International home insurance is crucial if you are intent on buying your dream home overseas. It’s just as important if not more so than having the proper insurance on your main dwelling. Even with the best of efforts, you won’t always be there to protect the property from risks including accidental damages or incidences of theft. The standard house insurance won’t suffice for your holiday home, however, as it’s not going to pay out if you leave the second house unattended for longer than a 30-day span annually.
In terms of insuring the second home, it is recommended that you obtain the insurance and the mortgage in your home country or with a carrier via the United Kingdom – contact the Association for British Insurance, Northern European area, or the United States. This is for two very important reasons:
- The claims are settled much faster within these areas than they are in any other countries.
- It’s so much easier to have policies within your own language and the claim handling process would be invariably simpler.
It’s also worth noting that with a second home, you will need to be sure to purchase insurance for both dwelling as well as contents, saving any type of conflict when a claim is filed.
Types Of Coverage
You need to make sure that you have a policy that is going to cover the home and all of the contents. It is also necessary to think about coverage where storm damage and natural disasters will be covered as well, including the amount it will cost to rebuild. You may need to purchase separate policies for earthquake/flood.
Dwelling Coverage
This will cover the structure on the property including things such as the roof or fixtures/fittings including bath and kitchen against any type of risk such as storms or fire or subsidence, etc. Lenders for the home will insist that you have this insurance in line. If you have recently taken a mortgage, the valuation will give you a rebuild figure. There are policies available that will index link costs of a rebuild in order to keep pace along with inflation. It’s a good idea to have an ‘unlimited’-type of policy so that having to tally the rebuild figure is not an issue for you.
Contents Insurance
This is essential, but not compulsory, in order to protect your personal things. It is important that you make a documentation of all of the possessions that you have within the property along with what they are worth and this includes anything that is on the outside. This is especially essential if you will be letting the property. If you are going to let the property, it is really a good idea to not leave anything in the house that you don’t need to while it is unoccupied. The insurer is likely to lessen the value of property or even exclude it from a claim if it has been in an unoccupied or let property.
International Home Insurance
You need to read the tiniest print to be sure what your international home insurance is going to include, understand that the country where your home is located is, in fact, included in the policy and that how you plan to use the home will be covered. Some countries may exclude subsidence of any kind. It’s crucial to do your homework and shop around. Coverage for a holiday home will vary from carrier to carrier. Some of these extras may be included, but if they aren’t it may be a good idea to go for a larger premium to get a better line of coverage.
- Accident. Accidental damage can be essential particularly if you intend to let the property. Guests won’t be taking care of the property as you do.
- Emergency coverage. There are some carriers who will provide a 24-hour emergency line where there is assistance, for instances such as a burst pipe.
- Income loss. If the property becomes damaged and uninhabitable causing loss of let income, it will bring a sense of peace if the carrier provides loss of income coverage. A lot of plans will only allow for pre-booked income, though.
- Accommodations. If there is an instance that deems your property uninhabitable and your guests are misplaced, some carriers will allow for alternative accommodations for them.
- Liability. This is something that is crucial to have in the case that there is an injury or even a death to a third party within the property for your protection.
Conclusion
As with any insurance, there are rules and regulations that you need to follow, particularly if you are letting the property. You need to read each letter of the policy to make sure you understand every word including the health and safety laws so that your insurance can’t be deemed as invalid. Having international home insurance will protect your dream getaway.
