Mainstream home/contents insurance for house that is unoccupied 3 months at a time?
dgtazzman
Posts: 1,140 Forumite
Due to a divorce and my job, my house will be unoccupied for up to 3 months at a time, while I am abroad for work. The current insurers (and most others) will only allow the house to be unoccupied for 30 days. A neighbour keeping an eye on things doesn't seem to count for much. I can ask my current insurer for permission to exceed the 30 days, but they don't have to agree.
Are there any mainstream insurers that are more generous on this front, or will I need to approach a specialist insurer. I can live with higher premiums, as long as they aren't criminal.
Many thanks for enlightening me...
Are there any mainstream insurers that are more generous on this front, or will I need to approach a specialist insurer. I can live with higher premiums, as long as they aren't criminal.
Many thanks for enlightening me...
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Comments
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I've had the last couple of winters away, and Aviva charged me an extra £50-60 for 20-23 weeks (my policy covers up to 60 days). Conditions were Central Heating either drained or on frost-free, and somebody giving the place a once-over every week - not a problem for me as I have relatives passing by fairly often.0
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This is really helpful to me, ManAtHome. We wanted to extend our Aviva 60 days by an additional 90 days. For a similar amount to your additional premium, Aviva agreed to extend. I got the distinct impression that this was a one off, so have started to research alternative policies, in case we need to do it next year. It looks like you have done it more than once so I may just renew as usual and call them up if we need to extend.0
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Wonder_Boy wrote: »This is really helpful to me, ManAtHome. We wanted to extend our Aviva 60 days by an additional 90 days. For a similar amount to your additional premium, Aviva agreed to extend. I got the distinct impression that this was a one off, so have started to research alternative policies, in case we need to do it next year. It looks like you have done it more than once so I may just renew as usual and call them up if we need to extend.
Have a look at Saga and the other providers aimed at the older customers as they tend to be more lenient on unoccupancy due to their target market often spending the winter abroad0 -
After I'd extended the first time, they sent my renewal with the same* (extended) number of days, and same again this year. Chances are you'll only need to act if you're not going away again next year or you need a different number of days away.Wonder_Boy wrote: »I got the distinct impression that this was a one off
*First year was 20ish weeks, I extended this for year 2 (extra tenner-ish) and have left it at 23ish this year (sorry if it all sounds a bit ishy - actual was in days not weeks...).0 -
Wonder_Boy wrote: »This is really helpful to me, ManAtHome. We wanted to extend our Aviva 60 days by an additional 90 days. For a similar amount to your additional premium, Aviva agreed to extend. I got the distinct impression that this was a one off, so have started to research alternative policies, in case we need to do it next year. It looks like you have done it more than once so I may just renew as usual and call them up if we need to extend.
Hi Wonder Boy,
I'm glad things are sorted out this term. If you'd like me to check things for future terms and what the Underwriters agreed, feel free to email me at social@aviva.co.uk with the following details:- Your full name
- Date of birth
- Postcode
- Policy number
- MSE username so I can tie your email to this post
I'll be happy to help clarify things if needed.
Many thanks,
Marv
Aviva Social Media Support0 -
Thanks Marv. As I am not sure what our plans are yet I can't really confirm anything. I really need a policy that will consider an extension,subject to underwriters, and assume that Aviva will consider this. This year's extension is over with no claims, so I am sure that helps. As an aside, we arranged weekly checks on the house and a neighbour parked on our drive.0
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Wonder_Boy wrote: »Thanks Marv. As I am not sure what our plans are yet I can't really confirm anything. I really need a policy that will consider an extension,subject to underwriters, and assume that Aviva will consider this. This year's extension is over with no claims, so I am sure that helps. As an aside, we arranged weekly checks on the house and a neighbour parked on our drive.
I would recommend that you leave a note pad by the front door or preferably store it off site. The person checking the home then enters the date and time they checked the house along with any comments eg dripping tap or switched lights on along with any action taken eg called plumber to fix leaking tap.
This can be helpful if there's a claim and your Insurers wants to check that the property was checked at the regular intervals they specified. It's the sort of thing you realise is a good idea after having a claim whilst the home is unoccupied.
Alternatively you may be able to do something with a smart phone eg send a text or email or take a photo each time a visit is made which ideally would be geo tagged0 -
Wonder_Boy wrote: »Thanks Marv. As I am not sure what our plans are yet I can't really confirm anything. I really need a policy that will consider an extension,subject to underwriters, and assume that Aviva will consider this. This year's extension is over with no claims, so I am sure that helps. As an aside, we arranged weekly checks on the house and a neighbour parked on our drive.
Hi Wonder Boy
We would consider extending the unoccupied cover yes, but it would be a question we would have to put to our underwriters. We can not guarantee to extend the cover. It would be a decision made by our underwriters based on the details of how long the house will be unattended for and the reasons behind it.
I'm sorry we can't be more specific. You have our contact details from Marv's post above so if we can be of any further help please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Kind regards
Dave
Aviva Social Media Team0 -
Thanks Dave, that's the answer I was expecting and, given the uncertainty about needing to extend, will, subject to premium, be happy to take the chance on renewing.0
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