Holiday HomeSafe

There are so many things to organise when you are going on holiday that very few of us give a second thought to what would happen if disaster struck at home whilst we were sunning ourselves on a foreign beach. Disaster comes in many guises: gas leaks, plumbing problems, blocked drains, damage to windows or doors, problems with the roof, electrical faults and central heating malfunctions. All, however, have the potential to undo all the good that we have derived from our holiday, whether we receive a call from a neighbour whilst we are away or come home to a nasty surprise.

Only 20% of us have cover on our home insurance policy for emergency repairs of this sort, and only 25% of insurance companies offer cover as an optional extra. Even if we are covered we either have to waste valuable holiday time sorting out the problem with our insurers (often difficult with foreign phones and time differences), or else we have to wait until we come home to deal with the matter.

It seems, however, that Marks and Spencer’s new Holiday HomeSafe policy could be the answer to the problem. The policy allows you to nominate a friend, neighbour or relative to make a claim on your behalf and the company aim for the work to be carried out within two hours of the call being made.

You will be given a key fob with the 24-hour help number to leave along with your house keys. If for any reason the nominated person has not done their job, you can notify the emergency team yourself within 24 hours of arriving home and they undertake to deal with the problem, again within two hours. There should be no worries about the standard of work done since all workmen used are industry registered. Although heating problems are excluded in the summer months (May to August) cover extends to the loss of all house keys, a problem not unknown when leaving the house in the care of teenage children!

Two weeks cover can be purchased for approximately £16 or you can extend the cover to a generous six weeks for only an extra £5. Both of these options can be used at any time for separate holidays within the policy year. Each claim is capped at £500 including VAT although there is no limit to the number of claims you can make in a year. Only 24 hours notice is required of holiday dates and details of your nominated key holder. Tenants are not eligible to take out the Marks and Spencer’s Holiday HomeSafe policy and other exclusions include:

• multiple occupancy properties
• flats and apartments
• maisonettes
• mobile homes
• bed-sits
• homes used for non-domestic purposes
• commercial property

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