Home insurance tips for overseas property, from HiFX
Home insurance tips for overseas property
Tuesday, 05 Jun 2007 10:41
With increasing numbers of Britons owning homes abroad, experts have released tips for home insurance for overseas property.
Some 800,000 UK residents now own an overseas property, but these properties need very different insurance to British homes.
"Emerging markets present their own challenges but there are some fundamental factors that people need to consider when insuring any property abroad," said Mark Bodega, of overseas property specialists HiFX.
"Adequate overseas property insurance is essential to safeguard the viability of your investment.
"Storm damage and burst pipes rank amongst our most common claims. Overseas repairs can be expensive and, in order to protect your investment, it is essential that any material damage is repaired by trustworthy skilled tradesmen."
Top tips for home insurance on overseas property
Do not be tempted to use a normal home insurance policy and avoid disclosing that the property is a holiday home as this could invalidate your insurance.
When arranging your cover, it is important that you carefully consider what you will be using your overseas property for. Will you be using it occasionally as a holiday home or residing there permanently? Or do you intend to let the property out to tenants? In particular how long is the property likely to be empty?
Consider the language difficulties of local language insurance policies. Understanding the specifics of cover levels and making a claim in a foreign language can be tricky.
It is also vital that you have the relevant insurance in place by the time you exchange contracts on your property as often the notaire/notario will require your policy document before the sale can be completed.