Articles:
Safety First: Keep the risks down on your
holiday home
SB May 2007
When looking for your
holiday home insurance, it is essential to
make sure you use a specialist insurer. Many
insurers are cautious about insuring a holiday
home. Of course there are good reasons for
this. There are obvious risks in leaving your
property unoccupied on a regular basis. Any
problem that arises could get a whole lot worse
if there is no one there to deal with it
straight away.
So how can you minimise these risks?
Carry out regular checks on the wiring,
sockets and electrical appliances. If there
is the slightest cause for concern, get it
seen to by a qualified electrician (trying
to do it yourself could invalidate your
holiday home insurance). If something
starts smouldering while there is nobody
there to take action, it is likely to become
a full-blown fire that could destroy your
holiday home.
If you leave your holiday home unoccupied
for long periods during the winter months,
consider keeping your heating on (assuming
it’s thermostatically controlled) to prevent
freezing. (Some holiday home insurance
policies insist on this.) It will mean
bigger bills, but freezing could be
disastrous. If the heating is oil-fired,
look at it regularly to make sure there is
no escape of oil.
Check your TV aerial to make sure it isn’t
about to fall down.
Inspect your roof regularly. Even one tile
missing for a lengthy period could cause
severe water damage in your property.
Some
holiday home insurance companies insist
that the water system is drained down during
unoccupied periods. If you don’t want to do
this, make sure you are clear about your
insurer’s rules.
You really need someone at hand who can keep
a check on the property for you and get
access in an emergency – either a paid
agent, or a trusted neighbour.
Simple precautions prevent major disasters. Of
course most of these things are unlikely to
happen. But sometimes they do. And if they do,
finding your holiday home
insurance is invalid is the worst possible
scenario.
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