8 Top Tips to Reduce Your Holiday Let Insurance Premium

Getting the best deal on your holiday let insurance can be a difficult task. With so many factors to consider, you need to make sure that you are covered for every eventuality.

To make sure that you are getting the best deal possible, we've collated our 8 top tips to reduce your holiday let insurance premium.

1. Is your 'sum insured' quote accurate?

When you apply for your insurance quote, you'll be asked to provide an accurate cost for re-building your property. This is called the 'sum insured'.

If you specify an inaccurate number, you could end up paying for cover that is not necessary. Likewise, if you decide to base your re-build quote on the amount of bedrooms that the property has instead of a specific re-build quote from a surveyor, then you could end up paying over the odds.

To get an accurate quote for rebuilding your property you can visit the Building Costs Information Service 

2. Improve your security

You might struggle to get a good price on your insurance if you don’t have adequate security. Your provider will need to know what kind of locks you have fitted, including patio door locks as well as main doors and windows.

You should consider adding other security measures such as sensors, alarms, digital smart locks and security cameras.

Your provider will assess this when you make your application for cover, and if you have some of these measures in place, you will most likely received a more competitive rate.

You can read our full guide to holiday let security here.

3. Combine your policy

When letting out your holiday home, you're likely to need a multitude of insurance products to cover you adequately for the many risks that can come with the business.

You can often get cheaper deal by combining your policy to include all of your required insurance under one policy.

This includes combining your buildings and contents insurance with your public liability insurance, and including extras such as accidental cover, legal costs and full theft cover.

Some insurance providers will offer a discounted rate if you include all of these under the same policy, so it's worth doing your research and finding a specialist provider who can offer discounts and promotions for combining these products.

4. Get quotes from competitors

It may seem obvious, but when you're eager to get things up and running, it can be tempting to just go with the first quote that you get.

Make sure that you do your research and get 2-3 quotes from different providers. You can do this by using comparison websites and looking for recommendations from holiday let management companies.

Take time to look at what is offered with each one and see where you can remove extras that you don't need. Having multiple quotes can also help you to negotiate better terms. You can get a quote for insurance from Pikl Holiday Home Insurance.

Click here for Holiday Let Insurance from Pikl.*

5. No claims discount

Just like any other insurance policy, you can reduce your premium by building up a no claims discount.

A no claims discount is usually offered at time of the policy renewal. This when the provider will usually inform you of the amount of your current no claims discount.

When choosing your provider, make sure that you know what time scale they use for their no claims discount. The industry standard is 5 years, but this can differ for each provider.

6. Take a higher excess

Taking out a higher excess can reduce your insurance premium. You need to think about the likelihood of needing to make a claim.

Holiday letting can be very risky, and there are multiple circumstances that could lead to you needing to make a claim, from broken roofs to theft.

The excess will often be different for claims on buildings insurance and public liability insurance. Make sure that you are aware of all the excess costs for each product that you purchase, and opt for a higher excess if you feel that likelihood of a claim would be minimal.

7. Additional admin costs

Your initial quote may seem cheap, but it might not include administration costs for things like adding extras. Make sure you are aware of all admin costs that will be included in your premium.

To reduce these costs, make sure that you include all the cover that you'll need in the initial quote to save making amendments further down the line.

Consider whether you need products such as:

• Employers Liability Insurance

• Alternative Accommodation

• Loss of Rental Income

• Legal Expenses

• Accidental Damage

If you are unsure, it might be best to speak to your provider about the cost of adding them to your policy at a later date. You may find that it works out cheaper to include them all to begin with in a combined policy.

8. Annual vs monthly payments

Taking your own cashflow into consideration, you may want to make sure that you are getting the best deal by paying an annual payment if you can.

Most insurance providers will charge you interest to pay your bill on a monthly plan.

Try to pay in one lump sum if you can to make sure that you are reducing your premium and getting the best deal possible.

Summary

We hope that our 8 top tips to reduce your holiday let insurance premium has helped you to secure a good premium for your holiday let insurance.

For further information about letting out your holiday home you can download your free owners pack below.

*Sykes Cottages Ltd is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Pikl Insurance Service Limited Registered Number 10449346 who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority firm number 773457. Registered Office: Suite B, 2nd Floor, The Atrium, St Georges Street, Norwich, England, NR3 1AB.