FAQ - Overseas home insurance

Yes. Simply book online or call us on 0844 736 8251. If outside the UK please call +44 1206 780 342.

Yes, this is one of the risks which your policy covers as standard.

Towergate Connect offers a free translation services - Towergate Overseas Assist. It gives you, or anybody renting your property, free 24-hour access to an interpreting service and a domestic helpline to help you in an emergency. A great advantage when letting a European holiday home.

Yes. If you insure your contents with Towergate Connect, we will ensure that these are covered as standard. For more details refer to the Policy Wording document which can be downloaded from details and documents.

Absolutely. Towergate specialises in holiday letting insurance as well as holiday home insurance. Contact us for more information.

Policies arranged overseas with foreign insurers usually have lower limits for personal/public liability compared to UK insurers. This could prove costly if you suffer a claim against you from someone who has been staying at your property.

Some policies in Spain will only cover you for £100,000 public liability and in Bulgaria it can be as low as £10,000. UK residents owning property overseas can be sued in the UK courts if someone is injured staying at the property. Many overseas insurers' policies often have inadequate cover in comparison to UK policies and can often fail to meet the needs of property owners. It is very important to check what you are signing up for.

We will pay up to a £1,000 for you and a family member to get to your overseas property in an emergency. Call us on 0844 736 8249 for more information.

For your buildings you need to take into consideration not only the cost of rebuilding the main property but also any outbuildings, swimming pools, boundary walls etc. The value should include solicitors' and surveyors' fees and demolition costs. With your contents you need to consider all household goods and personal property within your holiday home and how much you would have to pay to replace them as new. We make a deduction for wear and tear for clothing and linen.

It means that the item referred to will be replaced for its current value without a deduction for wear, tear or betterment.

We recommend that you check your main household policy to see if it covers items outside of your permanent residence. This cover is often referred to as 'all risks'. If you keep any items permanently in your holiday home and they exceed the single article limit of £3,000 then you will need to specify them on the policy schedule.

Our policy provides cover for your contents within the confines of your holiday home. We recommend that you speak to the insurers of your main residence for cover of valuables and personal effects away from the holiday home.

Accidental damage cover is available to the policyholder and family members for both buildings and contents.

Full cover is provided subject to complying with security requirements, the property being furnished, and the water being turned off at the mains and all equipment drained if your property is to be unoccupied for more than 30 days or from 1 November to 31 March inclusive (excluding Spain, Portugal and Southern Cyprus).

Our policies state that you need to pay the first £50 of any claim, apart from escape of water where you need to pay the first £200 of any claim and subsidence and landslip where you need to pay the first £1,000 of any claim. If you have arranged a different excess fee with us, you will need to pay that amount.

You can pay securely online. As soon as the policy is paid for cover will commence. Alternatively, you can pay by card over the telephone or by posting a cheque to Towergate Connect, Suite N, The Octagon, Middleborough, Colchester, Essex CO1 1TG. Monthly instalments are available.

We offer insurance for one or more holiday properties. Please contact us to discuss your requirements.

You are entitled to a full refund of the premium paid if you find the policy unsuitable for your needs and cancel it within 14 days of receipt of your policy documents (as long as no claims have been made). If you need to cancel cover after that time, cancellation charges will apply. Please call us or notify us in writing with the reason for cancellation and state the date from which you need cover to cease. Remember, if your policy is in more than one name, all policyholders will need to sign the letter. If you have any other queries please don't hesitate to contact the customer services team on 0844 736 0088.

Yes, if your property is in Spain or Portugal. Unfortunately we can't currently insure against this in other countries.