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Getting The Right Holiday Home Insurance – What Must You Insure Against?
In all the excitement of getting your holiday home, it’s easy to forget mundane
matters like getting the right
holiday home insurance. In fact, you could be in
such a state of euphoria that you find it hard to imagine anything going wrong.
Well, you hope that nothing will go wrong – and most of the time it won’t. But
things DO happen – and if anything does, it could be so disastrous that it could
wipe out the whole value of your holiday home.
So getting the right holiday home insurance is absolutely essential. But you
have to be aware that the insurance company will regard your holiday home as
presenting more of a risk than your normal residence. For this reason the
company insuring your holiday home will often impose special conditions and
demands. And of course, they will also scrutinise everything a lot more
carefully in the event of a claim, to make sure the conditions have been met.
So what can you do to minimise the likelihood of having to make a claim, or of
your claim being refused if you do have to make one?
- Storm damage. Storms and gales can cause damage to any property. But if it’s a holiday home where you don’t visit very much in the winter, the damage could go unnoticed till you you open up the following spring. By that time, the damage could have got much, much worse. So before you close up for the winter, if you do, make careful checks. Check the roof for loose tiles and slates; check that the TV aerial is securely fixed; and make sure there are no dead or dying branches on any trees on your property.
- Burst pipes and water damage. Pipes are more likely to freeze if the heating system is turned off, so consider leaving it on at a low temperature throughout the winter. However, some insurance companies impose a condition that the water and central heating system must be drained down when the house is unoccupied. If you don’t want to do this, check your policy carefully to make sure this condition isn’t present. If it is, and you don’t comply, you won’t be covered if there is any damage.
- Theft. If the holiday home is left unoccupied for long periods, this obviously
increases the risk of burglary, and your holiday home contents insurance premium
will reflect this. So take all the steps you can to make your property more
secure when you’re not there. Change the locks when you first take over the
property, fit mortice locks to all external doors and locks to all accessible
windows. (Remember a skilful burglar can get to almost ANY window!) Don’t give
out the address of your holiday home – have all mail, such as utility bills,
sent to your home address. You could consider fitting a burglar alarm, but only
do so if you have a trusted neighbour who can turn it off if it is triggered by
a false alarm such as a power cut. Some holiday home policies insist that the
property is visited and checked at regular intervals – e.g. every week. If this
would be difficult for you, make sure you use a policy that doesn’t impose this
condition, or you won’t be covered.
You may find the premiums charged by your
holiday home insurance company
an expense you could do without – or you may find their conditions irksome. Just
think about what it would be like if something happened and you weren’t covered,
and you’ll realise the importance of getting the right holiday home insurance
cover. When you leave a property unattended for any length of time, peace of
mind is all important – and that’s what
holiday home insurance gives you.
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