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Malicious damage to your holiday home – where do you stand?

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We all know that from time to time accidents happen; perhaps someone spills a glass of wine (hopefully not red!) or smashes a glass fresh from the dishwasher. We can accept those and understand that accidents happen to the best of us. However what if someone were to cause malicious damage to your holiday home? Whether the malicious damage is caused by a paying guest or a trespasser, you’ll be faced with making repairs before your next guests arrive.

Do you know where you stand and what you need to do when it comes to your insurance?

What is malicious damage?

In the insurance industry, the term ‘malicious damage’ generally refers to any damage caused to your property on purpose.  There is a clear distinction between this and ‘accidental damage’, in that the damage caused has to be proven as being deliberate, rather than just an accident (for example spilling wine after tripping or smashing a glass that slipped through the hands).

Check your holiday home insurance policy

As specialists in holiday home insurance, our aim is to always give our policy holders the right cover so that should something happen, you know you’re not going to be left significantly out of pocket.

Malicious damage is covered under our policy as standard but is not by all policies on the market, so if you’re not currently insured with us, it’s worth checking your own documents.

The financial implications of your holiday letting property suffering malicious damage can be far reaching. In addition to repairing the material damage to your buildings and / or contents you may also suffer loss of rental income.

What do you do if you think someone has deliberately damaged your property?

Step 1

The first step to take would be to contact the police as soon as reasonably possible so the incident can be investigated. Take photos of the damage as this will assist your insurers with your claim. You also need to let your insurer know about the incident at this point by reporting the claim. If the damage is significant your insurers will appoint a loss adjuster to help settle your claim and appoint contractors to make repairs.

Step 2

Once your insurer is aware of the incident, it’s important that you forward them all communication and documentation surrounding it as soon as it comes through (including any knowledge of any impending prosecution or enquiry in connection with the event), as well providing them with any further information they request in order to process your claim.

The importance of being proactive

Although we’ve outlined the initial steps to take if you feel that your property has been damaged on purpose, it’s worth reiterating that before ever needing to take these steps, you should make sure you understand your insurance policy and what is covered within it.

If you haven’t already, search your policy document for the term ‘malicious’ to ensure you know what’s covered and what isn’t before you need to rely on it.

For more information on specialist insurance cover for your holiday home please give our experienced team a call on 01237 429444.

*This blog post is only intended as an introduction to malicious damage cover.  Please always refer to your insurance policy to gain a full understanding of your current level of cover.

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holiday home insurance questions

6 of our most frequently asked holiday home insurance questions

holiday home insurance questionsWhether you’ve recently bought a holiday home or survived your 30th season, it’s equally important to have the right insurance. As holiday home insurance specialists we answer questions from cottage owners on a daily basis. We’ve pulled together six of the most frequently asked holiday home insurance questions to give you a quick insight into the cover you potentially need.

We’d like to use our cottage for our own holidays, and for friends and family.  Would this be covered under a holiday home insurance policy?

Your holiday home needs to be available to paying guests for the majority of time throughout the year (the amount of time may depend on your individual policy). What this means is that you, or your family and friends, will be fine to use your cottage as long as it remains available to paying guests for the required period in any given year.

If something goes wrong, does the Holiday Home Insurance policy cover loss of rental income?

Insurance is there to help you through tough times, and we know that if something were to happen to your holiday home you not only face the potential bill to fix the issue, but also the cost of the rental income you would have otherwise gained whilst you wait for it to be repaired.

For this reason, our own policy automatically covers cottage owners for up to two years’ loss of rental income up to a sum of £75,000 should your property become unavailable as the result of an insured event such as storm damage or fire. Does your holiday home have an annual gross rental income in excess of £37500 (£75000 over two years)? We can provide additional cover on request. We’re here to get you back on your feet and we feel this is a great part of the cover we’re able to offer cottage owners.

What happens if a guest accidentally breaks something, or even steals items from our cottage?

It’s an old cliché, but accidents do happen. If you have hundreds of guests enjoying your holiday home each year, there is a small chance that some items in your cottage may get damaged. The good news is that this would be covered under the accidental damage section of your policy, subject to an excess.

Cover for theft by guests is also automatically included, although we of course hope you won’t need it!

I employ a cleaner and a few others on a part time basis; would our holiday home insurance policy cover us for this?

If you employ staff, even if on a part time basis, it is a legal requirement to have Employers Liability insurance. This is covered under our own holiday home policy as standard. You will be issued a certificate upon taking your insurance out. Remember that you need to retain this with your records.

Do I have to regularly inspect the holiday home?

As part of our specialist insurance cover you will need to inspect the property on a regular basis. Regular inspections are also good practise from a customer service perspective. The policy includes the condition that:

  • whenever your holiday home is left unoccupied, you will arrange that the premises are inspected at least every 14 days.

This inspection can be carried out by you, or by an authorised person responsible to you. It ensures your cottage is kept in tip top condition for those happy guests.

My holiday let is an annexe of my main property, can I cover it?

You certainly can, as long as any adjoining door between your home and holiday letting annexe is kept locked. The holiday let insurance needs to be kept separate. In situations such as this we would also look to provide home insurance for your main residence.

Remember that this article only gives a brief indication of some of the cover involved in insuring your holiday home.  For further advice please contact us to ensure you have the cover your cottage really needs.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. If you have any more holiday home insurance questions please give us a call on 01237 429444.

For further information on UK holiday home insurance visit the website page most relevant to you:

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red wine stained carpet in holiday home

Damage by holiday let guests – who pays?

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red wine stained carpet in holiday home

Damage by holiday let guests – who pays?

Whilst letting your holiday home you expect an amount of general wear and tear such as scuffs on walls and the odd broken piece of crockery which you no doubt absorb into your general running costs. Occasionally your holiday home guests may cause more serious damage either accidentally or with malicious intent.

Damage by holiday let guests – who pays?

You’ll be wondering the best course of action to return your holiday home to its previous condition, to cause as little disruption as possible to forthcoming lettings and limiting your losses. In this article we delve deeper into the holiday home insurance frequently asked question, “Damage by holiday let guests – who pays?“. This may mean a holiday home insurance claim, although there are other options you may wish to explore first.

Holiday home booking conditions

An essential measure is to have in place holiday home booking conditions which hold the person(s) booking the holiday home responsible for the costs of any breakage or damage in or to the property. Communicating these terms clearly will focus your guests to treat your holiday home with the respect it deserves whilst enjoying their stay.

Security or damage deposits

There has been a move away from security or damage deposits in the holiday letting industry, although where used these can allow small sums to be recouped easily by withholding that proportion of the deposit. However if the loss or damage is greater than the security deposit the difference must still be sought from the guests who sometimes are confused, thinking the deposit in some way limits or waivers further liability.

Guests may have liability cover under their own travel or home insurance

For low value losses or damage you may well take the stance that you would rather absorb the cost than upset the relationship with your guest. For higher value losses where your guest has admitted liability, you may well wish to settle with them direct for replacement or repairs. Indeed the guests themselves may well be insured for such damage under the liability section of their own travel or home insurance policy on which they may choose to claim.

Holiday home insurance including accidental damage caused by paying guests

vase damaged by holiday home guests

Damage by holiday let guests – who pays?

Accidental damage rendering your holiday home unavailable to let, where the guest is not cooperative, or instances of malicious damage you would be best to put the matter in the hands of your holiday home insurer so that damage may be put right as quickly as possible with least disruption to future lets. This highlights the importance of having a policy which includes cover for accidental damage to your holiday home buildings and contents by paying guest and does not exclude malicious damage by them: You will be liable for the holiday home insurance policy excess and your insurers will recompense you the difference. Your insurer will not only work with you to minimise disruption, under subrogation they assume the right to recover the damages reimbursed from the party responsible, where financially viable to do so.

Additional guidance on damage by holiday let guests – who pays? and holiday home insurance advice and quotations are available from the Boshers Holiday Home Insurance Team on 01237 429444 or for further information visit holiday home insurance.

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