One thing that can help you enjoy your vacation is knowing that you have someone watching your back every step of the way. Wouldn’t that be nice? It would be great to have someone help you with the unforeseen problems that could arise during your trip: You buy your airplane ticketing and something comes up in the last minute but you don’t have to lose your investment. You make a non-refundable deposit to book an attraction or tour and then you have to cancel but you get your money back… It is like making “non-refundable” have a different meaning

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It may be obvious to you that we are talking about insurance. Travel insurance, medical insurance, car insurance, group travel insurance, holiday insurance… There are several options and a wide variety of packages and prices, but if you want to play it safe you may want to look into the different options to have your back covered.

There are two special circumstances that apply to home exchange:

1) If you already have your home covered, you may need to check with your insurance provider for the special case of having someone stay in your house in your absence.

2) As with your home insurance, if you plan to exchange vehicles during your swap it may be better to check with your insurance company to make sure everything is good to go.

There are even some companies that offer special packages for home exchange trips, so you may want to look into that too

It´s normal for people to have a few questions on their minds before doing a home exchange. Some of the most commonly asked questions are:

1. Will my home insurance cover my holiday exchange?

We can tell you that the majority of insurance companies recognise the importance of ensuring that your property is not left unoccupied for long periods of time. The damages caused by break-ins, fires and natural disasters are generally always guaranteed, even if the house is occupied by third parties. It is also important to remember that an occupied house is a lot more secure than an empty one in terms of break-ins and robberies. So, having people staying in your house provides a good safe-guard against theft.

And we mustn´t forget that when people are in our home, we´re in THEIRS. So we´re providing a mutual service! You can always call your own insurance agency and ask for more detailed information about your particular contract.

In general, the areas covered by home insurance are:

• Fire, explosions and lightning

• The costs of putting out a fire, and recovery of the damage

• Rain, wind, hail and snow

• Collisions

• Planes falling

• Sound waves

• Smoke

• Acts of vandalism

• Flooding

• Costs of extracting and repairing the damage caused by mud

• Water damage

• Electrical damage

• Aesthetic damage

• Loss of clients

• Reproduction of lost documents

• Fridge contents

• Fracturing of mirrors, glass, marble, ceramics, granite, natural stone, and china

• Break-ins and thefts (covering furnishings, cash, credit cards, damages, replacement of keys and locks, and annexed properties)

 
2. How can I guarantee that my house will be secure in the hands of unknown people?

We always ask our users to do an evaluation after doing a home exchange. This ensures that any user who shows the remotest sign of bad behavior will be automatically eliminated. However, in the history of property exchange, there have been almost no cases whatsoever of bad conduct. This is because it´s rooted in the notion of mutual trust and respect. Also, we are always here to help the exchange and communication between two prospective exchange partners, and this interaction is an essential part of making a good exchange.