For starters, to help determine the type of insurance you need, one key consideration is how often you will be living there. For example, if this is your secondary residence, then it is important to know that it is likely that you will be paying a bit more for insurance costs. In some cases however, you may be able to include your vacation home insurance in the same policy with your primary residence coverage.

To better identify how best to insure your vacation home, you can review the following vacation home occupancy scenarios and see which one(s) best reflect your insurance needs.

If you own a vacation home that you are not going to be renting out, then your primary home insurance coverage may not include this type of coverage. This is because primary residence insurance policies typically only relates to homes that are being regularly occupied.

For example, if this home will be unoccupied for more that 30-90 days at a time, you are likely to need to take on some additional coverage to include in your home insurance package. Speaking to your insurance broker is the best course of action, so that you make sure you have   enough secondary coverage.

This second scenario includes the times when you plan to rent out your secondary residence on an occasional basis. Perhaps you will rent out your vacation home as an occasional Airbnb, or to friends and family a couple of times a year.

If this is the case, then your original and standard home insurance policy might cover this type of arrangement as well. With that said, again you will want to discuss this with your home insurance broker to ensure you have the right coverage for your needs.

This last rental arrangement, as the heading states, is for secondary vacation homes that will be rented out on a regular basis. Unlike the other two scenarios, if this is your plan, it is highly likely that you will need to add some additional coverage onto your original policy.

Here are some of the types of supplemental coverage you may need, depending on your circumstances.

Otherwise known as home-share coverage, this vacation home insurance policy option is typically a type of insurance for those who are renting out their homes as an Airbnb or for shorter periods of time. In this type of arrangement, adding coverage to your original policy is the likely to be necessary. It is advisable that you check with your broker make sure you have enough insurance for the correct length of time for these shorter rental periods.

This type of coverage is used more in the cases of longer-term rentals, however sometimes can also apply to short-term tenants as well. If there is the potential that you will be renting out your vacation home for longer stretches of time, then choosing this comprehensive insurance package might be the more affordable option. This insurance policy reflects a separate insurance package on its own to ensure that as a homeowner you are adequately covered for these types of rental agreements.

In the end, the best way to protect your vacation home is to first, identify how you plan to rent out your vacation home in the future. Additionally, since these types of insurance policies can vary across different insurance companies, you will want to examine these policies closely with the help of your insurance broker.

At Leaders Insurance we want to ensure that our clients have the most up-to-date information regarding their insurance policies. If you are looking to insure your vacation home this year, contact us so that we can align your home insurance coverage with your specific needs.