Do I insure new house after exchange as well as present one?

quatro

I shall be exchanging on my new purchase soon, then there is [definitely] a 28 day period before completion when I am the new owner but still living in my present house.
Do I have to get house insurance on the new property after exchange to run alongside the insurance currently on the one I am in now? Or is the one I am in now then the responsibility of the new owner??
Sorry to be so confused.....

mummytofour

I would have both, also some morgages state that you have to have insurance in place as from exchange.

LH79_2

Are you sure? I thought it was from completion? Would be good to know for sure - we are supposed to exchange today and have not insured house we are buying!

quatro

I do not need a mortgage as I will be buying new house for cash using funds from sale of old house.
Surely the new owner of my present home will be insuring the house I am in now - if the rules apply to everyone in the chain?
Thanks for your replies......

silvercar

When you exchange you are agreeing to complete the purchase. If the house falls down between exchange and completion you will be purchasing a pile of rubble and the land, therefore you need building insurance from the point of exchange. Whether you need contents insurance depends on if there are things included in the sale that would need to be insured eg carpets etc. In the long run you might just as well start the policy on the new place for buildings and contents so the renewals will be at the same time.

As far as your current property goes, you still need to insure the building as it is a condition of your current mortgage until it is redeemed on completion. You also need to have contents cover as that is where your contents are; especially important if anything gets lost or broken during the move.

The net effect is that properties can be insured by 2 different sets of people, but then they both have insurable interests in the property.

quatro

Will it be ok to use my current insurer for both, then keep with them for new house after completion
- or shop round for a good deal on the new house, [cancelling the original policy upon completion, assuming I can get a refund for the unused 9 months]

I am going from a bungalow to a victorian house, and I know some insurers have preferences as to what age/type building it is.

silvercar

Shop around for the best deal on the new house, then ring your current insurers and ask them what they can offer you. Check at the same time that they will refund the unused portion of your current house insurance.

Also check your mortgage companies offers; mine is offering free cover between exchange and completion.

AndrewSmith

Definately insure the house at exchange.

In actual fact your solicitor should, at exchange, ask for confirmation that you have buildings insurance in place.

Andy

quatro

Thanks Andy and silvercar - I like to be a step ahead of my solicitor if possible! Will I have to show documentation to prove the insurance is in place? If so I assume I will be clearly told beforehand what exactly the exchange will be.

I am currently getting quotes which are varying wildly!.........
BTW I am a cash buyer so no mortgage company deals are relevant to me unfortunately.

Debras_Angel

AndrewSmith wrote:

Definately insure the house at exchange.

In actual fact your solicitor should, at exchange, ask for confirmation that you have buildings insurance in place.

Andy

Hi Andy,

After reading this thread, as I didn't realise we needed this.

I've just emailed my solicitor re the insurance on our new build house as we exchanged in Nov and will complete at the end of Feb.

We haven't sold ours yet as our buyers fell through, so may be running with 2 houses!

Anyway the solicitor has just emailed back to say that because it's a new build the builder will have insured it up to completion.


Do you believe this is the case for new builds?

Debs

AndrewSmith

I would trust what your solicitor has told you.

If the unforseen happens you have written proof that your solicitor advised you of the situation.

Andy