Dog friendly holiday home insurance – is yours?

Last Updated on March 16, 2018 by admin

Dog friendly holiday home insurance is well worth considering if you offer pet friendly self-catering accommodation. The dog-friendly tourism market is one that’s grown exponentially over the past decade. This isn’t surprising considering that a staggering one in four UK households has a dog to call their own.

With more and more of us taking our dogs and other pets on holiday with us, have you asked yourself whether your holiday home insurance is as dog friendly as your accommodation?

Some insurance policies (even those with accidental damage cover included) exclude damage caused by pets. Therefore if a guests golden retriever unwittingly knocked the television off its stand you’d not be able to claim.

When it comes to our own holiday home insurance we’re striving to offer owners an unrivalled range of cover. So we of course include your guest’s pet causing an accident too. However there are a few things for you to consider before welcoming dogs into your holiday home.

Things to consider with your insurance when welcoming dogs

What’s covered?

When you welcome dogs into your holiday home this will inevitably lead to a heavier level of wear and tear over time. This won’t be covered within an insurance policy, which is why some holiday homeowners will make an additional charge for those bringing dogs with them to cover the costs of the additional time it may take to clean and remove dog hairs.

Your insurance is there for a one-off identifiable event; if for example a dog were to knock some items off of a shelf causing them to fall and shatter, this would be covered under our policy, but not if your insurer excluded damage by pets from theirs.

Minimising the potential for problems

If you welcome dogs to your holiday home, you’ll want to be sure that their owners know and understand their obligations before they arrive.

Consider outlining a few ground rules at booking such as:

• Setting a maximum number of dogs allowed per booking.
• Indicating that dogs can’t be left alone or unsupervised in the holiday accommodation.
• Dogs are not allowed in the bedrooms or on furniture.
• That dogs are up to date with vaccinations, worming and flea treatments.
• That dogs are in good health.

You may also want to communicate this in your welcome pack to ensure everyone is clear on where the dog can and can’t go within your holiday home.

Advice for pet friendly accommodation

If you’ve been welcoming pets for some time you’ll have no doubt found the best way to accommodate them.  If you’re currently considering it then here’re a few tips. They’ll help ensure wear and tear is kept to a minimum and you’re ready to greet a man’s best friend.

1. Consider having tiled or wooden flooring on the ground floor of your property; it’ll be far easier to clean up hairs and mud than that beautifully laid carpet!
2. Stair gates aren’t just for children; they can also be used to stop pets making their way upstairs!
3. Some dogs like life on two paws as much as they do on four; ensure that furnishings, ornaments and vases are kept in places they can’t be knocked down or seized upon for a good chew!
4. Fix flat screen televisions to the wall rather than placing on consoles; a broken television is one of the most common household claims in the UK.
5. Use a vacuum cleaner with a “HEPA” (High Efficiency Particulate Air) rated filter to reduce allergens which can affect people who are susceptible to allergies or asthma.

Welcoming guests with assistance dogs to your holiday home

To help you understand the rights of guests with assistance dogs, The Equality and Human Rights Commission and VisitEngland have produced an informative publication mentioned in our previous article, link below:

• Take the lead

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For information on how our dog friendly holiday home insurance can help protect your holiday letting property, call us on 01237 429444.