Defaqto rated

Holiday Home & Holiday Let Insurance

Help protect your holiday home with our 5 Star Defaqto rated cover

Holiday homes cover for properties in the UK

If you have a second property that’s used as a holiday home, you may be looking for specific cover. Our cover for UK properties used as holiday homes is there to provide cover that can be more suitable than standard home insurance.

What is insurance for holiday homes?

UK holiday home insurance provides cover for risks that may not be included in a standard home insurance policy. Your property may see lengthy periods where it sits empty if it is mostly used during the holiday season. This can be the case whether you use the property yourself or let it to holidaymakers. You may find our specialist policy suitable for your property’s needs.

How is our UK Holiday Home Insurance different?

We have developed our policy to provide cover against a host of perils, including:

  • Accidental damage
  • Malicious damage by paying guests
  • Theft by paying guests

This cover can also be suitable for your home when it’s empty for certain periods whilst you are living or working away. You can get in touch with our team to discuss this further.

Our Holiday Home Insurance can be paid by interest-free Direct Debit over 12 months.

Policy limits and exclusions may apply, please see our Holiday Home Insurance policy wording for a full list of covers, including additional cover provided as standard.

What does holiday homes insurance cover?

When looking at insurance options to cover holiday homes, you will want to consider if you want just buildings insurance or if you also need contents insurance for furnished properties. Suitable insurance can help to cover the costs of a range of perils, including:

Buildings insurance – for loss or damage directly caused by a range of insured events, including escape of water, theft, and malicious damage.

Contents insurance – for loss or damage directly caused by a range of insured events, including escape of water, theft, and malicious damage.

Liability cover – for legal costs that can be incurred due to property owners’ liability, legal liability as a landlord, accidents to domestic staff, and the Defective Premises Act 1972.

Alternative accommodation cover – for the reasonable cost of similar accommodation for you, if the premises are your holiday home.

Loss of rent cover – for if the premises become uninhabitable for paying guests following loss or damage covered by an insured event, this can provide cover for the amount of rent due to be paid to you.

Read our policy documents for the full list of covers provided.

Do I need holiday home insurance?

If you own a second home that is only used occasionally, then standard home insurance might not be suitable. If you use it as a holiday home, this may require different cover. Our holiday home insurance solution has been created with this in mind, offering a comprehensive level of protection. 

If you are letting the home to holidaymakers, you might want features such as our cover for malicious damage by paying guests and theft by paying guests. We also offer cover for loss of rent if the property becomes uninhabitable following insured loss or damage. This and more are provided as standard with our Holiday Home Insurance.

What does holiday home insurance cover?

Our product includes covers to help protect your holiday house against a range of perils, from the basics of FLEE (fire, lightning, earthquake, and explosion) and liability to property damage caused by incidents such as break-ins and theft cover. Both buildings insurance and contents insurance are available.

To provide a comprehensive level of cover, we’ve included protection for risks that other holiday home insurance policies might not offer or some insurance providers may charge extra for, such as malicious damage and theft by tenants.

Our holiday home insurance also includes property owners’ liability cover and occupier or landlord’s liability cover.

Policy limits and exclusions may apply, please see our holiday home insurance policy wordings for full terms and conditions.

What the insurance experts say

Our UK Holiday Home Insurance policy has been awarded a 5 Star rating by Defaqto, the independent analysers of financial products. The award indicates a comprehensive level of insurance to help protect your property. We believe it is important to provide properties with suitable cover, so we’re proud to maintain Defaqto’s highest rating.

Our frequently asked questions

Please note that these frequently asked questions are not a substitute for the policy wording. For full terms and conditions please see the policy documentation.

What is a holiday home let?

The definition of a holiday home let can differ from policy to policy. Our policy wording states that a holiday home let is where the premises is let to any third party, other than family and friends. However, our policy does also provides cover when the holiday home is used by family and friends.

How is holiday home insurance different from standard home insurance?

Standard home insurance can protect a main residence that is permanently lived in. However, it might contain a clause stating that cover is not provided if uninhabited for a certain length of time or longer. Holiday home cover such as ours is created with this in mind, allowing for the home to be left unoccupied. We understand that you might only visit occasionally or you may have gaps between holiday let tenants.

How much does holiday home insurance cost?

Cover for holiday homes can vary, depending on a arrange of factors. The level of cover can affect premiums, for example do you need just buildings cover or both buildings and contents cover?

When filling in a quote form, you may also be asked for information such as the rebuild cost, the number of bedrooms, and previous claims history. All the information you provide should be accurate, as it is important to ensure you have suitable cover.

What types of holiday homes do you cover?

Our holiday home insurance policy offers protection for a range of holiday home uses. For example, if you rent out your holiday home and need holiday let insurance or own it for personal use and invite friends and family to stay, our cover may be suitable for your needs. We provide quotes for various property types, even those with extra external amenities, such as swimming pools or tennis courts.

Our product is suitable for insuring properties in the UK, including holiday homes such as:

  • Detached, semi-detached, and terraced houses
  • Cottages
  • Bungalows
  • Maisonettes
  • Flats
  • Town houses
  • Coach houses

Unfortunately, we can’t cover static or mobile caravans. However, you can obtain a quote from Intasure, who is also part of the Arthur J. Gallagher & Co group of companies.

Does holiday home insurance protect rental holiday homes?

Whether the holiday home is for personal use, including for friends and family, or let to holidaymakers, our insurance is available. It includes renting-specific covers, such as malicious damage by paying guests and loss of rent.

What is holiday home buildings insurance and holiday home contents insurance?

Insurance policies for holiday homes such as ours may split the covers into two categories – buildings and contents. Buildings cover is there to help with the cost of repairing or rebuilding your property if it is damaged. Contents cover is there to help with the cost of repairing or replacing damaged or stolen items, such as furniture and household goods.

Does insurance for holiday homes protect rental income?

Insurance for a holiday home may provide certain covers to help if your rental income is affected. For example, our holiday home insurance cover includes loss of rent. 

When you have paying guests and your holiday home becomes uninhabitable, you may be able to claim for the amount of the booking lost due to an insured peril. Another possibility is that we may be able to cover the cost of alternative accommodation for your guests instead.

Loss of rent cover is different to rent guarantee insurance, which is there to help landlords financially while you are lawfully seeking repossession of your property due to rent arrears.

Can holiday home insurance cover alternative accommodation costs?

If the premises become uninhabitable following loss or damage covered by an insured event, the reasonable cost of similar accommodation for you to stay in can be covered.

What can I do to keep my holiday home safe while it’s empty?

Like with any empty property, a holiday home might attract burglars if it becomes apparent no one has visited for a while. Taking steps to make the property appear in use might help you to avoid such issues. Take a look at our guide for some tips that may help.

You may also want to consider having the holiday property professionally drained during colder months to help avoid water damage caused by a burst pipe.

Having suitable home insurance for your holiday property while it is empty can help provide peace of mind. If it might be empty for long periods, you may want to consider unoccupied property insurance.

Do you offer cover for legal expenses?

Legal expenses for issues such as property owners’ liability and liability as occupier or landlord are included with our UK Holiday Home Insurance policy as standard. The full list of covers can be found in our policy wording.

Can I insure more than one property with you?

We are able to place cover on an entire portfolio if you wish to keep your insurance all in one place. Whether you own holiday homes or you have a mix of holiday homes, tenanted properties and unoccupied properties, we may be able to help.

If you have a portfolio consisting of up to 100 properties, you can obtain a quote online. If your portfolio has over 100 properties, you can obtain a quote by emailing enquiries@justlandlords.co.uk. We may be able to offer you one policy to suit your portfolio’s needs.

How can I make a claim on my holiday home insurance?

You can fill out our claims form by visiting our dedicated claims page. You can either submit the form online or download and print a copy to send to our Claims Department through the post. Our in-house UK based claims team will then process your claims request and get in touch.

Looking for suitable property insurance?

We can provide cover for the following:

Resource centre

Other links

  • Gallagher – Just Landlords is a trading name of Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited. Part of the Arthur J. Gallagher & Co group of companies.