Second Home Insurance Comparison

Comparison sites are built for one type of property: a main home, occupied year-round, by the policyholder. Drop a second home into the same form and most comparison engines return either no quotes or quotes from insurers who will silently exclude half the cover you need. A proper second-home comparison runs on different criteria.

This guide sets out the eight things that actually matter when comparing second-home insurance in the UK, and what comparison-site quotes routinely get wrong.

1. Unoccupancy Cover

The single most important variable. Look for the maximum continuous period the property can be empty before cover restricts. Premium products allow 90, 120 or 365 days of unoccupancy; weak products tighten cover after 30. If the policy you are comparing only allows 30 days, it is not a second-home product.

2. Permitted Usage

Two policies at the same price can have radically different usage definitions. Check explicitly whether the schedule allows:

• Family or friends staying rent-free.
• Occasional paid short lets (e.g. Airbnb < 60 nights per year).
• Regular holiday letting through an agent.
• Periods of total vacancy in winter.

If usage is not listed, assume it is excluded. Specialist insurers list what is allowed; mainstream insurers list what is excluded — read whichever is shorter.

3. Escape Of Water Cover

Escape of water is the most common claim on UK second homes because the heating is off when the owner is away. Compare:

• Is escape of water on full cover or sub-limited?
• What is the excess (often £350 to £1,000)?
• Are there inspection or drain-down conditions during unoccupied periods?

4. Buildings Sum Insured Method

Cheaper products use a sum-insured basis with no index linking. Better products use bedroom-rated or unlimited rebuild cover, removing the under-insurance risk. For a 4+ bedroom property the difference between a fixed £350,000 sum and an unlimited rebuild policy can be the difference between a full payout and a 30% averaged reduction after a major loss.

5. Liability Limit

Minimum £2m, ideally £5m. If guests use the property, £2m is insufficient. Compare both the headline figure and whether liability is on aggregate or per-claim.

6. Accidental Damage Scope

If guests stay at the property, accidental damage cover is a baseline requirement, not an optional add-on. Compare whether accidental damage is:

• Included for buildings, contents, both, or neither.
• Subject to a higher excess.
• Excluded entirely when guests are paying.

7. Loss Of Rent Or Alternative Accommodation

If the property is uninhabitable after a claim, what does the policy pay?

• Loss of rent (lost income from cancelled lets).
• Alternative accommodation (your own costs if you needed to stay there).
• Total combined cap.

A 12 to 24 month payout cap is normal; under 6 months is light.

8. Insurer Specialism

A schedule that lists "holiday home", "second home" or "let property" insurance on the policy summary is built for purpose. A schedule that says "household" with bolted-on endorsements is a retrofit. Specialist underwriters are typically not on comparison sites; the best way to compare is through a broker who can quote three to five specialist markets in parallel.

Beyond Headline Price

The cheapest quote on a comparison site is almost always cheap because something material is missing — usually unoccupancy, accidental damage, escape of water, or correct usage. A like-for-like second-home comparison should sit five or six pounds a month apart on otherwise identical schedules. If you see a £200/year gap on what looks like the same cover, the cheap quote is hiding something.

Get A FAST Quote