What is considered a second home? 

For most insurers, a second home is usually anywhere that is not your primary residence. For many, this will be a rental home, or a holiday home. For other people, it might be a base they use outside their main home as a place from which to work or visit friends and family.

What is the definition of a second home?

Generally with a second home you:

What are the different types of home insurance for second homes?

For both your main place of residence and your second home or holiday home you should consider getting quotes for two types of insurance – buildings insurance cover and contents insurance cover. Or you can get one policy which combines both. This can sometimes be a cheaper and more cost effective option.

What is buildings insurance for second homes? 

Buildings insurance covers the structure of the property including the walls, roof and brickwork. If there were to be a fire, flood or structural damage this insurance would cover the rebuilding of your home, and can include materials and labour that would be required for the rebuild or repairs. 

What is contents insurance for second homes? 

Contents insurance covers the contents within the home, such as electronics, clothes and furniture. You can add additional cover, which can include items like, gadgets and bikes either at home or away from your home. 

What are the different types of second home insurance?

Holiday home insurance, empty property insurance or unoccupied property insurance is also commonly referred to as unoccupied home insurance, unoccupied house insurance, or empty house insurance. The four main second homes are:

Due to these homes being vacant for periods of time, second home insurance is the only way to ensure peace of mind. Second homes have a natural attraction to criminals or squatters, so it’s best to consider both buildings and contents insurance.

Whilst they may not have the same valuables as your first home, replacing appliances and furniture can prove costly. 

Do I need second home insurance for rental properties?

If you have a second property that you are renting out you will need a different type of insurance policy to cover it.

As the owner of a rental property you are now a landlord, so you will need landlord insurance. Unlike other types of second homes, it is likely that your property will be occupied as often as your first home. Whilst landlord insurance is not a legal requirement, when you do take out your buy-to let mortgage your lender might require you to have it. 

Landlord insurance will ensure that you have the right cover for the building and furnishings you’ve provided for your tenants. As well as protection cover for income you would make from the property, and accidents that might occur with your tenants, where they consider you at fault.

Do I need second home insurance for my holiday home?

Unless your holiday home is in a popular year round holiday destination, it’s likely that for a good part of the year, your home will be unoccupied. For this reason insurance companies may deem your home to be more high risk, and therefore it will require its own type of cover.

Holiday home insurance also protects homes in other parts of the world, in certain countries these homes might be at more risk to other elements like weather conditions that they wouldn’t be exposed to in the UK.

Read more about home insurance with our Uswitch Guide - what is home insurance?

What if my second home is unoccupied or I have an unoccupied rental property?

Unoccupied house insurance policies usually include an employers’ liability clause in the case of an accident.

It’s important to note that building insurance for a holiday home or unoccupied house isn’t going to be based on the market value of your property. It will be based on the cost of the rebuild instead. 

To get an accurate estimation of a rebuild cost, a chartered surveyor will do an assessment of your property. This might be something that you already have from your purchase or the home or previous building reports.

Do I need both buildings insurance and contents insurance for my second home?

Having insurance on your second home is vital, especially as the home is likely to be unoccupied for periods of time throughout the year.

The second home is more likely to be a target for burglary and possibly squatters. You also might not be able to fix issues within your home at the time of them occurring, meaning that the damage could become worse once you have even been made aware of the issue.

Do I need public liability insurance for my second home? 

Some home insurance policies include a public liability clause, but this would only be something that would be necessary if your house is a rental home.

Public liability insurance covers you for the possibility of anyone taking legal action against you if there were an accident.  

This also protects you for any employees who you have working for you at the property whilst you aren’t there. This could include gardeners, housekeepers and builders.

Find out about second home and unoccupied home insurance policies with Uswitch

What if my second home is empty for more than two months?

How often your property is going to be vacant will determine the insurance you should get. Read the terms and conditions carefully and compare what different providers can offer. 

If you know that your holiday home is likely to be vacant for more than 30 days, you might want to also get quotes for unoccupied property insurance. Holiday home insurance policies might be limited to a 30-day period. 

Any second homes which are overseas could be subject to adverse weather conditions/natural disasters that you might not be familiar with in the UK. For this reason it is common for insurance policies to exclude situations like earthquakes and hurricanes.

Read more about home insurance with our Uswitch Guide - what is home insurance?

What other exclusions are common to second home insurance policies?

In the event of damage to extras on your building like solar panels, you might not be covered under your policy.

Much like your primary residence, incorrect or unapproved security features, can invalidate your insurance policy. Consider the locks and windows you have installed and make sure they comply with your policy. 

Having the wrong types of locks on doors or windows for instance could invalidate your cover, as could not keeping your insurer abreast of any fundamental changes to your property.

Uswitch top tips 

Cover for emergencies   

Some policies may also include cover for emergency travel for holiday homes abroad, ensuring you can get out to your property quickly should something happen.

Missed rent   

Should you also consider rent guarantee insurance? This insurance will guarantee your insurance covers the rent if your tenant can’t make their agreed payments. Policies can cover between 6 - 12months.

Make a checklist 

Similar to insurance on your main home, make a checklist of the items you have and will insure and keep this as an inventory. This will also be useful if you decide to rent out your property.

Don’t leave any valuables: Be careful not to leave anything valuable in the property. 

Consider additional cover: Additional cover, such as gadget insurance or extended warranty on domestic appliances might be worth looking into.

Find out about home insurance for high net worth homes

How do I get the best home insurance quote for my second home?

Shop around before deciding on the unoccupied property insurance quote that's right for you. The cheapest quote will not necessarily be the best for you, and might not include all that you need.