Unoccupied home insurance question

Soph

Hello all.

I hope someone can help me with a question about home insurance.

My friend's Aunty recently died unexpectedly and she lived alone. My friend and her family were hoping to leave sorting the house and it's contents out, until after Christmas and the New Year. However, the home and contents insurance is only valid when the property is unoccupied for less than 30 days. What happens when the property will be unoccupied for more than 30 days? Can my friend as the current insurer to 'extend' the cover for an extra premium (she says she doesn't think they will??)? Would they need to get cover elsewhere? Surely this situation must be quite common, but I've never heard of what to do about the insurance.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Sophie

clear_blu

The house will still be covered for fire risk and certain other risks storm damage etc. however will not be covered for theft. It is worth checking with the insurer as I have known some to allow full cover if for instance a neighbour who has a key and checks the security on a daily basis.

gazza975526570

If you give them a call and explain in advance it will be unoccupied they may be able to continue to provide cover however there may be an additional premium for this

regularsaver1

Ask your friend to call them

they may ask your friend to turn water off ect but as long as they are made aware

djohn2002uk

This has cropped up on here before and I answered then in similar words to these.
I had a house which I owned for over 9 months and was empty the whole time. There was no problem in insuring it for buildings cover but I think if it's furnished then they might well need proof of reasonable security before covering the contents. Best to ring the current insurers because if they would probably only want a bit extra wnereas a new company would want another years premium up front.

hardpressed

I had a similar situation and I'm sorry to say that I could not get insurance while the house was unoccupied. The company it was insured with wouldn't do it for more than 30 days, they just advised me to turn off the water and electric and hope for the best. I decided that rather than risk the house getting damp over the winter to leave the heating on low. I did visit most days to check it was ok. I spoke to an insurance broker and he he gave me the same advise. The house was mostly unfurnished.

Tustastic

I had the same problem with my mother's property after she died, even though I was going there nearly every day and the neighbours were keeping a close eye. The people at the insurance company (Waltham Forest insurance) just calmly told me that insurance wasn't possible through them any more. Other insurers told me I would have to empty the property, turn off all the utilities and block the letterbox. Presumably they would have sent a free poster for the window saying 'Unoccupied - fancy squatting here?' :rolleyes: If people in the insurance industry are reading this, could they try and get their act together about dealing in a professional and helpful manner with bereaved relatives when it comes to insuring properties empty because of a death? Rant over.
I approached Budget Insurance and we were able to get the same kind of cover which applies to holiday homes, as another family member was indeed staying there for a couple of days every few weeks. The person I dealt with (who looked about 14:)) was really helpful and on-the-ball. Worth talking to them and good luck. Sorry also for your loss.

courtjester

Turning off the water is not sufficient in the winter for a property that is to be left unoccupied for a long period - there is still a lot of water in the system which can cause a lot of damage if a burst pipe due to frost were to occur. Better to get a plumber to drain down the water and central heating system to remove the risk entirely.

The following company offer an unrestricted cover for holiday homes, which does not require draining down the system or regular inspections and has no unoccpuancy time limit like most home policies. Maybe try contacting them to see if this property could be covered as a second-home until its future is decided....

https://www.schofields.ltd.uk