Do you know everything you need to know about holiday home insurance?

July 19, 2022
Jess

If you’ve invested in a holiday home, congratulations! Not only are you sure to have many amazing holidays in your new home while making memories for the whole family, you’ve made a sound financial investment as well.

While there are many benefits to owning a holiday home, some people tend to forget that there are a lot of little things that go into holiday home ownership as well. Luckily, Schofields has released an excellent quiz to test your knowledge about owning a holiday home, so you can get an idea of what you know and what you still need to learn.

Go ahead and take the quiz now, and then we can look at some of the interesting information that was revealed in the quiz.

Residential Home Residence Family Room House

Finished? How did you score? If you didn’t do very well, don’t worry- there are plenty of resources available to help teach you everything you need to know, and the friendly team at Schofields are also sure to be happy to help.

One of the things I was surprised to learn, is that you can’t simply lock up your holiday home at the end of summer and assume you can return after the cool weather with no problems. There’s actually quite the process involved if you won’t be returning for a few months. It turns out that in order to reduce the risk of your pipes bursting to prevent water damage, there are a few things you need to do (and these things will also make it possible for you to make a claim if they do happen to burst anyway).

Firstly, you need to leave the heating on its minimum setting, which should be around 12-15 degrees. You’re also supposed to turn off the main stop cock, open taps to empty your pipes and water tank, and/or drain the heating system. You should also lag pipes and have insulation which will protect against frost as well.

If you’ve ever had a rodent infestation, you’ll know that this is not a pleasant experience. And if you’re planning to use AirBnb or have guests stay in your holiday home, most holiday home insurance policies won’t cover any damage that has been done by vermin.

If someone has an accident in your holiday home, you can actually be sued for personal injury. This is something I was unaware of, and it’s another huge reason why you need holiday home insurance- this should include public liability insurance through nonprofit insurance, which would cover your legal costs and any compensation depending on your policy. If you’re renting out your holiday home, you’ll need to check that the policy covers these guests as well, and not just your family members.

While most holiday home insurance coverage will include theft, many of them won’t cover you for non-forced entry, meaning if you forget to lock a door or someone has a key. It’s a good idea to check if you’re covered here as well.