Property Damage is not normally included in regular travel insurance policies. Holiday Velvet, a holiday rental agency, now offers clients the option of securing insurance at the time of booking.

One of the biggest benefits of renting a holiday home or apartment as opposed to a hotel is the fact that you can act as you would at home. But what happens when something goes wrong and property damage occurs? Who is responsible?

Holiday Velvet, a Barcelona-based holiday rental agency with over 6,000 short-term rental properties in their portfolio in locations including Rome, Barcelona, Paris and Venice, have now teamed with the Adar insurance to offer their clients comprehensive insurance for self-catering accommodation. The option is given when clients receive their booking voucher, which includes other details such as the full address of the property, where to pick up keys and the local contact.
“We have been looking at the possibility of offering our customers travel insurance for some time, “ says Frederic Lagacherie, Holiday Velvet’s Operations Manager. “ We chose to do it through Adar precisely because they are one of the few insurance companies that cover damage to short-term rental properties.”

Adar’s policy, which applies to rental agreements under 90 days of duration, covers cancellations due to illness (up to 15,000 €), damage caused by fire, theft and water, and expenses occurred by road and rail disruption up to 48 hours after you were due to take possession. It also covers cancellation by the owner due to property damage. The policy covers all types of holiday accommodation, including caravans, villas and boats.

Holiday Velvet says that taking out Travel Insurance not only limits your personal liability but also gives you peace of mind. Their clients can expect to pay about 3.5% of the overall cost of the holiday rental if they choose to be covered.