Comparing and securing your vacation home insurance

A vacation home is a second home for many people. Obviously, not as much time is spent there as in a residential home, but it is really a place to enjoy and rest. It is therefore a special place that often holds many fond memories. It is therefore just as important to take out the right insurance for a vacation home as it is for a regular home. When your vacation home is damaged, for example by a fire or storm, you are sometimes faced with high financial costs. Think about cleaning up the remains of the home, rebuilding and replacing all the belongings. These costs can quickly add up to tens of thousands of euros. By insuring the vacation home properly, you can be sure that you will not be faced with unpleasant financial surprises in the event of damage or theft.

You take out homeowners insurance for both a house and a vacation home, but there are some differences. This is because an insurer sets a number of conditions for insuring a vacation home. These conditions concern, for example, the occupation of the home and possible rental. For example, during periods of long-term vacancy, often only limited coverage applies. This means that you are not insured for burglary or damage during that period. So always check this carefully in the conditions of the insurer.

Other conditions also apply to renting out a vacation home. These include the number of days per year that you rent out the home. Most insurers allow you to rent out a vacation home for a maximum of 6 months per year. This can vary from one insurer to another, so always check the policy conditions. With some insurers, letting is covered under the basic coverage and with others you can take out a separate coverage for this. If you rent out your vacation home more than 300 days per year, you will need to purchase business property insurance.

You insure your vacation home with buildings insurance and possibly contents insurance. With buildings insurance, all real estate is covered in case of damage or theft. Think for example of a built-in kitchen or bathroom. With contents insurance, all movable, moveable items are also insured. Of course, if a fire breaks out in the home, your contents can also be seriously damaged. Therefore, it may be wise to take out both buildings and contents insurance. This combination of insurances is also known as home insurance. In addition, you can also expand the home insurance with liability insurance, legal assistance insurance and continuous travel insurance. When you take out these insurances together we call this a home insurance package. So you do not have to take out all insurances separately. With a home insurance, you can be sure that your vacation home is fully insured.

You can choose two different coverages when insuring your vacation home. What is covered depends on the coverage you choose. With standard coverage, your vacation home is insured for fire, burglary, vandalism and damage due to weather conditions, such as storm, hail and lightning. If you choose all-risk coverage, you are also insured for sudden, unforeseen events. This includes, for example, damage to your vacation home due to falling, bumping or collision.

The cost of insuring a vacation home depends on a number of factors:

• The type of vacation rental
• The construction type of the house
• The rebuilding value
• The desired coverage
• The deductible
• The residence/region

When calculating costs, insurers look at these factors to determine the premium. Of course, a vacation home is a different type of home than a normal residential home. Often the owner of the vacation home does not live there permanently. In some cases, the home is largely rented out and thus different people live in it throughout the year. In addition, a vacation home is more likely to be vacant than a normal residential home and is often not located in a residential area, so there is less oversight. All these factors together make insuring a vacation home a greater risk for an insurer than insuring a residential home. Therefore, you cannot insure your vacation home with every insurer. Fortunately, there are still plenty of insurers where you can insure your vacation home.

In the Netherlands, of course, the weather is not always so nice. That is why there are plenty of people who buy a vacation home abroad, preferably in a country where it is sunny and dry more often. Keep in mind that insuring a vacation home abroad is often more difficult than insuring a home in the Netherlands. Many insurers limit themselves to insuring vacation homes in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. If you have a vacation home in another country, you can only go to a limited number of insurers. These are usually insurers who specialize in insuring vacation homes. Sometimes, however, you can contact an insurer in the country in question.

Insure your vacation home? On Alpina.nl you can easily calculate the premium for your home insurance. You can do this with our online comparison tool. You first enter some information about your property. Hereby you indicate directly what type of home it concerns. For example, the tool distinguishes between a residential home and a recreational home. Then you can choose the desired coverage for your insurance. Then you will get an overview of all insurers, including the corresponding premiums and conditions. This way you can easily choose the right insurance.

Do you still have questions about insuring your vacation home? Then be sure to contact us! We can be reached by phone Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 088 - 688 3700. Of course, you can also send us a message via chat, WhatsApp or Messenger. In that case, we will answer your question as soon as possible during office hours.