Lloyd's TSB Insurance warns homeowners to be aware of hidden insurance costs

Homeowners are being urged to inform their insurer before embarking on a house-swapping holidays.

House-swap holidays more than doubled in the past year to 1.6m, according to a Lloyd’s TSB Insurance survey.

But 60% of house-swappers fail to tell their insurer they will be taking part in a home exchange, running the risk of invalidating their home insurance policy if anything goes wrong during the house-swap period.

Lloyds TSB Insurance’s head of home claims, Paul Spillane said: "House-swapping looks set to be the trend of the year - it’s easy to see why as this type of holiday caters for so many different tastes. To ensure people make the most of their house-swap holidays, we’re urging them to alert their insurers before taking part in an exchange so they don’t jeopardise their cover."