Holiday homes abroad are now so popular that enterprising brokers are offering insurance policies for foreign holiday home owners, denominated in euro and written in English. The biggest demand is for cover on properties in Spain, Portugal and France. "We've seen a huge increase in demand in the past two years," said Sinead Egan, business development manager with 123.ie.
The company is planning to introduce its own insurance for customers with properties in Spain and France from mid-August. "Billions are being spent on foreign property," she said. "Customers have told us they want the security of knowing exactly what their policy covers." Benchmark Underwriting is also planning to introduce foreign property cover in the second half of this year for Spain, Portugal and France.
Consumers can access Benchmark's offering through 200 brokers nationwide. Galway-based Burke Insurances, www.burkeins.ie, was one of the first brokers to introduce euro-denominated foreign holiday home insurance. Burke also provides cover for properties in Greece, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia and Turkey (though Turkish holiday homes are not covered for earthquakes, as the country is considered too high a risk).
He offers cover for properties which may be owner-occupied, occasionally let on a professional basis, or used by family and friends. The policies, underwritten by Lloyds of London, are written in English with premiums and claims paid in euro. "We're catering for owners of properties worth EUR250,000 or more," said Burke.
The company operates via 20 brokers nationwide. Check out www.sourcebrokers.com for the broker nearest to you. Sean Burke, of Burke Insurances, said that the Irish jurisdiction clause (meaning that claims will be processed through the Irish legal system) was very important for his customers. "They don't want to end up in a foreign court trying to interpret foreign laws and practices," he said. Hibernian and Axa said they had no plans to introduce cover for holiday homes abroad.
Brokers say that obtaining insurance for properties in Britain is quite easy for those with holiday or investment properties there. Many of the banks and insurers have a British presence or a British owner. One Money reader, the owner of six apartments on the Costa del Sol in Spain, recommended buying property insurance locally.
He said that insurance for a two-bedroom apartment in Spain cost only half as much as the equivalent policy in Ireland. In Spain, he pays about EUR250 to EUR300 a year for contents cover of about EUR4,000 to EUR5,000. An equivalent apartment in Dublin costs him EUR500 to EUR600 annually.
The company is planning to introduce its own insurance for customers with properties in Spain and France from mid-August. "Billions are being spent on foreign property," she said. "Customers have told us they want the security of knowing exactly what their policy covers." Benchmark Underwriting is also planning to introduce foreign property cover in the second half of this year for Spain, Portugal and France.
Consumers can access Benchmark's offering through 200 brokers nationwide. Galway-based Burke Insurances, www.burkeins.ie, was one of the first brokers to introduce euro-denominated foreign holiday home insurance. Burke also provides cover for properties in Greece, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia and Turkey (though Turkish holiday homes are not covered for earthquakes, as the country is considered too high a risk).
He offers cover for properties which may be owner-occupied, occasionally let on a professional basis, or used by family and friends. The policies, underwritten by Lloyds of London, are written in English with premiums and claims paid in euro. "We're catering for owners of properties worth EUR250,000 or more," said Burke.
The company operates via 20 brokers nationwide. Check out www.sourcebrokers.com for the broker nearest to you. Sean Burke, of Burke Insurances, said that the Irish jurisdiction clause (meaning that claims will be processed through the Irish legal system) was very important for his customers. "They don't want to end up in a foreign court trying to interpret foreign laws and practices," he said. Hibernian and Axa said they had no plans to introduce cover for holiday homes abroad.
Brokers say that obtaining insurance for properties in Britain is quite easy for those with holiday or investment properties there. Many of the banks and insurers have a British presence or a British owner. One Money reader, the owner of six apartments on the Costa del Sol in Spain, recommended buying property insurance locally.
He said that insurance for a two-bedroom apartment in Spain cost only half as much as the equivalent policy in Ireland. In Spain, he pays about EUR250 to EUR300 a year for contents cover of about EUR4,000 to EUR5,000. An equivalent apartment in Dublin costs him EUR500 to EUR600 annually.
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