second home, as well as you and any guests, safe. The double whammy is that it may help reduce the risk of you making a claim on your holiday home insurance too! 

And this leads us on to the subject of ensuring you have the most suitable second home insurance. There are a number of considerations:

• check your policy terms to ensure you aren’t unintentionally invalidating your cover by leaving your property unoccupied for long periods of time;
• regularly review your sums insured – check that the amounts are up to date (for example, you may have recently carried out structural improvements, or bought new furnishings, all which may need to be reflected in increased sum insured for your holiday home buildings and contents);
• don’t forget to check any single article limits for claims – you don’t want to be underinsured;
• your second homes insurance policy may ask that you fulfil certain obligations in order to keep your policy valid. Most of these are common sense requirement, such as making sure the windows are locked when you leave the premise, heating the property during cold winter spells or turning off the water when holiday homes are empty. Some policies, however, may have more stringent requirements than others, so do check;
• if you holiday let your property, make sure that your insurance covers this. Public liability insurance which covers third parties that have been injured while on or around your property is also essential. At Schofields, both our UK and overseas buildings and contents policies incorporate public liability insurance of £5m, which includes cover for liability claims arising from the use of swimming pools;
• is accidental damage caused by guests covered? If not, this could work out expensive for you;
• does your second home insurance cover you for loss of rental income? Part of our standard cover automatically provides up to twice the sum insured on contents for loss of pre-booked rental income, meaning that if something happens and you have to cancel bookings due to a claim, you will be compensated for the lost income and the cost of alternative accommodation.

Finally, don’t be negligent with regard to safety at your holiday home and ensuring it’s adequately insured.

This is a guest post by Phil Schofield who provides advice on second home insurance. He also writes on the Schofields blog  about holiday letting and insurance. You can also find him on Twitter: @schofields

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