Although there is some discrepancy between the statistics kept by the police and those revealed by the official Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), some authorities put the total number of burglaries and attempted burglaries in the UK each year at some 3 million – suggests the Crime Prevention Website.
During the Christmas and New Year season, when homes may be bristling with expensive new presents or their owners are taking a long winter break, these crime statistics tend to increase.
Your holiday home
If these figures alert you to the risk of burglary and attempted burglary from your own main home, imagine how vulnerable any holiday home may face.
It might be located in a relatively isolated spot – without so many neighbours to raise the alarm about unwanted visitors – it may be standing empty for relatively long periods of the year and there may be times when you have let it to tenants on a short-term basis.
Although UK holiday home insurance is designed to give your second home the same level and degree of protection as the cover you arrange for your principal place of residence, it also needs to take into account the particular features and characteristics of the holiday home.
UK holiday home insurance
What makes holiday home insurance different from other types of property insurance – and why do we here at Specialist 4 Property specialise in the provision of this purpose designed cover?
Holiday home insurance provides similar cover as your standard home insurance – or, indeed, buy to let insurance – for the protection of the building itself against a range of potentially very damaging events. Typically, these include fire, storm damage, flooding, impacts, escape of water, theft and vandalism.
A notable difference with your second home, however, is that it is just that. By definition, your second home is likely to be used by you only for part of the year. For the remainder of that time, it may be left empty, unoccupied and all the more vulnerable to risk of accidents, theft and vandalism. These distinct risks faced by your second home are properly addressed by holiday home insurance.
If you are letting your holiday home to paying guests during certain periods of the year, you might think that the relevant type of insurance is landlord’s insurance. But let periods account for only part of the year, and for the remainder you might be using the property yourself or it is standing empty.
UK holiday home insurance, therefore, rather than landlord’s insurance is the appropriate form of cover – although the former does continue to make provision for protecting your landlord or property owner’s liability against claims from temporary tenants, their visitors, neighbours or members of the public who are injured or have their own property damaged as a result of contact with your holiday home.
At a time of year when any home is likely to be more vulnerable than ever against criminal activity, you might want to spare a thought for the special case that is made for your second home and make sure that you have the appropriate and adequate level of UK holiday home insurance.
