High Value Holiday Home Insurance: Finding the right cover

High value holiday home insurance is essential to protect your luxury holiday home or second home, but it can be challenging to understand exactly what cover is needed.

There are many different policies on the market for holiday homes, holiday lets, second homes and overseas residential investments. For those with high value properties and contents, finding the right cover to protect your property can come with additional challenges.

Standard holiday home policies are not built with high value properties in mind, and the cover offered may not be sufficient for unique homes, luxury holiday homes or second homes.

What type of cover do I need?

There are several types of cover available, the most common being Holiday Home Insurance and Second Home Insurance.

Properties outside the UK are likely to need Holiday Home insurance rather than Second Home insurance. These policies are more suitable for overseas homes as they offer longer unoccupancy clauses. Many policies also offer essential additional covers such as lettings cover and public liability insurance, which are required if the property is let out or you allow family and friends to use the property.

Second Home insurance may be suitable for UK properties that are visited more frequently and have a set pattern of occupation, for example, every weekend or every month. As the property is left unoccupied for shorter periods of time, the risk of some claims is reduced, potentially reducing the premium.

Owners of multiple high value properties in the UK or overseas might find that a single policy which covers the main residence and additional properties in your portfolio will be easier to manage and more cost effective. Tysers can arrange cover for holiday homes, family estates and global property portfolios with one of our expert brokers advising on the most suitable cover.

Whether you opt for Holiday Home or Second Home insurance, there will be additional considerations for your high value property.

Increased risks for holiday homes and second homes

Properties which are left unoccupied for long periods of time carry a higher risk of burglary, fire and flooding. Incidents such as a burst pipe, which would be spotted quickly in an occupied home, can go unnoticed for much longer and cause more damage to the property.

Luxury homes with unique features and contents may also be at increased risk of theft and damage, and features such as outbuildings, swimming pools and hot tubs can sometimes be overlooked or excluded from standard insurance policies.

If your holiday home is a listed building or has unique construction (such as a thatched roof or eco features), it’s important to consider the increased repair times and costs associated with the specialist builders and craftsmen that may be needed to sympathetically repair and restore the property.

Investing in additional security measures at your property, and a comprehensive insurance policy designed for high-value holiday homes, can provide peace of mind.

Unoccupancy clause

Many home and standard holiday home insurance policies have an unoccupancy clause which could leave your home with reduced cover if an incident occurs when the property has been vacant for a long period of time. If the property is likely to be unoccupied for longer periods of time (many standard policies terms and conditions only allow about 60 days) it’s important that your policy offers a longer unoccupancy clause to cover any problems that might arise in this time.

Contents cover

Standard holiday home insurance policies often only provide reduced levels of contents cover, working under the assumption that high value contents will not be left at the property. This cover is often insufficient for holiday homeowners who wish to furnish their property to a high standard and enjoy comforts similar to those enjoyed at their main residence.

Examples of contents that may not be covered in standard holiday home insurance policies include; wide screen TVs, sound systems, high end kitchen gadgets, fine art and wine collections. High value contents cover can be arranged through a broker with access to a panel of specialist high-net-worth insurers.

Public liability cover

If property is let by paying guests, or used occasionally by friends and family, it is essential that your policy includes Public Liability cover to protect against potentially costly personal injury claims.

If your property includes land with a public right of way, you will also require Public Liability cover, and if maintenance staff are employed at your holiday home or second home (for example, gardeners or cleaning services) the insurance policy must include cover for accidents to domestic employees.

Choice of repairers

If your property is damaged, you might want to select a trusted repairer that is not covered in many standard holiday home policies. This may be particularly important if the holiday home or second home is a listed building or has unique construction and features that need sympathetic repair by experienced craftspeople.

Emergency travel insurance & accommodation

Many policies will cover the costs of travel to your property, and temporary accommodation near the property if an incident occurs and it is not possible to stay in your holiday home while the issue is being resolved.

Many standard policies will only cover the price of flights up to a certain cost, on the assumption that most clients will be happy to travel on budget airlines which operate limited services outside of main European tourist destinations. If your holiday home is outside Europe this limit may not be adequate to cover the cost of the flights.

Alternative accommodation cover for standard holiday home policies may also be inadequate if you wish to stay in a property of a similar standard to your holiday home while the issue is being resolved. If the property is let out to paying guests, it is worth considering whether to include cover for alternative accommodation of the same standard for the guests in case the property becomes uninhabitable during the agreed letting time.

Tysers can arrange cover for properties across the UK, Europe and beyond.

These include but are not limited to:

• Second Home Insurance for UK properties
• Holiday Home Insurance for UK properties
• Holiday Home Insurance in France
• Holiday Home Insurance in Italy
• Holiday Home Insurance in Spain
• Holiday Home Insurance in Ireland
• Overseas Holiday Home Insurance for properties within the EU
• Overseas Property Insurance for properties outside of the EU
• Holiday Lodge Insurance
• Villa Insurance
• Chalet Insurance

Contact us

Tysers provide personal insurance solutions for high-net worth individuals built on a personal, client-first philosophy. Our access to a wide range of specialist high-net-worth products allows us to offer cover that is tailored to your needs.

To make an enquiry about your existing cover, or get started with a new policy you can speak to your Tysers Broker or contact us through the link below:

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