Holidaying in peace – check your home insurance

Are you looking forward to a long holiday this summer? Don’t spoil the fun and relaxation; make sure you leave your home fully insured.

Inform your insurance provider

You may think that it doesn’t make a difference whether you go on holiday for two weeks, a month, or more. However, most insurers require you to notify them if your primary home will be vacant for at least 30 days. In this instance, it is likely you will need to take out an extra layer of cover called unoccupied property insurance. Failing to do so may invalidate your policy, leaving you and your home unprotected.

Proceed (and post) with caution

We understand the desire to share snaps of your holiday on social media. Before you do so, be mindful that insurers expect you to take reasonable care to ensure the safety and security of your home. Since live holiday updates show people that your home is probably unoccupied, you could be putting your home and its insurance at risk.

Safety tips

With burglaries more common during the summer months, here are a few ideas for keeping your home secure:

• Lock all windows, doors and gates
• Save the holiday posts until you return home
• Ask a neighbour to put your bins away after they are collected
• Cancel any deliveries so they don’t pile up
• Leave keys with someone you trust; to make the house seem occupied, they could turn lights on/ off, close the curtains, remove post from the letterbox, or use your driveway.

As a mortgage is secured against your home or property, it could be repossessed if you do not keep up mortgage repayments