Holiday Home Insurance

A standard home policy assumes the owner lives in the property full time. Once a home is a second home, left empty for long periods or let to paying guests, a standard policy can be reduced or invalid, so a specialist holiday home policy is used instead.

The core is buildings at rebuild cost, contents, and public liability for injury to a guest or damage to their property. It usually adds loss of rental income, legal expenses, home emergency and cover for periods when the home is unoccupied, with optional accidental and malicious damage.

Yes. Cover can be arranged for holiday letting, including short lets and Airbnb-style lettings. Letting to guests raises the liability and wear on the property, so it must be declared, and the policy then reflects how often and how you let it.

If a guest is injured or their property is damaged at your holiday home, public liability covers the compensation and legal costs. It is one of the most important covers once you let to guests, and many letting platforms and guests expect it.

Yes. If your holiday home cannot be let after an insured event such as a fire or flood, loss of rental income cover pays the letting income you lose while repairs are carried out, up to a set limit or period.

Holiday home policies allow for longer empty periods than a standard home policy, but there is still an unoccupancy limit. Beyond it, or over the off-season, you may need specific unoccupied cover, and you should tell your insurer when the home will be empty for a while.

If you employ anyone at the property, such as a cleaner, gardener or caretaker, employers’ liability is a legal requirement and can be added to the policy. Occasional self-employed contractors who carry their own cover are treated differently.

Yes. Contents cover protects the furniture, appliances and belongings you keep at the holiday home, including the items you provide for guests. Set the sum insured to match what is actually in the property.

Coastal, lakeside and flood-risk holiday homes can face higher premiums, larger excesses or specific terms, and are often placed with a specialist. Declaring the location and any past flooding accurately is essential to keep the cover valid.

Yes. Holiday lodges, log cabins and timber holiday homes can be covered, though their construction is treated as non-standard, so they are usually placed with a specialist insurer who understands that type of build.

Overseas holiday homes can often be covered through specialists who arrange cover in the country where the property sits. The location, construction and how you let it all affect what is available and the price.

Yes. Short lets and Airbnb-style lettings can be covered, but they must be declared because frequent short-stay guests change the risk. The policy is then arranged to include public liability and the wear that comes with regular guests.

It is not required by law, but a mortgage lender usually requires buildings cover as a condition of the loan, and guests and letting platforms expect public liability. Most owners hold it to protect a valuable second property.

It does not cover wear and tear, gradual damage or poor maintenance, undeclared letting, being unoccupied beyond the policy limit without the right cover, or an undeclared overseas location or non-standard construction. Declaring the facts keeps a claim valid.

There is no fixed price. It depends on the rebuild value and contents, the location and any coastal or flood risk, how often the home is let, how long it is left unoccupied, security, and claims history. A specialist prices it against the property.

Accidental and malicious damage can be added to most holiday home policies where you let to guests. It covers damage beyond normal wear and tear, and usually works alongside the deposit and any inventory you take before a stay.

Unoccupancy cover keeps protection in place when the holiday home is empty for longer than a standard policy allows, for example over the off-season. Empty properties carry a higher risk of escape of water, theft and undetected damage, so this cover matters for a second home.

If you own the freehold you need buildings cover, and contents cover protects what is inside. Many holiday homes are insured for both, but for a leasehold apartment the buildings may be covered by the freeholder, so you may only need contents and liability.

Yes. A second home kept purely for your own use, and not let to guests, can still be insured on a holiday or second home policy, which allows for the longer periods it sits empty compared with a main residence.

Landlord insurance is built for a property let to tenants on a long tenancy as their main home. Holiday home insurance is built for a second home used for holidays and short guest stays, with cover for unoccupancy, letting income and guest liability.

Specialist brokers place holiday and second homes every day and understand letting, unoccupancy, coastal risk and non-standard construction. They match your property to insurers with the right appetite, rather than a standard home quote that may not fit a let or empty second home.