What's the best insurance for a holiday rental?

August 2025

Besides carefully selecting your guests to avoid unpleasant surprises, it’s also advisable to get insurance for your holiday home. You’ll protect your home and gain peace of mind. Nothing may happen, but if it does, your insurance will cover the expenses. However, it all depends on the coverage you’ve chosen.

Holiday rental liability insurance is specially designed for holiday rental properties and covers you against third parties. In other words, if any mishap occurs at the property, you’ll be covered, and the insurance will take care of it.

One of the biggest fears of hosts is finding the property damaged after guests depart or experiencing theft. That’s why, at Holidu, we recommend getting insurance before listing your holiday home. Additionally, good holiday home insurance can even cover items stolen from your tenants.

What are the types of holiday home insurance available?

1. Specialist short term rental insurance:

This is the most common and recommended insurance for many holiday homes as it’s designed specifically for short term rentals and offers multiple areas of coverage. You can find basic policies covering thefts and damages to more comprehensive ones covering all kinds of mishaps. A good short term rental policy will include:

• Contents insurance (protection against damage to furniture, appliances and decor)
• Buildings insurance (covers damages to the structure of the property)
• Protection against theft and vandalism
• Pubic liability
• Protection against loss of rental income (if a natural disaster or damages cause you to temporarily close your holiday rental)

However, you can always choose to take each of these individually:

2. Public liability insurance: 

As mentioned earlier, this insurance covers damages to your guests and is very important to consider for your holiday home. If guests are hurt on your property, public liability insurance will cover any legal fees and court costs, as well as any compensation you may need to pay. This type of insurance is mandatory in some autonomous communities in Spain, like Valencia.

3. Multi-risk insurance: 

It’s the ideal insurance for those who want complete peace of mind. It’s a very comprehensive insurance that includes public liability coverage. If you’ve listed your property on our holiday rental website, don’t forget to get insurance, and multi-risk insurance specifically provides excellent coverage.

4. Buildings insurance: 

This only applies if your holiday rental is a house or a standalone unit – it does not apply to apartments or flats. It’s often required by mortgage lenders to protect the property itself. This may be included in a broader holiday home insurance (as mentioned above), but you can always opt to take it out separately. Buildings insurance covers you for any damage to the structure of the property (walls, roof, etc.), the fixtures (bathrooms, fitted kitchens, garages, pools), as well as from unexpected events like natural disasters or burst pipes. 

5. Contents insurance:

Contents insurance will protect you against damages to the interiors of your property, specifically the decorations, furniture, appliances and other belongings inside the property. It’s a good idea to check that the policy covers both accidental and intentional damage.

6. Damage insurance: 

Generally, there isn’t much demand for this, unlike the previous ones, as often this insurance is part of home insurance. This type protects you primarily from damage – such as intentional or accidental damage done to the property by guests or other third parties. Since its coverage is lower, it’s cheaper than the others. It’s worthwhile if you complement it with another or if it’s already included in the insurance you’ve contracted.

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What does holiday property insurance cover?

It all depends on the clauses you choose to contract. Ultimately, it’s best to pay for personalised insurance as its price will be related to the number of coverages. At Holidu, we advise you to select at least the minimum necessary coverage for your holiday rental. And don’t hesitate, getting insurance is always an investment that brings peace of mind. What coverages do the policies include?

• Owner’s public liability
• Material damages to the property
• Coverage for damages by or to third parties (guests)
• Vandalism
• Physical injuries
• Protection against thefts
• Material damages to the home
• Refund of cancelled bookings

Is it mandatory for my holiday home to have insurance?

It would depend on where your property is located. It is generally not mandatory in Italy, Spain, Portugal, or the UK. However, if you are renting out an apartment that’s part of an apartment building or condominium in Portugal or Italy, you are legally required to have fire insurance. Also, if your holiday home has a mortgage, some mortgage lenders require you to take building or multi-risk insurance.

Nonetheless, owners of holiday homes should at least get public liability insurance regardless. This type of insurance is very suitable when operating a holiday rental as it covers damages caused by your tenant, although not all damages.

Therefore, it’s advisable to have insurance that includes a good range of coverages, especially if your property receives numerous guests throughout the year. It’s common for privately owned apartments to suffer damages such as broken windows, burst pipes, faulty cisterns… However, when it comes to holiday rentals, damages are even more frequent.

With comprehensive insurance, there are no worries. It’s worth noting that, even when carefully selecting guests, you’ll be hosting unknown people in your rental property who probably won’t take care of it as you would. More general home insurance policies are not recommended, as they usually only cover the policyholder – as they are geared towards primary residences, not rentals.

Which insurance should I choose for my holiday rental?

That depends on the needs of your holiday rental. Usually, opting for multi-risk insurance is always better due to its extensive coverage. But if you prefer another, just consider whether your holiday rental is in an urban or rural area, the risks it’s exposed to, and whether it’s in a quiet area or not.

Here are some recommended insurance companies for holiday rentals:

UK

• AXA holiday home insurance
• My Holiday Home Insurance
• John Lewis

Spain

• Generali Expatriates
• Schofields
• Intasure
• Catalana Occidente tourist home insurance

Portugal

• Intasure
• Schofields
• InsuraWorld
• C1 Broker

Italy

• Eisendle Insurance
• My Holiday Home Insurance
• Andrew Copeland International

Furthermore, we recommend getting some extra coverage for your holiday rental property that includes:

• Household belongings
• Loss of bookings due to various reasons
• Temporary unavailability of the property due to force majeure

Practical tips for getting holiday rental insurance:

Lastly, we want to offer you some practical tips when getting holiday rental insurance:

• Check the regulations in your community; each one establishes different requirements. However, at the very least, you should have public liability insurance.
• If in doubt, consult with a specialist about which holiday home insurance is most suitable for you. Getting insurance of this nature is an investment worth making, so it’s important to choose the right one.
• Analyse the coverage to determine which ones best suit your property. A house located in a busy neighbourhood is not the same as one in an isolated area, for example.
• Read the fine print or gather information about what the selected insurance covers and what it doesn’t. It should cover damages, thefts, and material damages.
• Compare prices of different insurances and their corresponding coverage. Making comparisons can help you save money.
• Read reviews from other clients who have taken out the same policy. Nowadays, it won’t be difficult thanks to the internet, as there are different platforms where such personal reviews are published.

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