Holiday Let Insurance – Protect Your Let Property

The summer is here and you have eagerly anticipated your holidays abroad for weeks or months now. Your suitcases are packed, passports are all in check and you have arranged your travel insurance. Although there is the standard checklist that we all participate in, such as getting the travellers cheques or local currency, ensuring you have everything you need such as sun cream and the rest of the holiday paraphernalia, how many of us check to see if our home insurance extends to protecting our property when vacant whilst abroad on holiday? Not just homeowners but landlords and property investors who lease their properties out to anyone from students to families and individual tenants.

An empty home is the perfect invitation for burglars and vandals, looking to cash in whilst you are away on your holidays. More so, if you happen to leave any valuables on display where they can be easily spotted or where a property has no external signs that an alarm is installed to notify others that an intruder is within your home. There are important steps to take to ensure the best chances that your property will emerge unscathed during your holidays. In reflection of the figures released that showed that in the first quarter of 2009 at the high of the recession, insurance claims as a result of burglaries crept just above £100m, showing the scale of the problem facing homeowners and landlords alike.

Anything even remotely close to a £100m is a huge amount we are sure you will agree but following even the simplest of steps can go a great distance to avoiding the heartbreaking and violating feeling you experience when arriving home to find that a stranger has ransacked your personal and private space, taking your treasured items and leaving you with a horrible sense of disgust. Taking a moment to install a burglar system is an option that is feasible for many landlords and homeowners across the UK, in addition to timers for lights and the installation of exterior flood lights to deter any imminent thieves or burglars as best as possible.

One important consideration to make is to ensure that you have adequate locks for both doors and windows that comply with your insurance policy, preventing your protective policy from being ineffective in the event of a break in or disturbance. Finally check to see if your insurance policy covers you for vacant properties and for how long your property will be empty for.

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