Holiday Home Insurance and Second Home Insurance
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Archive for the ‘Holiday Property Insurance’ Category
A place of your own – French property insurance
The subject of French property insurance perhaps sums up many of the reasons many of us might like to own a place of our own in the country. It is readily accessible, has a distinctive Gallic flavour, and yet remains forever foreign.
Charm and frustration
Although a distinctive Gallic charm might have led to your falling in love with your holiday home in France in the first place, this might begin to wane as you tackle some of the essential paperwork, formalities and bureaucracy that may go with your purchase of a second home in a foreign country.
Arranging French property insurance is not necessarily or intentionally made difficult for you as a foreign buyer; it is simply that many things may be done quite differently in France than they are just a short hop across the Channel.
This may be one of the charms of a French way of life, but it might also be something of a frustration when you are trying to arrange something as practical but essential as insurance for your French home.
Just the language itself, of course, may prove something of a stumbling block for English-speakers. When it is a French language used in all the technical formality of a legal contract, it might prove just one linguistic challenge too far for many Britons.
Shopping for your holiday home insurance
Because you might be quite properly cautious about trusting to your own French language skills, you might employ a local agent in the country and rely on his her knowledge of any local rules and regulations, customs or conventions, surrounding the subject of holiday home insurance.
However, there is a further option open to you that might also bring every bit as much local knowledge about French property insurance as your agent on the ground.
There are specialist insurers based in the UK with extensive local networks throughout the whole of France, who may be able to offer you the benefit of keeping a foot in both camps. Thanks to their experience and expertise in arranging cover to suit French customs and practices, these insurance specialists are nevertheless based in the UK, where all of the business is of course conducted in English.
This means that you have the benefit of policy documents clearly worded in a language you may immediately understand, yet also have the security and peace of mind in knowing that the cover is entirely suitable for your property in France.
If you have any queries about your French property insurance, or subsequently need to make a claim, therefore, you have the added assistance of being able to do so in your own language.
A short guide to Spanish home insurance
When you’ve soaked up the sun and finished that last glass of sangria, it may be good to know that your holiday home is just a short distance away, still safely standing just as you left it. That is where Spanish home insurance, of course, might lend a helping hand.
Safeguarding your holiday home in Spain with insurance
The core elements of your Spanish home insurance are likely to be two-fold and may or may not incldue some or all of the following elements (depending on the provider):
- protection against the risk of physical loss or damage to your property; namely
- safeguarding the building itself from such potentially calamitous events as fire, storm damage, vandalism, impacts, or falling objects; and
- insurance against similar risks for all the contents of your holiday home.
Less obvious but no less important
When it comes to overseas property cover, however, there may be more than simply the physical risks to your second home.
Third party liability insurance, for example, might form an essential part of the cover by offering you financial indemnity against possible claims from members of the public or other third parties whose property is lost or damaged or who suffer personal injury through their connection with the property you own. Such third party claims may commonly run to many thousands of pounds and, unless you have adequate Spanish home insurance in place, you might find yourself having to sell your beloved place in the sun.
If you employ someone to help clean and care for your holiday home, or perhaps look after it during those months you are away, you might also want your cover to include employers’ liability insurance. This additional financial safeguard might help you to meet any claims arising from any loss or damage to your employees’ property or, of course, any injury they sustain whilst working for you.
Where to buy it
It might be possible of course to arrange all of the cover you consider necessary for the protection of your place in the sun on your very doorstep in Spain.
The problem, however, may come when it comes to properly understanding the intricacies of a formal document written in Spanish and their likely interpretation by the Spanish legal system.
Rather than arranging your insurance cover locally, therefore, you might instead do this through a UK-based specialist provider of insurance for second homes overseas.
A distinct advantage to buying from such a UK-based, English-speaking intermediary, of course, is that you have a language in common and may be certain of the details of the policy you are buying. If it ever comes to making a claim on your Spanish home insurance, you might also have the practical comfort of knowing that it may all be conducted in your own language, too.
Home-based holiday property insurance
Holiday property insurance is something you are likely to be arranging whether your second home is at home or abroad.
In either case, you might find that a specialist insurance provider has that extra degree of expertise and knowledge to help make sure that the particular vulnerabilities of a holiday home remain safely protected. If your holiday home is abroad, a specialist might also help negotiate the additional problems of insuring property overseas, understanding any local rules and regulations, and speaking the language.
Home and away holiday property insurance
On the face of it, holiday property insurance might not seem such a very different matter to any other home insurance: typically, you are looking to safeguard the structure and fabric of the building itself from such potentially major disasters as fire, flooding, storm damage, impacts, falling objects and vandalism; at the same time, you are likely to want to protect the contents of the property from these same risks, plus theft and accidental damage.
A major difference with your holiday home insurance, however, is that it is just that – cover especially designed to safeguard a second home, which you are unlikely to occupy throughout the year and may be left empty for significant periods of time.
An empty property, of course, is typically far more vulnerable to a wide range of potentially damaging events. When there is no one occupying your holiday home, for example, there may be no one to discourage and deter thieves and other ne’er do wells. When there is no one there to spot a minor repair or maintenance problem, there may be nothing to stop it developing into a far more serious problem.
Second home insurance is typically designed to take such additional risks and problems into account, so that your second home remains fully protected throughout the year – whether there is anyone living there or not.
Away
If your holiday home is abroad, there may be all these concerns to reckon with – and more, too.
Perhaps one of the greatest obstacles to your knowing what cover you are buying and obtaining the reassurance that insurance is designed to bring is the fact that policies arranged by local providers are inevitably written in a foreign – and therefore far more difficult to understand – language.
That need not be the case, however, if you arrange the cover through a UK home-based insurance provider. These may be able to conduct every detail in English, in terms with which you are likely to be thoroughly familiar, wherever the property concerned might be situated.
With holiday property insurance arranged through a UK-based provider, any claim you might have to conduct is then negotiated entirely in your own language, however complicated or confusing the situation might be in the country where your second home is located.
Holiday home insurance in Turkey – things to consider
Arranging holiday home insurance in Turkey may be slightly different from arranging property insurance in other European countries. Generally earthquake cover and cover for other natural perils such as storm, fire and flood may need to be included in your policy.
Arranging your policy
If you are considering holiday home insurance in Turkey and have a language barrier you may wish to arrange a policy with a UK broker. You may find it beneficial to have insurance documents in your own language You may also find it an advantage being able to discuss the terms and conditions of your overseas property cover with an advisor in the UK.
What is included in your policy
You may wish to insure both your holiday home and its contents in case of accidental damage or theft. You may wish to also consider any outbuildings and garages as well as the fences, walls or hedges that surround the perimeter of your property. You may also wish to include any items that are kept in any garages and outbuildings such as cycles, lawnmowers, garden furniture and
Additional cover
When arranging holiday home insurance in Turkey you may wish to consider additional second home insurance cover options to your policy – if available – such as payment for replacing the locks of your doors and windows if the keys are stolen or lost. You may also wish to consider having additional cover if any domestic fuel is lost or food in your freezer spoils due to accidental damage.
Holiday home insurance in Italy if you are letting
There are lots of things to consider if you are letting out a holiday home in Italy. If you are looking at holiday home insurance in Italy you may wish to know about the level of cover you need.
Holiday home contents cover
When arranging holiday home insurance in Italy you may wish to consider what is kept within your property. This may include:
- furniture;
- white goods;
- decoration and ornaments;
- patio and garden furniture;
- televisions, stereos and electrical equipment;
- showers, baths and hot tubs.
You may wish to check the terms and conditions of your overseas property cover to make sure that the contents are covered both for theft and accidental damage. You may also wish to make an inventory of what is kept within your property.
Holiday home buildings insurance
Holiday home insurance in Italy may cover not only your property but the garden or land that is attached to the property. You may wish to include cover for swimming pools and decking areas, landscaped gardens, paths and driveways and walls, hedges and fences. If your property is in an area that is at risk of natural damage such as flooding, fire or heavy snow you may wish to make sure natural events are covered in your policy.
Making a claim on your holiday home insurance in Portugal
If you are looking to make a claim on your holiday home insurance in Portugal you may first wish to consider what is included in the terms and conditions of your policy. Some policies may have different clauses on what you are able to claim for.
Damage to your property
If you let out your property and it has been damaged you may find that you are unable to rent it out for a period of time. You may with some providers be able to claim for any loss of rental income you have whilst your property or its contents is being repaired. You may also be able to claim for emergency travel arrangements if you need to visit Portugal in order to settle the outcome of a claim. This may include arranging alternative accommodation for you.
Policy excesses and limitations
If you make a claim on your holiday home insurance in Portugal you may find that there is a monetary excess that is payable. The amount of the excess may depend on the type of policy you have arranged. You may have decided the level of the policy excess when you arranged the policy. The excess may vary depending on what you are claiming for.
Some policies have a limitation on the amount you may be able to claim for certain items. You may wish to check your policy schedule if you are making a claim to see if any limitations apply. Holiday home insurance in Portugal may also have a different excess for theft than for damage to your property or its contents.
Holiday home insurance in France – what is included?
Not all policies for holiday home insurance in France are the same. Whether you own a grand chateau or a petit chalet you may wish to check your insurance policy terms when you are arranging cover so you know what is included.
Insuring guests and visitors to your property
If you have any employees that visit the property such as pool cleaners, gardeners or housekeepers any accidental damage they may cause to your property and its outbuildings may be covered in your overseas property cover policy. Employee liability insurance may only be covered up to a certain amount.
Holiday home insurance in France may also cover any holidaymakers you have renting the property. Public liability insurance may be included in your policy to cover any damage guests may cause to your property or its outbuildings. It may also cover you if any of your guests are injured whilst on the property.
Insuring your holiday home and its contents
There are many extras that may be included in your property insurance which, depending on the policy you choose, may include:
- swimming pools, hot tubs and their maintenance systems;
- fuel tanks for the property such as heating oil or LPG;
- outbuildings, stables, garages and sheds;
- septic tanks;
- patios, driveways and decking areas;
- solar panels and wind turbines;
- satellite dishes and television aerials;
- gates, fences and walls both in and surrounding the property.
When arranging your holiday home insurance in France you may also wish to list and value the items that are in the property. The contents of your home may be covered for accidental damage, fire and theft.
Terms and conditions of your French property insurance
If you are arranging French property insurance for your holiday home you may wish to check any terms and conditions of the policy. If you make a claim on your property insurance and haven’t met the terms and conditions of the policy you may find your claim is invalid or declined by the insurers.
Keeping your property secure
If you are away from the property or it is vacant for any period of time then you may wish to ensure that your house has adequate locks on all the windows, doors and patio doors.
You may also find that you need to have shutters on the windows of the property in order to meet the terms and conditions of your holiday home insurance. If you have solar panels they may need to be securely fastened in order to be covered by your insurance policy.
Leaving your property vacant
Some French property insurance policies do not cover your holiday home if it left vacant for a lengthy period of time or if it is not properly prepared for the winter season.
If you are leaving your property vacant, particularly over the winter period you may wish to make sure that the property is maintained at a reasonable temperature and that the water mains for the house is turned off and any pipes and tanks have been drained in case of overflow. Refer to your policy documents to see what your obligations are.
Swimming Pools
Finally if your holiday home has a swimming pool you may wish to make sure that this is covered by your French property insurance. Some policies may not include water or flood damage to your swimming pool.
Things to consider when arranging Spanish home insurance
If you are arranging Spanish home insurance for your holiday property you may wish to consider what is included in the policy so that you are confident you have the adequate level of cover in case of damage.
Do note that policy features and benefits may vary depending on the holiday home insurance provider, so always check exactly what the cover entails.
Spanish home insurance
You may wish to ensure that the area surrounding your property is covered by your Spanish home insurance policy as well as the building itself. You may have garages and sheds that you wish to be insured.
You may also wish to include your garden, any areas of patio and decking as well as considering fencing and walls around the perimeter of your property. Overseas property cover may also include swimming pools and garden furniture. If you have a septic tank you may wish to check that this is included in your policy.
You may need to make sure that any outbuildings you own are fully secure in order for any holiday home insurance claim to be valid.
The area your property is located in
When arranging Spanish home insurance you may wish to consider the area that your property is in. If the area is prone to forest fire or flooding then you may wish to make sure any damage caused by a natural event is covered by these circumstances. You may also wish to consider whether the area the property is prone to subsidence and what sort of ground the property is built on.
What is the difference between overseas property cover and normal buildings and contents cover?
Overseas property cover differs from normal home buildings and contents cover for many reasons. With the former, some policies may include Employee Liability Insurance, for example and enhanced Public Liability Insurance. This may cover you if you have visitors or guests to the property and something happens you may wish to make a claim for.
Your employees
When you are looking at second home insurance you may wish to consider any employees you have that help look after the property. This may include;
- gardeners;
- cleaners;
- pool cleaners;
- maintenance staff.
You may also have someone that comes to your property to look after it if it is vacant for any period of time. If you have employees you may wish to include a clause in your overseas property cover that insures them and your property should anything happen whilst they are there.
Leaving your property vacant
Holiday home insurance may also cover your property if it is left vacant for any period of time. There may be restrictions on how long the property can be left vacant for. You may also need to ensure that the property is kept safe and secure with adequate window and door locks.
Letting your property out
If you let your property out to the public you may also wish to include cover for your guests in your overseas property cover. This may cover any accidental damage they may cause whilst they staying at your property. You may also wish to make sure that any guests are insured if they injure themselves whilst staying at your property.