Posted on

Insurance Risks for Holiday Homeowners

Insurance Risks for Holiday Homeowners











Truro, (PRWEB) June 1, 2009

Regional insurance firm Cornish Mutual, which has Members across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset, says many people may be unaware employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement and holiday homeowners could face a costly claim or even a prison sentence if a member of staff is injured whilst working on or in their let property.

Latest figures* from the Health & Safety Executive show there were 28 fatal injuries to workers in the South West in 2007/08 and 2,337 reported major injuries in the region – Over two thirds (66%) were amongst workers in service industries.

Chris Ridgers, at farm insurance specialist Cornish Mutual said: “Your employees may be injured at work and they might try to claim compensation from you if they believe you are responsible. It could be a cleaner who goes into the property on changeover day or a gardener you employ to maintain the property – anyone who’s working under your guidance and using your tools and equipment.”

Whilst public liability insurance is not a legal requirement, the cost of not having holiday home insurance could amount to hefty claims from guests injured whilst staying in the property. With 20 per cent of all visitors to the South West choosing to stay in Self Catering accommodation**, it is important for property owners to make sure they have sufficient cover to guard against these risks.

Recent examples of claims experienced by Cornish Mutual include a guest who tripped over a step and fell onto a wood burner sustaining nasty burns and another guest who broke a number of bones after falling over a concrete mushroom in the garden. Other liability claims include damage to a property or its contents.

Malcolm Bell, Chief Executive of South West Tourism said: “We want all visitors to the South West to come to the region and have a safe and enjoyable time when they are here. There is so much to see and do in the South West and we are lucky to have some of the best self catering properties in the UK. Property owners need to make sure they do all they can to ensure their visitors enjoy their stay and this includes having adequate cover for their business.

“We would encourage property owners to take out public liability insurance to ensure they are covered should an accident happen.”

Iain and Gill Butterworth run specialist holiday homes letting agency ‘Holiday Homes & Cottages South West’, based in Torquay, Devon. Their Agency Agreement (legal contract between owner and the company) incorporates a declaration that the owner confirms that they have ‘adequate commercial public liability insurance’.

Gill added: “We recognise the importance of having insurance that is appropriate and offers the right level of cover. We, therefore, do not take on a new property before ensuring the owner has the right cover in place.”

Cornish Mutual’s Let Property and Buy to Let Property Insurance products include holiday homes – this provides cover for buildings, contents and public and employers’ liability insurance. For more information visit http://www.cornishmutual.co.uk or call 0845 900 1288.

*HSE, South West government office region (GOR), Statistics of occupational ill health, safety and enforcement 2007/08

**South West Tourism, South West Visitor Survey 2007

For more information, contact:

Ryan Martinez    

Deborah Clark Associates

01208 77900

07887 746569

Melissa Ward    

Cornish Mutual    

01872 277151    

07702 673343     

Notes for editors:

Founded by a group of Westcountry farmers in 1903, Cornish Mutual is the only general insurer based in the South West. Even today, the company is still owned by its Members, and remains at the heart of rural communities throughout Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset.

Although staying true to its origins in agriculture (around two thirds of Cornwall’s farmers are Members), Cornish Mutual now provides household, commercial, events and personal accident insurance to Members of all descriptions, living or working throughout the South West countryside.

For more information on Holiday Homes & Cottages South West visit http://www.swcottages.co.uk or call 01803 299677

# # #
























Vocus©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.









Related Holiday Home Insurance Press Releases

Posted on

A short guide to holiday home insurance

Article by Jason Hulott









Second home insurance should be more or less similar to first home insurance, you’d think. Like many things in life, the answer’s both yes and no. Holiday home insurance bears many similarities to the insurance you have probably already arranged for your principal residence – but there are significant differences, too.

The similarities

Just like standard home insurance, holiday home insurance is designed to provide financial protection for your investment in the property in the event of a whole range of risks that could result in loss or damage to the fabric of the building itself or to its contents. If accidents or natural disaster should strike, the insurance is there to indemnify you against the loss or damage. So there are typically two main components:

? Buildings insurance: as the name suggests, this is the element of insurance for the structure and fabric of the building in the event of its damage from storms, flooding, fire, falling debris, vandalism and the like. The actual sum insured might appear to be a relatively high figure since it needs to cover the cost of completely rebuilding the home and this can typically far outweigh its current market value;

? Contents insurance: the contents of even a second home can represent a sizeable investment. The sums you’ve spent on furniture and furnishings, appliances and equipment, not to mention your personal belongings, can soon mount up and the cost of replacing items lost, damaged or stolen could leave you seriously out of pocket. Second home insurance typically aims to help you make good any such loss.

Do note that any successful claim normally comes with an excess (this is the first part of any claim that you are liable for) and also that policy features and benefits can vary depending on the provider, so never assume that the cover you need is automatically included – do check.

The differences

Whilst holiday home insurance is therefore clearly recognisable as a form of otherwise standard property insurance, there are particular considerations attached to insuring what is a second, rather than the principal, home. Second homeowners might want to pay special attention, therefore, to at least the following:

? it’s probably in the very nature of the second home that there will be times – and possibly prolonged periods – when the property remains unoccupied. Where standard home insurance on your principal residence is unlikely to maintain full cover during such extended periods, you might want to ensure that the cover on your second home continues to afford the protection required during such times;

? similarly, if your holiday home is likely to be let out to paying tenants, you are likely to want the reassurance that full insurance cover is maintained during periods that the property is let and that the insurance does cover paying guests;

? if your holiday home is overseas, there is the potentially added complication of dealing with local insurers and grappling with policies written in a foreign language. Fortunately, however, there are UK-based, specialist insurers perfectly competent in arranging holiday home insurance on properties abroad, with policy documents written in familiar and readily accessible English.



About the Author

Jason is the Webmaster of http://www.holidaypropertycover.com where you can compare rates for your holiday property insurance as well as take advantage of some excellent policy features.










Posted on

Holiday Home Insurance

www.insuranceforholidayhomes.co.uk Specialist holiday home insurance, for the best deal on your second home insurance

Posted on

Holiday home insurance – one of the decisions associated with buying a holiday home

Article by Sean Horton









Buying a holiday home has never been easier. Today, you can hop on the Internet and find the home of your dreams without even leaving the comfort of your living room. Even better still, you can then use a search and compare website on the Internet to find you the best possible deal for a second home mortgage. There is nothing to it with very little time and effort to put in unless you wish to. However, you need to make a few decisions that are associated with buying a holiday home before you can put in an offer and get a mortgage and one of those is holiday home insurance.

Holiday home insurance is different to both traditional home insurance and buy-to-let insurance, so don’t make the mistake and think that you can cut costs and corners by getting the wrong type. A specialist broker will be able to help you find the right type of holiday home insurance.

Other considerations when buying a holiday home include the following: Where is the first place that comes to mind when you think of buying a holiday home? Although gut instincts are not always correct in terms of buying a house, there must be reasons behind considering buying a holiday home in a certain area. When you have the reasons why you would want to live in a certain are then you can begin to build upon that.

You should consider both popular locations and other locations that resemble them because individuals buy homes in certain areas for a reason. Crime rate, natural environmental hazards, proximity to the beach, proximity to shops and climate are all factors that should be considered when buying a holiday home, but the list is not limited to them. For an idea of where Britons choose to look into when buying a holiday home, the facts and figures are worthy of consideration.

Approximately 30% of all holiday homes are in the UK, 16% are in Spain and 7% in France, with the remaining 47% being spread between countries like the USA, Italy, Australia, Ireland, Greece and other similar countries. After deciding upon the country, your choice of area will largely depend on what kind of place you would wish to live in – beach, town, city or quiet village?

You final decision when buying a holiday home should depend on what kind of home you would like to live in. Whether your choice is a bungalow, condo, apartment or cottage, you can find the perfect house for you and then get on with the easy part of buying a holiday home.

Then all you need is the right holiday home insurance.



About the Author

Sean Horton is a Director of Holiday Let Mortgages which offers UK residents the finance to buy a UK based holiday home. The site offers information about Holiday Home Insurance, and holiday home mortgages.










www.insuranceforholidayhomes.co.uk Numerous individuals own holiday homes they only occupy when on travel to their vacation destinations and this makes them live in constant fear that such property is prone to burglary or destruction while they’re away. Now the opportunity to acquire holiday home insurance, irrespective of whether the houses mostly located overseas are occupied or not, is available. Owners can enjoy total peace knowing that whatever happens to cherished acquisitions, somebody who will take care.

Find More Holiday Home Insurance Articles