Overseas Real Estate Blog

Firstly, my apologies to regular readers for not posting in a while. I have been traveling for business and pleasure and working on the new jet2let property website redesign.

Because of the redesign there is a large back log of properties awaiting entry and in particular if you are looking in Hurghada, Cape Verde islands or Bulgaria do please contact me for latest properties

A break also gave me an opportunity to speak to apartment owners on my travels and I have been surprised that around 50% of the people I have spoken to do not have an any insurance at all for their property. All of these people do for their own property.

Why do I think you should insure your overseas property? There are three main reasons:

1/ Well the risk may be low for a typical apartment with 24 hour security but I have heard people losing all their furniture the day after it has been delivered. Delivered waiting installation!

2/ Third Party liability cover. Even if you only rent or give for free your property to relatives or friends of friends then you are still at risk of being sued. The minimum claim is usually around £12,000. A slip on a wet bathroom floor, even too wet grass (yes that has been a successful claim) you name it there is a no win no fee industry on day time TV to tempt the injured or, dare I suggest, the dishonest on making a claim. Remember it will always be you as the owner that the tenant will look for. Even if a tour company has taken your whole block you will be the target for a claim.

3/ Buildings insurance cover for natural disasters is a must Most of us underestimate risk, and remember nothing is a problem until it is a problem. The floods in the UK last summer showed that many did not even have their primary residence insured.

If you do not have it covered then drop me an email (lance.nelson@jet2letproperty.com). We are have negotiated discounts with two overseas insurance companies. However I am unable to confirm discount levels until I can guarantee the amount of business. That's why I can't reveal insurance company name yet.

Finally if you own property in an emerging country, I urge caution when using local insurance companies. Laws and judicial systems are generally considered to fall short of western European standards so even if they are cheaper (and they often are not and rarely include third party cover as standard) then how sure are you they will pay up when you need them to?