So you finally got your place in the sun, it’s the ideal holiday retreat you always dreamed of and it gives you the chance to escape for a few glorious sunny weeks of each year. It’s an attractive idea, and the perfect way to pass the summer months, enjoying the sunshine and making the most of staying at your second home without the worries of hotel fees and other guests.

But problems can arise when you view your home purely as a holiday retreat, without thinking about how it will surive the winter when it will most likely be standing empty and exposed to cold weather. A lot of second home owners fall into the trap of believing that their overseas property insurance will cover them for any problems that may arise throughout the whole year, but in fact many policies contain conditions that can leave the claim invalid if the property is damaged whilst unoccupied.

The most common trap that people fall into with second home insurance is not realising that their policy requires them to fulfil certain obligations for the claim to be valid. Often hidden away in the small print, you could be required to switch off and drain the whole water system when leaving the house unattended, visiting the property at least once every 30 days, or even performing weekly checks.

Your second home could be left without cover if something happened and these conditions are not met, so it’s important to thoroughly check your policy, read the small print and make sure there are no catches. If you need to, upgrade your policy – some second home insurance companies like Schofields offer insurance for holiday homes that remains valid throughout the year without these requirements. 

Of course prevention is better than cure, and you should always do all you can to protect your holiday home against potential damage over the winter months. Security is obviously very important, and you should make sure that any valuable items are locked away out of sight and that the house is secure. It’s a good idea to have a local neighbour or agent check on your holiday home regularly to make sure everything is as it should be.

Another common problem that often occurs in unattended holiday homes is that water pipes may freeze or burst during the winter. Last year hundreds of holiday owners were caught out by the unexpected cold weather, finding their second homes damaged by water as they’d been left unprepared for the icy conditions. Many of these also found that they weren’t covered on their insurance. Prevention from disasters like this cannot be guaranteed but there are a few simple steps you can take which could save you a lot of bother in the future.

Firstly, don’t turn the heating off over the winter – yes it means you won’t have to worry about heating bills, but allowing the property to fall below freezing could cause serious damage to the pipes, which will clearly end up costing far more. Make sure all pipes are thoroughly insulated – including any in the loft space above the roof insulation where heat from the house cannot rise to. Turn off the water mains to limit the amount of leakage if a pipe does burst, and most importantly if you do discover a frozen or burst pipe, call an emergency plumber immediately!

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