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Home Insurance outside the UK and Ireland (or inside the UK) Once
you've found your dream property it's absolutely crucial that you get it properly
covered. Without the right insurance policy, you could have problems when you
come to claim and find out you don't have the cover you thought. If you're not
fluent in the local language, arranging cover or even making a claim through a
local insurer can be problematic. If
a property owner is not fluent in the local language, arranging cover or even
making a claim through a local insurer can be problematic. You
need to choose an insurance company with the policies written in "plain English". Wherever
you choose to buy your holiday home, you're not going to live there full time
and need to know your investment is properly protected. Having the right insurance
is all about understanding what assets you own, what liabilities you are exposed
to, and what external events can occur which will put you at risk. Local
insurance policies can include variations and exclusions relating to burglary,
accidental damage or personal liability claims. Some of these might not include
water supply or gas supply pipes or electric cables to the property becoming damaged.
There might be restrictions on you letting out the property as a holiday rental
or longer let. Other
policies might only give a maximum of 90 days un-occupancy at a time and this
is not very satisfactory if you have left your holiday home in August and don't
return till the end of January for example. It
is imperative that you check all the details ("small print") thoroughly and if
need to keep the electricity on to keep the heating or burglar alarm working,
make sure you let the insurance company know this from the start. This
type of action will avoid problems when a claim occurs particularly if there was
a fire caused by an electrical fault and under the terms of the policy, the electricity
was meant to be switched off! You
should never assume that what is covered under your UK home insurance will automatically
be covered abroad, as the expectation of what should be standard cover differs
greatly country to country, so that is why it does help having the policy written
in English. When
you arrange cover make sure the buildings costs are for the correct cost of rebuilding.
Many people think that they should get building insurance at market value. If
your property was worth €190,000 last year and maybe the market price has gone
down to €170,000 this year, it won't affect the buildings costs. Remember
you already own the "land" the property is situated on and so assuming the property
was destroyed by fire the insurance has to cover the removal or repair of the
building shell and the erecting or repair for the replacement. The sum insured
should be sufficient to rebuild all buildings as well as all outdoor structures
such as swimming pools, terracing or perimeter walls. If
you are having difficult putting a price on the rebuild take advice from the insurance
company. Provide them with the dimensions, basic materials it is constructed with
get help from the insurance company. A specialist who covers a lot of countries
should have comparables. Don't
forget to insure contents as well, they should be insured for their replacement
value as new. One
final reminder is that most policies will provide liability cover to protect the
owner of the holiday home should someone be injured by, for example, a falling
roof tile, tripping over a loose paving slab etc. if you rent out your property,
or if you employ domestic staff, you should check that you have cover in place
should a guest or an employee get injured. Many
of the holiday home specialists that you will find today not only cover holiday
/ second home property outside the UK, but also in the UK. Their policies are
designed for that specialist market and one company is now offering policies for
holiday home owners own
UK main residence. Of
course these insurance companies are not only targeting the holiday home market
outside the UK, but also some are targeting owners of main residence properties
situated outside the UK. There numerous "ex pats" who have moved to Spain, France,
Italy and other locations and they are often happier dealing with an insurance
company back in the UK, particularly if they have language problems in the country
they now live in. jml
Insurance.co.uk act as introducers to a number of specialists including Intasure,
Andrew
Copeland International, Devon
Direct and
Ember DJ Insurance Brokers Philip
Suter is a Director of JML Property Services, http://www.jmlproperty.co.uk
a UK based company offering property rentals in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire,
England and a self catering vacation home advertising service - http://www.jmlvillas.com
and management training within the uk. He is a very experienced property consultant
with over 30 years work in the Residential letting business and served in the
national council of The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). He is
a Fellow of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and a Member of The
association of Residential Letting Agents ©Philip
Suter jml Property Services February 2009 Also
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