So at long last you have managed to find your perfect place in the sun, the holiday home you have always wanted and the chance to get away from it all for a few weeks of the year. It’s an attractive idea, and the perfect way to pass the summer months, enjoying the sunshine and making the most of staying at your second home without the worries of hotel fees and other guests.

The only problem is it’s easy to see your holiday home as a summer retreat, and not pay too much mind to how it will fare through the winter months when you’re not around to take care of it. A lot of second home owners fall into the trap of believing that their overseas property insurance will cover them for any problems that may arise throughout the whole year, but in fact many policies contain conditions that can leave the claim invalid if the property is damaged whilst unoccupied.

The most common trap that people fall into with second home insurance is not realising that their policy requires them to fulfill certain obligations for the claim to be valid. Often hidden away in the small print, you could be required to switch off and drain the whole water system when leaving the house unattended, visiting the property at least once every 30 days, or even performing weekly checks.

Your second home could be left without cover if something happened and these conditions are not met, so the most important thing is to check your insurance policy to make sure there are no hidden catches in the small print. If you need to, upgrade your policy – some second home insurance companies like Schofields offer insurance for holiday homes that remains valid throughout the year without these requirements.

Of course prevention is better than cure, and you should always do all you can to protect your holiday home against potential damage over the winter months. Security is obviously very important, and you should make sure that no valuables are left in sight and that the house is secure. It’s a good idea to have a local neighbour or agent look in on the property from time to time just to be sure nothing has gone wrong, and to catch it early if it has.

Another common problem that often occurs when holiday homes are empty over the winter is that water pipes may freeze or burst. Last year hundreds of holiday owners were caught out by the unexpected cold weather, finding their second homes damaged by water as they’d been left unprepared for the icy conditions. Many of these unfortunate homeowners also found that they weren’t covered on their insurance. Prevention from disasters like this cannot be guaranteed but there are some precautions you could take which could save you a lot of bother in the future.

Firstly, turning off the heating through the winter is a bad idea – it may save on heating bills, but allowing the property to fall below freezing could cause serious damage to the pipes, which will clearly end up costing far more. Make sure all pipes are thoroughly insulated – don’t forget there are probably a few in the loft space above any roof insulation you may have, which will stop heat reaching them from the rest of the house. Turn off the water mains to limit the amount of leakage if a pipe does burst, and most importantly if you do discover a frozen or burst pipe, call an emergency plumber immediately!