Are You Covered For Theft?
Managing holiday lets can be challenging, especially when it comes to getting keys to holiday rental guests, cleaners or maintenance staff. If you are not on-site to meet your guests on arrival, then you need to have a foolproof way of ensuring guests receive keys to your holiday home.
One of the most popular methods is to use a lockable keysafe to store keys. These are usually mounted on an exterior wall near to the door. Keysafes can also be useful when guests arrive late in the evening or early.
Other ways to send keys to holidaymakers include – posting them, leaving a key under a mat, hidden under rocks or in plant pots.
But holiday rental owners who use theses key collection methods could be dramatically increasing the vulnerability of their properties to burglary and theft if keys get into the wrong hands. Be very careful of how you get keys to guests as you could invalidate your holiday lettings insurance policy.
Check your contents insurance to see if you are insured for theft or attempted theft by non-forcible entry into your holiday home.
Holiday home insurers will normally require proof of forcible entry for a claim to be valid
Some holiday home insurers will only cover theft claims if there are signs of forcible and violent entry. That is to say that regardless of whether the property has the correct locks, if there are no signs of a break-in, such as a broken window or door, then the insurer is likely to decline the claim.
The most likely scenario of unforced entry is when a burglar uses a key, either by locating them hidden outside the holiday home, by taking a copy (tradesmen) or by intercepting those posted. So before you hide or post keys to guests, check that your insurance covers theft by non-forcible entry.
Don’t assume that these claims don’t occur. In some instances, remote holiday homes have been totally cleared out (down to light bulbs) without any signs of entry.
Security advice when sending keys to guests
If your policy does cover theft by noforced entry, it is still prudent to take preventative measures to reduce the risk of claims. Insurers might argue you acted negligently by not taking all reasonable care to secure your property and refuse payout.
When posting keys
If you post keys to guests, consider sending them by recorded delivery for extra security and ensure that there is no address information on the key fob. Also, send directions to the property via email or separately by post.
Key safes
These should be fitted securely and discreetly. Make sure that there are no problems with keys fitting into the key safe or locking, to avoid guests leaving it open on departure. Try to change the code regularly and again, don’t send the code with the directions incase they get into the wrong hands. If you have a long gap between bookings try not to leave the key in keysafes for a long time.
One of the safest ways to get keys to guests is to use a property manager to handle all aspects of changeovers, including key holding and ‘meet and greet’ service. It’s also a good idea to change all the locks when taking possession of a new holiday home as you can never be sure whether someone has got a duplicate key cut.
Non-forcible entry is just one area that could lead to a theft claim on your policy being deemed invalid. Take some time to read thorough the terms of your policy to ensure that you have the cover you need, rather than just choosing a policy because it’s the cheapest.
If your insurer doesn’t provide this cover, remember – our holiday cottage insurance covers theft by non-forcible entry.
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