Holiday Let Insurance Calculator
What holiday let and Airbnb insurance costs in 2026 — and why home cover will not do
Last updated: July 2026
How much does holiday let insurance cost in the UK?
Holiday let insurance in the UK typically costs £350 to £600 a year for a modest cottage let occasionally, £600 to £1,100 for a typical holiday let running 16–30 weeks a year, and £1,200 to £2,500 where the property is in a flood-risk area, has a hot tub, or is let year-round. As a rule of thumb it costs 2% to 4% of your rental income – and the calculator above prices it from the rebuild cost, contents, letting weeks, income and the specific risks your property carries.
Why your existing policy does not cover you
This is the point most owners discover too late. The moment you take paying guests, a standard home insurance policy is void – the insurer is covering a private residence, not a commercial letting business, and a fire started by a guest will not be paid. Less obviously, standard landlord insurance does not cover it either. Landlord policies are written for assured shorthold tenancies: a named tenant, a deposit, a six or twelve month term. A holiday let has a different guest every week, no deposit protection, and far higher accidental-damage frequency. You need a policy specifically written for short-term or holiday letting, and if you let through Airbnb, Booking.com or Sykes, the platform's own "host guarantee" is not insurance and will not rebuild your roof.
What the policy has to include
- Buildings, insured at rebuild cost. Not market value. The rebuild figure is what it costs to reconstruct the property from the ground up, typically 50–70% of market value, and it is on the RICS-based figure in your last survey.
- Contents at a commercial rate. Guest-used furnishings wear out and break far faster than your own. Insure sofas, beds, white goods, crockery and the TV at replacement cost.
- Loss of rental income. If a burst pipe closes the cottage for three months in high season, this pays the bookings you had to cancel. For a business whose income is concentrated into a short season, it is the section that saves you.
- Public liability, £5 million. A guest falls down your stairs, or a child is injured by the hot tub. Most booking platforms and many local authorities now require £5 million as a minimum.
- Accidental and malicious damage by guests. Often an optional extra and almost always worth taking – it is the single most frequent claim on a holiday let.
- Employers' liability if you employ a cleaner or handyman – compulsory, minimum £5 million, and routinely forgotten.
The two loadings that hurt
Flood risk is the big one, and it is unforgiving: a property in a flood zone can cost 40–60% more, and some insurers decline outright. Note that Flood Re – the government-backed scheme that makes flood cover affordable for ordinary homes – excludes commercially let property, so a holiday let cannot use it. Check the flood map before you buy the property, not after. The second is unoccupancy: most policies restrict cover if the property stands empty for more than 30 or 45 consecutive days, which catches out owners who close for winter. Declare it, take the loading, and drain the system down – an escape-of-water claim in an unoccupied cottage in February is the classic uninsured loss.
Worked example
A cottage in Cornwall has a £250,000 rebuild cost and £25,000 of contents, is let 16–30 weeks a year producing £24,000 of income, carries £5 million of public liability, and includes guest damage cover. Buildings work out at about £472, contents at £324, loss of rent at £510 and liability at £123 once the letting-weeks factor is applied, plus £85 for guest damage – roughly £1,514 a year, or about 6.3% of income. Add a hot tub and it rises by £140; put the same cottage in a flood-risk area and the premium jumps to about £2,200.
How to keep it affordable
Insure the rebuild cost accurately – owners routinely insure at market value and pay 40% more than they need to. Fit and service smoke alarms, a carbon monoxide detector and a fire blanket, and keep the certificates: gas safety, electrical (EICR) and PAT testing are all things a holiday let insurer will ask for, and their absence is what turns a claim into a dispute. Take a higher excess on the accidental damage section, since guest breakages are frequent and small. If you have a hot tub, keep a dated water-testing log – it is the difference between a defended and a paid legionella claim. And review annually: this is a specialist market and the mainstream comparison sites do not price it properly.
Frequently asked questions
How much is holiday let insurance a year?
A modest cottage let occasionally typically costs £350 to £600 a year. A property let 16 to 30 weeks a year usually costs £600 to £1,100. A flood-risk property, one with a hot tub, or a year-round let commonly costs £1,200 to £2,500. As a guide, expect 2% to 4% of rental income.
Does normal home insurance cover a holiday let?
No. The moment you take paying guests, a standard home insurance policy is void — the insurer is covering a private residence, not a letting business. A fire or flood caused by a guest simply will not be paid.
Is landlord insurance enough for a holiday let?
Usually not. Landlord policies are written for assured shorthold tenancies with a named tenant and a fixed term. A holiday let has a different guest every week and far higher accidental-damage frequency, so it needs a policy written specifically for short-term or holiday letting.
Does Flood Re cover holiday lets?
No. Flood Re, the government-backed scheme that makes flood cover affordable, excludes commercially let property. A holiday let in a flood zone must be insured on the open market, where it can cost 40% to 60% more, and some insurers will decline it outright.
Is Airbnb's host guarantee the same as insurance?
No. Platform host guarantees are limited, discretionary schemes with significant exclusions — they are not a contract of insurance and will not rebuild your property. You still need a proper holiday let policy with buildings, liability and loss of rent cover.
Source: Flood Re eligibility (commercially let property is excluded) from Flood Re. Flood risk by address can be checked on GOV.UK – Check the long term flood risk. Employers' liability requirement from the HSE. Insurance Premium Tax (12%) from GOV.UK.