QUICK GUIDE TO HOLIDAY COTTAGE INSURANCE 2024

Written by

Libby Goodsearles

Head of Marketing

Reviewed by

Rachel Sanguinetti

Digital Marketing Executive

Not all holiday home owners are aware that their main home and their holiday home have different insurance needs. This is because holiday homes are vulnerable to additional risks (as a result of being left unoccupied or by being rented out as a holiday let), which is why it’s important to be truthful about your properties and circumstances so that insurers can tailor a policy to your needs.

Buildings and contents insurance needs

Make sure that your holiday cottage insurance covers your building and its contents. As is the case with your main residence, the rebuild cost of your holiday cottage needs to be assessed. This includes outbuildings such as garages, summerhouses and even swimming pools – obviously only an issue in the warmer parts of the UK!

If you’ve only bought your holiday home recently you’ll probably have its rebuild cost to hand. If not, you can arrange for a surveyor to make the assessment for you, or use the BCIS rebuild calculator online.

Although your second home may not have as many valuables as your other residence, it’s still well worth insuring your furniture and personal belongings. And if you also let your holiday cottage, you should check that your policy includes public liability cover in case a guest makes a claim for accidents or injuries sustained on your premises. Unfortunately you never can be too careful when strangers are using your home.

How to reduce your holiday cottage insurance premium

Security can be a big issue for holiday properties if they’re empty for any period of time. Most standard insurance policies require that a property is not unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days a year so, if your plans don’t include staying be there yourself, you may find it financially worthwhile to encourage friends to take a weekend break there or, if you’re letting it out, to reduce prices in less popular periods to increase occupancy rates. 

Installing a burglar alarm will help you to keep your holiday cottage insurance premiums down and it’s also a good idea to ask your neighbours to keep an eye on the house for you and, ideally, clear any junk mail from your doormat regularly when it’s empty.