Insuring Your Home Away From Home

Whether you summer in Nantucket or winter in Palm Springs, your vacation home has unique insurance needs. We Insure can assist you in finding affordable protection, helping you and your family enjoy your second home with less worry and greater peace of mind.

Cost, Coverage and Other Considerations

Generally, a second home costs more to insure than a primary residence. And while liability coverage on your main home may extend to the secondary address, in most instances you’ll need to take out a separate policy. Carriers frequently consider an unoccupied dwelling at greater risk than a regularly used home. Plus, your second home may be on the water, exposing it to greater risk from hurricanes and floods.

Your vacation home may also have additional features or amenities that affect the cost of coverage, such as a pool or boathouse. Moreover, if you rent your second home out from time to time, that activity comes with additional risks for liability and property damage claims. All of these factors can affect the coverage you’ll need and the cost of your premium.

Additionally, if you have a mortgage on the property, your lender will almost certainly require basic hazard coverage to protect the structure from perils like fire, flood, storm damage and vandalism. And in some cases, coverage is on a “named peril” basis, meaning the damage is only covered if it’s caused by a reason specified in your policy. A good liability policy is recommended to protect you, your family and any visitors to the property in the event of an accidental injury.

Lastly, if you have any personal watercraft like a fishing boat, sailboat or jet skis on your waterfront property — or grounded vehicles such as motorbikes — these should have their own coverage as well. For an additional layer of protection, consider an affordable umbrella policy, which can extend the liability coverage from homeowners and auto insurance. You can often get upwards of $1 million of additional coverage for just a few hundred dollars a year.

Several Ways to Save

Even though it can be more costly to insure a second home, smart strategies can reduce the impact on your wallet. Bundling coverage with your primary residence, for example, is one way you may be able to economize. Your We Insure agent will also look to secure discounts for security and safety features, such as a monitored alarm system and smoke detectors, or carbon monoxide alert devices.

Of course, you always want to shop around for the best deal. We Insure does the comparison shopping for you. We offer superior choice and value, maintaining partnerships with top carriers across the U.S. While a traditional big insurer may only have one carrier option to offer, we empower customers with the power to choose and secure the best coverage for their needs — that’s the “power of WE.”

Home Sweet (Second) Home

A second home can provide a lifetime of summer and holiday memories for you and your family. Make sure those memories aren’t marred by an uninsured — or underinsured — loss. Your local We Insure agent can help you secure the protection you need for your home away from home.