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Holiday Let Owners – Beware The Big Freeze!

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Holiday Let Owners – Beware The Big Freeze! What could be better than a brisk walk, followed by snuggling up with a hot chocolate beside a roaring log fire in your UK holiday cottage this winter? 

However between now and February half-term the reality is that many holiday homes will be unoccupied and susceptible to pipes bursting in freezing weather, especially if owners have not taken precautions.
According to XCWeather temperatures across many areas of the UK are due to drop well below freezing over the next few days.
In the twelve months to November 2011 35% of our holiday home insurance claims by number were as a result of escape of water. These claims accounted for a staggering 71% of the overall claims payments by value.
As many holiday home owners have unfortunately found out, suffering escape of water damage in your holiday home can be very traumatic and often not detected until someone informs you of water pouring out of the front door! 
The good news is that by taking small precautions, such as our tips to avoid burst pipes and adhering to your holiday home insurance unoccupancy conditions you will significantly reduce the risk. 
Apologies if we are preaching to the converted, we realise that the majority of holiday home owners are extremely careful but the best of us can get caught out.
  • Check out the 7 day forecast for your Holiday Home Postcode here
  • Check out our Tips To Avoid Burst Pipes here 
  • Boshers Holiday Home Insurance policyholders unoccupancy conditions are here          
   
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Warning: Theft Of Metal From Holiday Homes

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Warning: Theft Of Metal From Holiday Homes. Callous thieves caused severe water damage to a holiday home for children with cancer after they stole lead from its roof. Cancer charity CLIC Sargent House who run the centre, now face a £15000 holiday home insurance claim to repair the roof.

Between 2007 and 2010 the insurers for our holiday home insurance scheme, Ecclesiastical received almost 8000 metal theft claims, at an estimated cost of £23million. Whilst a lot of these claims relate to church property, other sectors such as education, charity, care and commercial property are also being targeted. 

Lead, copper and stainless steel roof coverings, including bay window roofs and roof flashings, copper lightning conductors, lead and copper rainwater pipes, bronze statues, metal garden ornaments, iron gates and even church bells have been stolen. 

Security measures – so what can you do about it? 

Wherever metals are present there is an increased risk of theft and existing security arrangements should be reviewed. Ecclesiastical have produced comprehensive guidance notes on Theft Of Metals including tips on security measures. Download a copy here 

If you suffer a theft of metal at your holiday let call your holiday home insurance broker or insurer as soon as possible to report the loss. You’ll receive advise on the claims process and they may arrange for the damage to be inspected. Regardless of your insurance cover, to minimise damage to your holiday let property , contractors should be asked to carry out emergency repairs. where applicable to make the property water tight.  


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Furnished Holiday Lettings Tax Helpsheet

Furnished holiday lettings have for many years benefited from being treated as a trade for income tax purposes giving commercially let holiday home owners some tax advantages over other lettings. 
The special rules for Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) for 2011-2012 have changed and they will change again in 2012-2013. There are significant changes regarding the Qualifying tests and it is for this reason that HMRC have released an advanced copy of Helpsheet 253 – Furnished Holiday Lettings to help owners plan their lettings in order that they may continue to qualify.
FHL Qualifying Tests for 2011-2012 and for 2012-2013 and later
All three of the following tests must be satisfied if a letting is to qualify:
1. The availability condition (availability test/threshold) – during the period (normally the tax year), the accommodation is available for commercial letting as holiday accommodation to the public for at least 140 days (210 days for 2012–13 onwards).
2. The letting condition (occupancy test/threshold) – during the period the accommodation is commercially let as holiday accommodation to the public for at least 70 days (105 days for 2012–13 onwards).

3. The pattern of occupation condition – the accommodation must not be let for periods of longer-term occupation for more than 155 days during the year.

 
For those contemplating longer lets of 31 days or more, be warned that these will not qualify towards your qualification. More information is available in HMRC’s Helpsheet 253 – Furnished Holiday Lettings and your normal tax adviser. You may also wish to begin discussions with your holiday home letting agent on what measures you may need to take in order to maximise your occupancy rates and therefore continue to qualify from the valuable FHL tax benefits. 

As furnished holiday lettings insurance specialists our holiday home insurance policy holders benefit from cover that is designed around the needs of commercially let holiday homes, apartments and cottages. We have no restrictions on the number of weeks that your second home may be let throughout the year. For more information about holiday let insurance, visit www.boshers.co.uk 
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Holiday Home Gas Safety Checks

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As all good holiday home agents and owners know, there are responsibilities that come with letting your holiday home commercially, one of the most important responsibilities at this time of year is gas safety – Boshers Ltd the UK holiday home insurance specialists says that agents and their landlords really must ensure that their gas appliances are safe. Landlords and holiday home owners can face large fines and potentially harm their tenants or guests if gas appliances don’t comply with gas safety regulations.

Recently a landlord was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay over £2,000 in costs after breaching Gas Safety regulations and failing to fulfil his responsibilities as a landlord, according to the Central Office of Information. 


Landlord Anthony Brownson persistently ignored requests by the council to produce a landlord’s Gas Safety Certificate and in the meantime his tenant had been left with a faulty boiler system and without a safely working fire during one of the coldest winters in recent times. 


The landlord pleaded guilty to a breach of gas safety regulations by failing to carry out an annual safety check on gas appliances between April 2007 and March 2011. He also admitted an offence of failing to comply with an Improvement Notice between December 2010 and March 2011. He was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £2,089.25 in costs. 


HSE Inspector Dr Angus Robbins, who investigated the case, said, “In addition to the risks of fires and explosions from faulty gas appliances, many people are made ill, and some 20 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning every year owing to poorly-maintained gas appliances. Landlords’ duties are very clear – they must ensure gas appliances are checked for safety by a Gas Safe registered engineer and provide their tenants with a copy showing that the appliances and flues were operating operating safely at that time. HSE will not hesitate to bring landlords before the courts when they are prepared to risk their tenant’s safety for financial gain.”


Mark Lavington Cert CII, Director of Boshers Ltd, says, “Holiday home owners must, by law, make sure gas appliances in their rental properties are maintained and have a gas safety check carried out every 12 months by a registered Gas Safe engineer. If holiday home owners don’t ensure their gas appliances are safe, they could end up with a hefty fine, harm their guest’s health or even potentially kill them through Carbon Monoxide poisoning.” Guidance on gas safety for holiday home owners can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/gas/landlords/index.htm 

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Scottish Water Warn Holiday Home Owners To Be Prepared this Winter

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Scottish Water are warning their customers including holiday home owners to “Be Prepared This Winter | heat, insulate and protect your home.” Boshers support Scottish Water in their campaign to educate our holiday home insurance clients with holiday cottages in the Scottish Water authority area. Read their winter code and be prepared for Winter! 

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Treat your holiday let to a maintenance check

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Treating your holiday let to a maintenance check will help keep your holiday home safe for you and your guests and reduce the risks of holiday home insurance claims.

  1. GAS AND OIL SAFETY – Do you have Gas or Oil fired appliances? If yes; arrange for a registered gas or oil engineer to service your appliances in accordance with the manufacturers instructions and to carry out annual safety checks as applicable. Inspect and test your Carbon Monoxide detectors.
  2. SWEEP CHIMNEYS – have your chimneys swept if you have an open fire, gas fire, stove, woodburner. As well as reducing the risk of chimney fires, keeping your chimney clean will prevent blockages and the build up of poisonous carbon monoxide in your holiday home.
  3. ESCAPE OF WATER – Mains water tap – ensure you can turn it off and on. Check for dripping taps – repair them if necessary. Check your loft space, water tank and pipe lagging. If unoccupied, programme your heating system in order to maintain a minimum temperature to prevent burst pipes and water damage, or turn off the water and drain the system.
  4. UPDATE RISK ASSESSMENTS – Have you updated your risk assessment? Record your results. Include a visual check of portable electrical items, checking for damage such as fraying power cables. If in doubt have your portable items inspected by a qualified electrician or replace them with new ones as necessary.
  5. STORM DAMAGE – Inspect the roof for signs of slipped slates or tiles and have repairs carried out where needed.
  6. FIRE SAFETY – Have you checked your Smoke Detectors and replaced the batteries? Diary for periodic checks.
  7. FLOODING – Have you cleared your drains, gutters and down pipes to keep them free of leaves and debris?
  8. SECURITY – Repair broken fences, gates and boundary walls.
  9. SLIPS AND TRIPS – Have you considered cleaning garden paths to remove build up of moss, lichen and algae, which can often be slippery?
  10. FURNITURE – inspect your furniture to ensure that it is sturdy and fit for purpose. This should include your garden furniture which you should consider storing undercover for the winter to prevent it rotting or degrading in the cold weather. Replace as necessary.

Boshers Ltd have compiled this list as an aide memoir for owners of commercially let holiday homes in the UK. It is not designed to be exhaustive and Boshers Ltd will not be held responsible for errors or omissions.

Boshers are Independent Insurance Intermediaries and have been arranging specialist holiday home insurance for owners of commercially let UK holiday homes since 1990. For further information and quotes visit www.boshers.co.uk/holiday-home-insurance or contact the holiday home insurance team on 01237 429444.

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Listed Holiday Home Insurance

Scared Of Listed Holiday Homes? – Not Us! – Listed Holiday Home Insurance

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Whether your heritage self-catering holiday let or holiday cottage letting complex is a Grade 1 or 2 Listed Building in England or Wales or a Grade A or B Listed Property in Scotland our listed holiday home insurance may meet your needs. In this post entitled Scared Of Listed Holiday Homes? – Not Us! – Listed Holiday Home Insurance we explore how we can help you with your listed holiday home insurance requirements. Subject to standard underwriting factors including post code area and property construction being acceptable we will endeavour to help.

Holiday Home Insurance for Listed Properties

Our Holiday Home Insurance policy includes extra cover. This additional cover includes an extension to meet the local authority conditions made under the Planning ( Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and amending legislation (or equivalent legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland) following damage by any of the insurable events should these costs exceed the cover provided within the buildings  sum insured. Subject to a maximum payment under this extension of 20% of the sum insured. Costs are also included towards archaeological and rescue work that may be necessary following property damage.

Listed Holiday Home

Our holiday home insurance scheme is underwritten by Ecclesiastical who were the first UK insurer to offer bespoke heritage and listed building insurance and now insure more grade 1 listed buildings than any other insurance company. The benefit to you is that you can rest assured that in the event of an insured peril affecting your listed holiday home, together with Ecclesiastical we will have the expertise to understand your specific requirements as a listed buildings owner in the event of an insurance claim.

Treat yourself to an insurance quote for your listed holiday home!

You may find the following holiday home insurance articles of interest:

   

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WARNING – Holiday Accommodation Phishing Scams

No doubt holiday let owners who take bookings direct and holiday letting agencies alike get phishing emails on a regular basis.

We just wanted to make you aware of this one that has just landed in our holiday home insurance quote enquiry inbox on the basis that forwarned is forearmed..

Sent: 13 October 2011 19:49


Subject: booking

Sir / Madam,

I have a booking request from 2 couples (4 persons) scheduled to spent their holiday in your area starting from 5th to 19th January, 2012 (14 nights). If you can host the guests, kindly provide the total cost of your 2 double rooms or equivalent for 14 nights for 4 people. This must include all taxes and service charge except meals.

Payment for this transaction will be made fully in advance using my credit card or bank check as am currently away from town hence advise if you accept credit card or bank check for prepayment.

In the event you do not have availability for the stated date, please advise next available 14-day period in February, 2012.

Like I mentioned above, preferable payment method will be pre-payment via my credit card or bank check and note that am not disposed to make bank transfers due to my present location.

Thank you and looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards,
Luis Jacobson
Leeds,
West Yorkshire, England

My understanding is that payment is made with a cheque and subsequently the booking is cancelled and a refund is given, only to discover the original payment had never cleared thus leaving the holiday home owner or agent out of pocket..!

If you have examples of scams that you would like to share with other holiday home owners please drop an email to: cottagesATboshers.co.uk with the details and we’ll compile a post to warn others.

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Tips To Avoid Burst Pipes – Protect Your Holiday Home NOW

Don’t get caught out by the freezing weather this winter!

Last years prolonged big freeze affected thousands of holiday homes, with freezing temperatures leading to burst pipes and extensive property damage throughout the UK.

Escape of water can devastate a holiday home and is one of the most common causes of holiday home insurance claims…

Please take every precaution to reduce the risk of escape of water claims at your holiday home this winter..

Visit our new blog page Tips to avoid burst pipes to read on click here…

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Boshers Top Ten Holiday Home Insurance Blogs of 2011

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Boshers are pleased to bring you their top ten holiday home insurance blogs from 2011. These articles will be of interest to owners of UK furnished holiday lets. Enjoy reading them….

1.Top Tip To Deter Holiday Home Thefts

2.Free Impartial Advice On Energy Saving For Home Owners

3.Visit England Launches Free Guide On Accessible Tourism

5.The UK’s First Police Approved Key Safe

6.Holiday Home Insurance – improved wording and increased cover 

7.Holiday Home Maintenance Checklist

8.Theft Of Heating Oil From Holiday Homes

9.Seven Tips For Safe Holiday Home Letting

10.Holiday Home Winter Maintenance Checklist

Holiday Home Insurance

 

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