Holiday home insurance

If you own a holiday home, your insurance options fall into two categories: one for renting the property out, and another for personal use only. 

If it’s just for you, home and contents insurance is what you’re after. 

If you’re renting it out, you need to look into landlord insurance or short-stay cover options for things like Airbnb.

Let’s look at these more closely.

If your holiday home is just for you and your family, home and contents insurance is usually the way to go. It covers your place and everything in it from things like theft, fires and bad weather.

Just keep the following in mind:

• Vacancy implications. An empty holiday home carries more risk. So, if it's left vacant for over a certain amount of time, usually around 60 days, you’ll probably be required to notify your insurer and/or pay an additional excess if you have to claim.
• Maintaining appearances. If your insurer does cover extended vacancies, they might require you to keep the home appearing ‘lived in’ to deter thieves. This means regular chores like lawn mowing, mail collection and general tidying up. If you can’t do this yourself, you may need to hire someone local to help you out.

Holiday home insurance for personal use comes in two flavours:

• Building insurance. Covers the building itself, plus the fixtures and fittings from events like storms and natural disasters, theft and vandalism, water damage, impacts (like falling branches) and much more. You’ll also usually get some liability protection in case someone gets injured on your property.
• Contents insurance. Covers your belongings inside the home (like furniture, fishing poles, artwork) from similar events. You can sometimes add ‘accidental damage’ cover to your policy too (for example, you drop your TV while moving it).

Not all building and contents policies automatically cover floods or storm surges, so if your holiday home is in a flood zone or by the shore, you might need to add that special protection.

For a more detailed breakdown of how home and contents insurance works, check out our main home and contents insurance page. 

In addition to what’s covered, let's also make sure to remember what’s not usually covered. Common exclusions include:

❌ Renting out your home. If you’re renting out your home to someone else, typical home and contents insurance won’t suffice. You’ll need landlord insurance or short-stay insurance instead (we’ll discuss that later).

❌ Extended vacancies. Many insurers will void your cover if it’s been vacant for a while, usually 60 days or more - unless you tell them first, since vacant houses can attract crime.

❌ Maintenance neglect. Home insurance doesn’t cover damage due to lack of maintenance: water damage due to clogged gutters, insect and vermin infestations, leaky pipes that have clearly not been maintained, etc.

❌ Renovations. You won’t be covered if you damage something while renovating. So if you’re doing it yourself, be careful. If you outsource it, make sure the contractor has builder’s insurance.

If you’re planning on renting out your property, normal home and contents insurance won’t cut it, so you’ll need one of the following types of holiday rental insurance:

• Landlord insurance. For those renting out the unit for more than 90 days at a time. It typically covers everything normal holiday home insurance covers, but also some additional risks associated with leasing, such as tenant property damage and loss of rental income due to damage.
• Short-term holiday rental insurance. For those renting out their unit for shorter periods, such as through Airbnb or Stayz. It’s basically the same thing as landlord insurance but tailored specifically for short-term rental scenarios.

Landlords will usually opt for building insurance since you literally own the home. And since it’s a holiday home, it’s most likely furnished. So don’t forget the contents insurance to go along with it.

As we mentioned, landlord insurance policies typically cover all the same things normal holiday home insurance covers, which you can read about in the ‘personal use’ section above.

But in addition to that, they extend to specific landlord concerns like: 

• Property damage by tenants. Including intentional damage, accidental damage and theft by tenants or their guests.
• Loss of rent. If you miss out on income because you need to repair your property due to another covered event like storm damage.
• Legal fees. Legal expenses for eviction proceedings and enforcing lease terms, if you end up with a deadbeat tenant.

Every landlord policy is different, so make sure you compare policies and read the fine print before settling on one. For more information, check out our detailed guide on landlord insurance.

Typical exclusions for landlord and short-term holiday rental insurance policies include:

❌ General wear and tear and lack of maintenance. Just like with normal holiday home insurance, you’re expected to keep your property in good shape. See the holiday home insurance section above for more detail.

❌ Loss of rent due to market conditions. You can’t claim for lost income if you simply can’t find tenants because of market downturns.

❌ Damage from pets. If you allow tenants to bring pets or don't explicitly disallow it, you may not be covered for pet-related damage.

For a complete understanding of all exclusions, make sure to thoroughly review your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).

If you have a holiday home, you definitely want to consider insurance, whether you’re renting it out or keeping it all to yourself. Just remember that your insurance needs will differ, so act accordingly and protect your holiday home so you can enjoy it for years to come!

Ready to compare? Here are a few options worth considering!