Why can holiday home insurance be harder to obtain? There are two aspects in particular of a holiday home that make insurers very cautious:

1. The possibility that it may be let out as a holiday rental, which would mean large numbers of different people coming and going.

2. The possibility that it may be left unoccupied for longer periods than an ordinary residential home.

Both of these mean that as far as insurers are concerned there are more risks attached to a holiday home than to an ordinary residential home. For this reason it is very unlikely that you will be able to insure your holiday home as an extension to the policy on your main home. You will need to find a specialist holiday home insurance provider, or a specialist broker.

When you are discussing your holiday home insurance policy, you need to be absolutely certain that it includes all the essential elements. Otherwise you may find you are not covered when an emergency happens. So what are the elements that need to be included?

Buildings insurance. As with your own home insurance, you must insure for the cost of rebuilding, not just for the current market value. However, your own home insurance is likely to include a condition limiting periods of unoccupancy to a maximum of 30 days. If your holiday home is going to be unoccupied for longer periods, the policy will be more expensive, but even more essential.

Contents insurance. Contents cover furniture, electrical appliances, soft furnishings – anything you would take with you if you moved. Make sure you find a policy that covers you for replacement value on a new-for-old basis – that is, don't just insure your contents for what they would sell for now, but for what it would cost to replace them. Remember you aren't just insuring against theft, but against fire or flood damage.

Try to find an insurance company that will reduce your premiums accordingly the more precautions you take against theft, fire and flood. (You shouldn't leave personal valuables such as jewellery in the holiday home when you're not there – your holiday home insurance probably wouldn't cover them. If you take them with you on holiday, you should insure them under your home contents policy.)

Public and employer liability insurance. Anyone who comes into, or near, your holiday home for any reason could sue you if anything happened to them – for instance if they were injured by a falling tile, tripped over a tree root, or slipped on a slippery patch on the floor. Similarly if you employ anyone in connection with your holiday home, such as a cleaner, handyman or caretaker, you are legally obliged to have employer liability insurance.

If you are experiencing difficulty in finding the right kind of holiday home insurance, your best plan would be to consult a specialist broker. The broker can help you find an insurer that provides value for money, covers the essential elements, and rewards you for taking precautions to protect your holiday home.