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What counts as a second home for insurance purposes?

A main property is the house you live in most of the time, where you keep most of your possessions. A secondary property, often a holiday home or inherited house, is usually used more sporadically, and may be let out to holidaymakers. Second home insurance addresses those unique needs. 

Top tip: Always tell your provider that the home you’re insuring is not your primary residence. If you don’t disclose that information, any claim you make on your property could be rejected.

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How is second home insurance different?

When it comes to standard home insurance, leaving your property empty for long stretches or letting it out to guests would often break the terms of a standard policy. Second home insurance factors in those risks to ensure you have the best possible cover for your property.

Second home insurance vs standard home insurance

Insuring your second home is different to insuring your main property.

Second home insurance vs holiday home insurance

Second home insurance and holiday home insurance are generally the same thing in Ireland. If you plan on renting out your second home to paying guests, you’ll generally need to add extra cover to your policy such as public liability insurance or loss of rental income cover.

What does second home insurance cover?

A standard second home policy might include:

  • Fire damage

  • Fire brigade charges

  • Flood and storm damage

  • Theft and vandalism

  • Fire damage

  • Fire brigade charges

  • Flood and storm damage

  • Theft and vandalism

Buildings insurance cover for your second home

Buildings insurance covers the structure of your property – the walls, the roof, the windows – as well as fixtures and fittings like bathroom suites and kitchens. The sum insured should cover the cost of rebuilding your home from scratch if it was destroyed beyond repair.

Contents insurance for your second home

Contents insurance covers your personal possessions such as furniture, electronics, and clothing. Be careful if leaving high-value items in your second home as you could be at a higher risk of theft. 

If you have contents insurance on your primary residence, that policy will not extend to your second property. Any belongings in your second home will need to be added to a separate contents policy if you wish to protect them. 

Adding extra cover can provide more complete protection, at an extra cost. This could include cover for:

  • Accidental damage like a wine stain on a sofa
  • Portable possessions cover for laptops or bikes that you take out of the property
  • High-value items such as jewellery and other valuables

What’s typically not covered?

Second home insurance usually won’t cover:

  • Wear and tear
  • Damage caused by pests
  • Poor workmanship
  • Deliberate damage
  • Wear and tear
  • Damage caused by pests
  • Poor workmanship
  • Deliberate damage

Optional extras and add-ons

Tailor your coverage to suit your property’s needs by including:

  • Home emergency cover for a burst pipe or broken boiler

  • Personal possessions cover for the belongings you take out of the home

  • Legal expenses cover if you find yourself in a dispute with a neighbour or a personal injury claim

  • Alternative accommodation reimburses the cost of temporary housing if your home is uninhabitable

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Is second home insurance more expensive than standard home insurance?

While second homes are often more expensive to insure due to their higher risk profile, the cost of your premium depends on a range of factors. A small, newly built, property that’s regularly occupied will typically cost less to insure than a large property of non-standard construction that stands vacant for most of the year. 

Why second home insurance costs more

Second homes are generally more expensive to insure than primary residences as the risk of theft, vandalism, and unnoticed damage increases when a property is left vacant. Insurers will raise premiums to cover that additional risk.

What affects the cost of cover?

The price of your premium is impacted by your:

  • Claims history
  • Property’s location
  • Property’s value
  • Security
  • How you use your home
  • Occupancy

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Unoccupancy and second home insurance

Under most standard policies, homes that are left empty for more than 30-60 consecutive days will lose cover. Beyond this limit, your home presents a greater risk to insurers and the likelihood of serious claims increases.

What changes when your second home is unoccupied?

Long periods of unoccupancy not only increase the likelihood of fire, theft, vandalism, water leaks and burst pipes, but the damage to your property is likely to be much worse if an incident goes undiscovered for a long time. 

If your second home is left vacant for longer than the standard period most insurers allow, then your home will be seen as being high risk and you might need unoccupied property insurance to cover it while it is empty.  

Winter precautions for second homes

If you’re away during colder months, there are certain steps your insurer may require you to take to reduce risk and avoid claim rejections.

  • Water – Turn off the main water supply and drain the water already in the system. This is to avoid the water in your pipes turning to ice, expanding, and bursting the pipes.

  • Heating – Run the heating on low to keep the interior of the house dry.

Who offers second home insurance in Ireland?

Allianz Ireland

Aviva

AXA

RedClick

Zurich

123.ie

FAQs

Yes, but you may have to obtain specialist buildings insurance to fully insure the home as listed homes typically have a higher rebuild and repair cost than standard homes.

If you reside in your second home most of the time, you need to be honest with your insurer about which property you primarily live in to avoid invalidating your cover. 

You should also review the policy conditions for your first home to ensure it’s not being left vacant for longer than your insurer allows.

No, second home insurance does not always cover letting. By renting out your home to guests, you open yourself to greater risk of liability and damage. Before you start letting, you should discuss this change with your provider and update your coverage accordingly.

You may still be covered, but it could impact your claim if having an active alarm is a condition of your policy. 

Some insurers require you to keep your alarm switched on while you’re away. By failing to do so, your policy excess could be raised, your payout could be reduced, or you could invalidate your claim altogether.

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