One in nine holidaymakers say they have accidentally caused damage to a holiday home according to new research by Direct Line business insurance.
In one in five cases this damage cost £200 or more to repair.
The survey suggests that 25 per cent of people who cause damage do not admit this to the property owner. Of these, almost a third felt too embarrassed to own up, 29 per cent did not want to pay for the damage and over a fifth did not think the damage was significant enough to warrant saying anything.
Among these, younger guests aged between 18 to 34 years old are the group most likely to cause accidents in rental holiday homes with over-55s typically being the most careful.
Many guests also admit to treating holiday homes differently to how they would their own, with 42 per cent saying they treat them with less respect. Some of the main reasons are pre-assuming that the landlord’s insurance policy will cover potential accidental damage, not taking financial responsibility for any of the damage caused or not wanting to worry about such issues while on holiday.
According to landlord claims data from Direct Line business insurance the priciest types of accidental damage in 2021 were carpets and flooring damage (costing over £940 on average); water damage (£1,340) and soft furnishings and fixtures (£940).
Many households are opting for ‘staycations,’ with 28 per cent planning a stay in a rented holiday home in the UK in the coming year.
Over a quarter have attributed this to the increased cost of living restricting how much they can spend on travelling abroad and 23 per cent are remaining in the UK to save money. A third are doing so to avoid ongoing issues with airports and airlines such as losing luggage, flight cancellations, and long queues.
A Direct Line spokesperson says: “Most holiday homes are not covered by standard home insurance policies, so it’s important that landlords find a holiday home policy that suits what they need and consider adding on cover such as accidental damage, legal expenses or loss of rent, to help deal with the financial fall out of unforeseen issues.”
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As a holiday let owner, this is no surprise. I am just surprised at the number of people who actually admitted not telling the owner and not caring because "they are on holiday" . The amount of damage reported will be a lot less than actually happens. As in longer term rentals, it is not worth increasing premiums for a small claim.
Not surprising, and I guess the cost of this damage just needs to be factored in to the daily rate for these rentals. There would be no point in claiming on insurance for the smaller losses. Excess would probably be at least £250 anyway.
They also steel from the Holiday Lets, once had the guests take the filters out of the hoover!
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