We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
insurer says they'll only insure from completion not exchange
Options

aqueoushumour01
Posts: 1,687 Forumite
I phoned the aa for home insurance yesterday and they said they only insure from completion as it's not a legal requirement to insure from exchange. I understand there's a requirement to insure from the exchange date since you are legally contracting to purchase the house. Presumably I could get around this by just specifying the date I want insurance to start but I am worried they will back out if there is a claim (unlikely, but possible.) Am I right that it is needed from exchange and that it is the buyer's responsibility to insure from this date?
:beer:
:beer:

0
Comments
-
I have recently just completed and I had to have insurance from exchange of contracts as the property is then legally yours. My solicitor sent me a check list of what was needed once exchanged happened.
If anything goes wrong with the property between exchange/completion you are not covered...0 -
We have our home insurance with Axa and they had no problem doing buildings insurance from exchange and then adding the contents cover at completion.
Try other insurers. You do have to tell them it's a property you're insuring from exchange as it's relevant that you won't be living there.0 -
OP - yes you need that buildings ins in place from exchange so try a broker or another insurance company, as pinkteapot has suggested0
-
OP should simply tell the insurers he has contacted that they are talking rubbish and they have just lost his business - there are plenty of other companies ho will insure form exchange.RICHARD WEBSTER
As a retired conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful assuming any properties concerned are in England/Wales but I accept no liability for it.0 -
Do you have an existing policy with the AA or are you looking to take out a new policy with them?0
-
You clearly got a phone monkey at AA who didn't know what they are on about. It is a standard requirement at exchange to insure the property as upon exchange you become liable for the property. I bet if you called them back and spoke to someone else you'd get a different answer.I am a Mortgage Adviser and Freelance JournalistYou should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice.0
-
You clearly got a phone monkey at AA who didn't know what they are on about. It is a standard requirement at exchange to insure the property as upon exchange you become liable for the property. I bet if you called them back and spoke to someone else you'd get a different answer.
Exactly.
What you cannot do is insure something in which you have no insurable interest - i.e. you must stand to lose financially if the insured event occurs.
But once you have exchanged you must buy even if the house burns to the ground. Therefore you need to insure the buildings (though not the contents as they are not yours).
It is possible that your vendor's insurer will cover you but you should not rely on that.0 -
pinkteapot wrote: »We have our home insurance with Axa and they had no problem doing buildings insurance from exchange and then adding the contents cover at completion.
Try other insurers. You do have to tell them it's a property you're insuring from exchange as it's relevant that you won't be living there.
thanks all.
presumably i will need to have a firm exchange date before I take out insurance? But what if we had an exchange date set and took out insurance from that date, and for some reason the exchange date was postponed. what would i do then?0 -
I got a quote online from Directline - just guessed a start date, saved it, and then rang up to activate it (could have done it online, I guess) as soon as I'd exchanged. There were no complications at all.0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.5K Spending & Discounts
- 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
- 598.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 176.9K Life & Family
- 257.2K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards