A Roomwith a View
If you have a second home either in the UK or overseas it is vital that it is properly insured. Natasha Sadler , insurance executive for the Private Client division of Scrutton Bland highlights some of the points to bear in mind. H ome insurance cover is essentially split into distinct sections; buildings, contents and combined policies. Building insurance will protect you against costs arising from damage to the building as a result of burst pipes, fire, flood etc and can cover the cost of rebuilding if Letting out your property As well as serving as a great place to spend your holidays, you may wish to take advantage of the earning potential of your property by letting it out. If you are planning to let out your holiday home, particularly for extended periods, it is critical that you inform your insurer in order to ensure that your policy covers you against any damage caused by tenants – as this is not always included in standard wording. Is anyone keeping an eye out?
your home were to be completed destroyed. Contents insurance covers fixtures and fittings such as carpets, curtains, televisions, computers, personal items such as jewellery. If you are a home owner, it is possible to cover both building and contents within a combined policy. However, when insuring a second or holiday home either in the UK or abroad it is important to remember that this can be very different to covering your main residence. Here are Natasha’s top tips on things to look out for when insuring your holiday or second home: Be honest Most insurers will expect holiday homes to have a lower occupancy than main residences. You must ensure that you have provided your insurer with an accurate account of how often you visit your holiday home in order that they can quote the fairest terms and premium and to avoid any nasty surprise in the event that you need to make a claim. Take a good look around Underinsurance is an issue effecting many home owners in the UK, insurance brokers can offer an appraisal service during which they will review the value of your contents against the ‘sum insured’ on your policy and check that it is adequate to cover you. However, it is not always available in the case of holiday homes, particularly those located abroad. It is advisable that the next time you visit your second property, that you go through each room and assess the value of the contents – you might be surprised at just how much it would cost you if you had to replace some, or all, of your possessions.
Insurers will often ask questions about the risk management of the property before underwriting cover for holiday homes. One way that you can help to keep your premium down is to invest in security. Insurers will normally provide better terms on a holiday homes where someone regularly visits the property to inspect it and where there are fire, intruder and water leak detection devices installed. Language barriers and local laws It may sound obvious but approaching a local insurer of the country where the holiday home is situated can be problematic due to language barriers. It can be difficult to understand the local laws and practices of the legal system in a foreign country and interpreting a policy wording which is not in your native language is no easy feat. Many UK based insurers now offer cover for holiday homes abroad and your broker can advise you on finding the right policy. If you have purchased a holiday home (or are thinking of buying one) then make sure you think carefully about the cover that you need for your property. Our specialist advisers have an excellent understanding of insuring second homes, for further information contact: Natasha Sadler e. natasha.sadler@scruttonbland.co.uk or call 01206 838400
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