Insuring property abroad from the UK?

[er-minio]

Apologies if this has been asked already.

I have to sort out insurance for a property I have abroad (Italy). Second/vacation home. Not being rented out.
Building insurance mostly, content is not strictly necessary.

Since I read that quite a lot of UKGSers have properties abroad too... question: is there a way to bundle a second home abroad with home insurance here in the UK?
Or is it a major faff?

I was considering this just for the sake of having a single contract and paying from the UK. I have no bank accounts in Italy (and want to keep it that way) and sometimes this creates "friction" when having to pay for some services.

Cheers.

 

[richardgore]

Apologies if this has been asked already.

I have to sort out insurance for a property I have abroad (Italy). Second/vacation home. Not being rented out.
Building insurance mostly, content is not strictly necessary.

Since I read that quite a lot of UKGSers have properties abroad too... question: is there a way to bundle a second home abroad with home insurance here in the UK?
Or is it a major faff?

I was considering this just for the sake of having a single contract and paying from the UK. I have no bank accounts in Italy (and want to keep it that way) and sometimes this creates "friction" when having to pay for some services.

Cheers.

I would also like to know because I also have a property in Italy and the company I used to insure it with withdrew from the market.

 

[harry the cat]

I suspect you’ll find that difficult. Companies like Axa and Generali operate across Europe but I think you’ll find it easier to insure via an Italy based provider.

I use Generali in France for a property and pay by direct debit through a Wise account. No issues and as a bonus the local office folk in Moutiers are good to deal with.

 

[MrC99]

I suspect you’ll find that difficult. Companies like Axa and Generali operate across Europe but I think you’ll find it easier to insure via an Italy based provider.

I use Generali in France for a property and pay by direct debit through a Wise account. No issues and as a bonus the local office folk in Moutiers are good to deal with.

Same thoughts here as the financial and legal aspects are likely to be different and could diverge further now we're outside the EU - in particular 3rd party claims could be difficult to deal with. It's possible a good UK broker could sort something out but I'd expect they'd charge for the privilege. We keep our FR & UK stuff completely separate for simplicities sake and TBH sorting the FR side isn't really a problem.

 

[er-minio]

Thanks, I imagined, but was worth checking

I'll sort it out separately in Italy then.

Yes, I have a Wise account too, that I started using to pay the Telepeage, and it is now also used for DD for electrical for the property above.
I ended up using (and valuing) it quite a lot as it is an excellent service. It is my main payment point for most stuff I do back in Italy.

On a tangential topic: Italians are kinda weird about payment services, or moving money through Wise sometimes. I got paid there the proceedings from a share of a property sale last year (we are talking about 3K euro...) and my notary got all worked up when he realised I was getting funds there as, I quote, "it can look dodgy and it might trigger a check"
But payments in Italy are a "girone dan".

 

[Wapping]

Brexit, the gift that keeps giving, brought a halt to that, the Freedom of Services Provision, blown out of the water.

Approach a local broker / insurer.

Is there a way to bundle a second home abroad with home insurance here in the UK?

 

[Ethaneil]

Apologies if this has been asked already.

I have to sort out insurance for a property I have abroad (Italy). Second/vacation home. Not being rented out.
Building insurance mostly, content is not strictly necessary.

Since I read that quite a lot of UKGSers have properties abroad too... question: is there a way to bundle a second home abroad with home insurance here in the UK?
Or is it a major faff?

I was considering this just for the sake of having a single contract and paying from the UK. I have no bank accounts in Italy (and want to keep it that way) and sometimes this creates "friction" when having to pay for some services.

Cheers.

Don't rule out the contents cover.

A friend has a place in southern Italy which was burgled while they were back in the UK. They took furniture, cutlery, wine fridge, washing machine, pool robot, all sorts. Almost as though someone was setting up for a new home.

The final insult was that they took the high security front door too. Frame, and all!

 

[er-minio]

No I won't, also doesn't really increase the premiums dramatically, usually. But what I really need is decent building cover, anything on content is gonna be a "plus".

Owned it for a few decades (family). Neighbours are local and live there all year and have the keys and the place is generally checked daily, it's on average a fairly safe area overall. Anything weird, they call.
Locals park (temporarily) their bikes and scooters - and sometimes cars - with the keys in... but I never managed to do that much. Still lock the bike in the evening when there.

Both cases: better safe than sorry