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So at long last you have managed to find your perfect place in the sun, the holiday home you have always wanted and it gives you the chance to escape for a few glorious sunny weeks of each 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 on your own terms without having to worry about bills, other guests and the other stresses of staying at a hotel.

But problems can arise when you view your home purely as a holiday 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 holiday home 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 insurance for second homes is not realising that their policy requires them to fulfil 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, not leaving the property unattended for over 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, you should do everything in your power to protect your second home against the dangers it could face over the winter. Security is obviously very important, and you should make sure that no valuables are left in sight and that you always leave the house completely secured. If possible it’s advisable to have someone you trust locally check on your holiday home regularly 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 frozen or burst pipes. Last year hundreds of holiday owners were caught out by the unexpected cold weather, finding their second homes damaged by water as a result of being unprepared. Many of these unfortunate homeowners also found that they weren?t covered on their insurance. There is no way to guarantee your holiday home will be safe from disasters like these but there are a few simple steps you can take that could make all the difference.

Firstly, don?t turn the heating off over the winter ? it may save on heating bills, but in temperatures below freezing the pipes could suffer serious damage, which would cost a lot more. All pipes in the house should be thoroughly insulated ? including any in the loft space above the roof insulation where heat from the house cannot rise to. Leave the water mains switched off to limit the amount of water that could leak out if a pipe did burst, and most importantly if you do discover a frozen or burst pipe, call an emergency plumber immediately!