Holiday Home Insurance is the specialist replacement of home contents insurance as purchased on the main family home which is occupied throughout the year.  The insurance policies offer a number of extra pieces of cover which reflect the issues and differences which occur in a holiday home.

So Holiday Home Insurance provides extra cover and one of the most important is public liability.  This covers any expenses which may occur as injury or damage to belongings of a guest while staying in the property.  Here are a few examples.

A paying guest is using the property trips on some loose carpet and falls.  The owner is then liable for any compensation due the victim as the property has not been correctly maintained.  The victim could sue to cover lost earnings while they recover from an injury or be awarded damages if they suffer a long term disability or injury.  This is extremely rare but the financial cost of such a claim can run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.  A typical Holiday Home Insurance policy will provide cover for a few million pounds of liability insurance.
Guests will often bring personal possessions with them on holiday, such as expensive smartphones, laptops or jewellery.  If there was a break-in during a stay and some of the guest’s valuables were taken, the Holiday Home Insurance policy would provide cover for replacing their personal items.  Though highly unlikely, it is also possible that a guest’s personal possessions could be damaged at the property through no fault of their own, for example where a guest buys a lot of food for their stay and the fridge/freezer fails, resulting in the food having to be thrown out.
Many self-catering properties offer extra facilities to attract more bookings.  These can include a swimming pool, a hot tub, or extra equipment such as cycles and surfboards.  It is important to check the liability element of the Holiday Home Insurance policy to ensure you are not liable for any compensation as a result of an accident or damage caused by the use of the equipment.

There are many more examples of situations which can create claims and problems for owners, so it is important to ensure that the Holiday Home Insurance covers all of these eventualities and does not expose the owner to serious and costly claims.

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