UK Holiday Home Insurance
- Property covered for non-paying and paying guests including online bnb.
- Up to £5m public liability cover for guests.
- Covers holiday homes empty for 30+ days at a time.
- Underwritten by AXA Insurance.
More information
What is holiday home insurance?
Holiday home insurance is meant to provide home insurance cover for properties that you wouldn’t consider to be your main residence, but that you use for purposes such as going on family getaways, renting out to guests, or perhaps both.
The way you use your holiday home will influence the price and policy terms we can offer. We take into account factors such as the risks associated with your property. For example, if you frequently leave your holiday home unoccupied, damage to the property could go unnoticed. Or, if you rent out your holiday home, damage could be caused by paying guests during their stay.
Other specifics, such as location, rebuild value, property security, and property maintenance, will also contribute to determining the price and policy terms which we can offer.
do i need holiday home insurance?
While you’re not legally required to take out holiday home insurance, the protection that comes with having home insurance can be reassuring.
As long as your home has fixed foundations and is based in the UK, we can provide a holiday home insurance quote. We cover properties such as cottages, mansions, lodges, country homes, and barn conversions.
If you choose to insure your holiday home with Homeprotect, our holiday home insurance comes with the option to purchase buildings cover, contents cover, or both. Keep reading to learn more about what is and isn’t included in our holiday home insurance.
can i get standard home insurance for a holiday home?
Your standard home insurance policy typically won’t cover your property if it’s used as a holiday home, which is why you’ll want to consider taking out holiday home insurance.
You can get a quote to find out more about the holiday home insurance cover you’ll need for your situation.
what home insurance do i need if i rent out my holiday home?
If you own a holiday let, you’ll want to make sure you have certain levels of cover such as public liability and loss of rent. Our holiday home insurance can cover your holiday home if you’re renting it out – get a quote today to find out more.
What our expert says…
“Our holiday home cover is very popular and we currently insure over 30,000 UK holiday homes. If you have paying guests, then you can claim up to £30,000 for loss of rental income, if your property can’t be lived in due to an insured loss, such as fire or flood.
However, there are cover restrictions, such as the exclusion of alternative accommodation and accidental damage cover if you have paying guests. But because of these restrictions our holiday home cover is, on average, considerably cheaper than our standard property cover.
So even if the price is appealing, do make sure you read through the policy terms to understand the specifics of what is and isn’t covered – that way you can be confident that Homeprotect has the right cover for you.”
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What’s covered by holiday home insurance?
Holiday home insurance protects the building and its contents against insured events such as fire, flood, storm, theft, and more. You can choose to insure the buildings, contents, or both — depending on your needs.
If you let your property to paying guests and they can’t stay due to an insured event, our Loss of Rent feature covers the rent you would have received (as shown in your booking confirmation), up to £30,000 per claim.
Cover includes:
- Buildings insurance – protection for the property’s structure and permanent features
- Contents insurance – protection for items inside the home
If your holiday home is unoccupied for short periods (between 31 and 180 days), your cover remains active, but with the following exclusions unless the property is inspected internally at least once every 30 days:
- Escape of water (claims between 1 October and 1 April)
- Theft or attempted theft, unless all security features listed in your Statement of Fact are in working order
- Jewellery and watches, unless kept in a locked safe with the keys removed
- Money, under any circumstances
You’ll need to provide evidence of inspections at the point of claim.
What we offer
Emergency help when you need it most
If you have a home emergency — such as a power outage, uncontrollable leak or a broken lock — our 24/7 Home Emergency cover is included as standard.
- We aim to get an engineer to you within four hours
- For serious water leaks, we’ll try to have a plumber with you in two hours (Response times may vary during extreme weather. Policy terms and claim limits apply.)
Repair guarantee
We guarantee any buildings work we arrange after a claim for two years. Contents repairs are guaranteed for one year.
New for old
Where we replace a damaged or stolen item, we’ll do our best to match the original — on a ‘new for old’ basis. If that’s not possible, we’ll offer a suitable alternative or a full cash settlement.
Legal support when you need it
Family Legal Protection is included as standard. You’ll have access to expert telephone legal advice on personal matters under the laws of the UK and most of Europe.
What isn’t included?
There are some things we can’t cover, including:
- Gradual damage, wear and tear, or issues you knew about but didn’t fix
- Faulty design or poor workmanship
- Theft, vandalism, or accidental damage caused by paying guests
- Mechanical or electrical faults
- Escape of water claims between 1 October – 1 April (inclusive) if the home is left unoccupied (without inspection) for more than 30 days
- Alternative accommodation costs (if the property isn’t your main home)
- Personal Possessions (e.g. bags, clothes, sports equipment used away from the home)
- Gadgets, Bikes & Valuables Away from the Home (e.g. phones, tablets, watches, jewellery)
Keeping your holiday home and belongings in good condition is essential. If damage happens because of neglect or poor maintenance, your claim may be declined, and your policy could be cancelled.
Recommended by our customers
72% Saved money when they switched to Homeprotect*
*Survey data of 1,089 buying customers from 30th October – 12th November 2024
HOME Insurance Cover Levels
Our home insurance is designed to protect your home against insured events such as fire, storm, flood, escape of water, theft, malicious damage, subsidence, landslip or heave.
Buildings cover
Protects the main structure of your holiday home, including attached garages and conservatories, and permanent outdoor features such as patios, driveways and boundary walls.
Up to £1 million
(more cover available if you need it)
Contents cover
Protects your holiday home contents — including furniture, clothing, appliances, gadgets and valuables — against events like fire, flood and theft. Cover is provided on a new for old basis.
from £25,000
Loss of rent
Covers lost income if paying guests can’t stay after an insured loss.
up to £30,000
Home emergency
Covers sudden, unexpected emergencies — like an uncontrollable leak — that require immediate action to prevent damage or make your home secure.
up to £500
Family legal protection
Covers legal costs for certain insured events. There must be a reasonable chance of success, and the incident must happen during your policy term.
up to £25,000
Trace and access
We’ll pay to detect the source of a water or oil leak, and cover the cost of reinstating floors, walls or paths that were disturbed in the process.
up to £10,000
Outbuildings cover
Covers detached garages, greenhouses, sheds, summerhouses and other outbuildings within your boundary or any communal area you’re legally responsible for.
from £20,000
Liability cover
Covers your legal liability for accidental death, injury or illness to someone else, or damage to their property.
up to £5 million
New Customer?
If you’re deciding on whether to buy home insurance with us, you can use our latest policy booklets as a guide.
Existing Customer?
Find answers to some of your questions here. Your latest policy documents are also available to view and download.
Your Questions Answered
Defining which property is your main residence can sometimes be tricky. Aspects to consider when making the decision are where most of your belongings are kept and where you spend the majority of your time.
For instance, if one address is predominantly used for legal interests, is where your car is registered and is what you would consider to be the family home then your insurer will use this distinction to provide cover for your main residence. Anything outside of these situations would typically be a second home, including holiday homes and weekday/weekend properties.
There are no regulations around how long a homeowner can leave their property unoccupied. However, when it comes to purchasing vacant property insurance with Homeprotect, your home must have been unoccupied for more than 30 days.
Holiday homes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes across the UK. As long as the building has fixed foundations, we can provide the following holiday home cover under our home insurance:
- Cottage insurance
- Mansion insurance
- Lodge insurance
- Country home insurance
- Barn conversion insurance
The main difference between a holiday home and a second home is the amount of time the homeowner resides in the property. Second homes are typically seen as secondary permanent residences that the homeowner spends a significant amount of time in – such as part of each week. Holiday homes are sometimes unoccupied for extended periods, with some homeowners only using the property for short stays a few times a year.
Yes, Homeprotect is pleased to offer unoccupied home insurance policies for long periods. If your holiday home will be left vacant during the off-season or between guests for more than 30 days, we can still offer cover. Please read more about our unoccupied home insurance to understand what restrictions apply.