Unigarant · compared independently · advice from Finass
Home contents insurance through Unigarant
A second home, chalet or static caravan stands empty for most of the year, and it is precisely those unoccupied months that determine what the contents cover looks like.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
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We compare the offerings of several insurers
An adviser checks whether the cover suits your situation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
With a holiday home, occupancy is the starting point of the assessment. A home used only in season and during holidays stands unoccupiedfor the rest of the year, and that is a separate category in almost every set of contents conditions. Theft, vandalism and water damage are then limited or excluded, and extra requirements apply: locking up, draining the water pipes and keeping the heating at a minimum setting.
On top of that comes the type of construction. A chalet, static caravan or timber holiday home reacts differently to fire and storm than a brick home with a hard roof covering, and often stands close to the neighbours. On a holiday park, the park rules also count: what they say about open fires, gas bottles and extensions comes back when a fire claim is assessed.
Finally, the contents themselves are of a different composition. Usually it is simple furnishing with a few expensive exceptions: a television, a bicycle, garden furniture. We check whether the sum insured matches what is actually there, and whether the fitted furnishing falls under contents or under the buildings cover, as also applies with an ordinary home.
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Basic cover
The basic cover insures the core of your home contents insurance. We show what Unigarant and other insurers offer within it.
Fire & lightning strike
Storm
Possessions away from home
Water damage
Extended cover
As well as fire and storm, also water damage, belongings outside the home and, with comprehensive cover, your own accidents.
Burglary, theft & vandalism
Jewellery & valuables (limited)
Machinery & equipment
Comprehensive cover
The most complete cover. We compare the extended version from Unigarant with the market.
Garden & garden furniture
Jewellery & valuables (limited)
Glass breakage
Higher cover for valuables
What is covered
Situation
Extended
Comprehensive
Fire, smoke and water damage in the home
Yes
Yes
Theft after forced entry
Yes
Yes
Knocks and falls at home
No
Yes
Loss or theft away from home
Provided that
Provided that
Damage during transport, repair or exhibition
Provided that
Provided that
Wear, shrinkage, damp and insect damage
No
No
A home contents policy has sub-limits: for jewellery, audiovisual equipment and collections a lower limit applies than for the rest of the contents. If your items exceed that, you insure them separately on a valuables policy, usually on the basis of a valuation (7:960 DCC). Underinsurance leads to a proportionately lower payout.
What we do
What we do
At Finass
Direct with Unigarant
Comparison across several insurers
Yes
No
Advice based on your own situation
Yes
Sometimes
One point of contact for claims
Yes
Sometimes
Cancellation with your current insurer arranged
Yes
No
We determine whether Unigarant is the best choice
Yes
No
Advice fees for you as a customer
No
No
This overview concerns our service, not the cover. What is actually covered is set out in the policy conditions and on the insurer's insurance card (verzekeringskaart); you receive both before you take out cover.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Unoccupied periods are set out in the policy
Policy conditions state a maximum number of consecutive days the home may stand unoccupied without the cover changing. Beyond that, cover usually falls back to fire, storm and lightning strike, and theft and vandalism lapse. With a holiday home that limit is exceeded almost every year, so this fallback is not an exception but the normal situation the policy has to be built around.
Frost damage and the duty to drain the system
If a pipe bursts in winter, the insurer will check whether the frost clause has been met: water supply turned off and drained, or heating on at a prescribed minimum setting. If that cannot be demonstrated, the loss is yours to bear, even if the pipe itself would have been covered. So record the winterisation with photographs and the date, because it cannot be proved after the event.
Construction type, gas and naked flames
Timber, plastic and soft roof coverings weigh heavily in the fire assessment, certainly for units standing close together. Gas bottles, a wood burner, a barbecue under an awning and home-made extensions are the recurring causes. If the situation differs from what was declared when the policy was taken out or from the park rules, that affects the cover; so notify us of building work and added facilities before they are in place.
Belongings that travel with you
Contents are insured at the address stated. If you take the television or the bicycles home with you in the autumn, they are away from that address and at most fall under a limited arrangement for contents temporarily housed elsewhere. Theft from a car, a trailer or a bicycle carrier is also excluded in almost all conditions, or insured only after demonstrable forced entry.
Value & stock
Machinery & installations
What does your premium depend on?
Number of months of occupancy per year. For this type of property, the ratio between use and vacancy is the most important factor.
Construction type of the property. Brick with a hard roof covering, timber or a static caravan are each assessed separately.
Location on a park or detached. Supervision, barriers and the distance to the neighbours affect both the fire and the burglary risk.
Letting to third parties. As soon as the property is let out, the use changes and with it the assessment of theft and damage.
Winterising the property. Drained pipes or a maintained minimum temperature determine whether frost damage can be included.
Value of the contents present. What stays there permanently is the basis. What you take home does not count towards it.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Is there cover if the holiday home stands empty for months?
There is, but it is limited. Beyond the number of consecutive days the conditions state, cover usually falls back to fire, lightning strike and storm, while theft, vandalism and water damage lapse. Because that limit is almost always exceeded with a holiday home, the policy has to be set up for that situation in advance rather than for permanent occupancy.
May I let the property to third parties?
Only if this has been notified and recorded on the policy. Letting changes who has access and with it the risk of damage and theft; many conditions also exclude theft by tenants without forced entry. If you let without notifying it, the insurer may assess what it would have done had it known the true situation.
Do fitted furnishings fall under contents or buildings?
Anything fixed to the structure, such as a kitchen unit, a fitted cupboard or an attached veranda, belongs in principle to the buildings cover. Loose furnishing is contents. With a static caravan or chalet that line runs differently than with a house, because the property itself is sometimes insured as a movable item. Have that division recorded, otherwise two policies will point at each other.
Are bicycles at the property insured?
In a locked store or shed on the site sometimes yes, and then only after demonstrable forced entry. If the bicycles are outside or on a bicycle carrier, theft is not covered under home contents insurance. For e-bikes of substantial value, separate bicycle insurance is the right route, with keys and lock as a condition when you report a claim.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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