As a country, the UK is getting more money. As our overall wealth has grown, so has our desire to spend money on things we enjoy. And one of the most popular ways to spend this money is on a second home, like a cottage in the country where we can spend the weekends. But since this is your second home and not your primary residence, the home insurance will cost you more than it would for your primary residence. To keep this cost from becoming too much, though, you might want to take the following steps:
Security
The main reason why it will cost more to insure your second home than your main home is that you won't be there as often. Since you're not there, thieves have more chances to take things from your home. Make sure your second home has a good enough security system to reduce the chances of this happening and to convince your home insurance company to lower your premiums. In practise, this means that your second home needs:
- A main alarm system
- a smoke alarm;
- Locks with deadbolts on your doors
- No part of the garden should be hidden, so you may need to cut back trees
- Enough lighting, which should be on a timer so that your second home isn't always in the dark.
- Lock the front door and the back door
- secure garage area
Home insurance loss assessment advisors say that if you have a good security surveillance system, your home is 20–30% less likely to be broken into than if you don't.
Hire and work with
Having a friend or agent check on your house every day and take out any junk mail or newspapers that might be delivered can also help reduce the chances of your second home being broken into, which will lower your second home insurance rates. Keep in mind that a pile of mail on the floor mat is the best way to make a house look like no one lives there.
Choose a neighbourhood with few crimes.
Lastly, when you're looking for a place to buy a second home, make sure you choose a neighbourhood with a low crime rate. Crime rates are a big part of how home insurance is calculated, so if you choose to live in an area where crime rates are high, you should expect to pay more for your home insurance premiums.
