What is Second Home Insurance?
A second home, also known as a holiday home, weekend home, pied-à-terre or weekday residence, is a home you own that isn’t usually lived in daily. Second home insurance is a specialist type of insurance that covers these properties with these types of uses.
Second home insurance differs to standard home insurance because, traditionally, these types of properties can be left unoccupied for longer periods as they tend to be used for different reasons. For example, you might have a property that you rent out to tenants or a home you use occasionally to escape from the hustle and bustle of city life, where you wake up listening to the waves lapping on the shore. If you own a property with this type of use, then you should consider a specialist type of insurance product.
Why do you need second home insurance?
As it’s not your main property and will likely at times be left vacant, if something goes wrong it might not be noticed immediately, and this could mean that the price to repair it is higher. A second home is at higher risk of theft, vandalism and water damage due to burst pipes.
You should consider second home insurance if:
- The property is left vacant for more than 30 consecutive days.
- You have a holiday home used seasonally or rented to paying guests, including Airbnb use.
- You let the property to tenants rather than live there yourself.
- Used as a weekday or weekend house.
- The property is not furnished for everyday use (i.e. there are no beds, sofa’s etc).
You should not consider second home insurance if your property is vacant or unoccupied, as this is a different type of risk all together. Read our guide on everything you need to know about empty homes, or head straight over to the unoccupied home insurance to choose the right insurance product for your property.
Most popular policy benefits:
We can arrange cover for buildings and contents, as well as accidental damage and any liabilities you have as the property owner.
- No upper limit on building’s cover, but up to £1,000,000 automatically included with many of our products.
- Property owners’ liability of up to £5,000,0000 for let properties but can go up to £10,000,000 when combined on a high value home product.
- Buildings and contents combined insurance or buildings in isolation.
- Option to insure with your main home on one policy or separately.
Should I insure a second home on its own or with my main home?
It all depends on your insurance budget, the quality of cover desired, and the sums insured required for both properties.
If you insure your main home with a high value home insurance product, then it could be better adding your second property to this policy. You will benefit from more flexible terms and a higher quality of cover.
However, if your main home is insured with a standard online product, then a separate insurance policy for your second property could be the way forward. The quality of product will be adequate for your needs and the cost will be lower. Once we assess your needs, we can recommend the most suitable way forward.
Second Home Insurance FAQs
I’m not sure whether my home is a second home?
It’s a nice problem to have! Sometimes you can split your time evenly between two properties. In this scenario, we would say that your main property is where your car is registered and how you’ve registered the property with your local council or with a mortgage provider. Also, reflect on what you consider to be the main family home, and which address you use for legal, voting, banking purposes and which property is.
Why use Stanhope for your second home insurance?
We take the time to find out how the property is lived in, by whom, for how long and whether there are any periods of unoccupancy. We then provide you with a bespoke policy so whether your second home is a holiday home, a buy to let or currently unoccupied, you know you have the right cover in place to protect you should the worst happen.
If you are still in your research phase, make sure you check out our guide on buying a second home!
Council tax implications on second homes
If your second home is vacant, your local council could charge premium rates for council tax. Read our article on for more information on what this could mean for your second home.
