What to do about vacant house?

skintsue

Following the tenant doing a runner mid contract our insurance was terminated by the 'specialist' insurance company as there was no longer a tenant.
She caused over £10K of damage in the property during her time there, but it was not covered by the insurance because they decided it was not accidental or malicious, just poor housekeeping, and the claim was turned down.

We have paid for all the repairs ourselves, which has taken a great deal of time and effort, so the house has been uninhabitable while it has been going on. Due to me having suffered very serious health problems from the stress, we decided to put the house on the market instead of rerenting. NO WAY could go through the problems again.

We have had to truthfully declare we made a claim for the address, even though it was rejected, and the tenant is no longer there.
We also made a claim for freezer contents damage 2 years ago, which is also no longer there.
Because of these the insurance quotes have been at least £500 for the minimum cover of Buildings only.

The property is now up for sale, and is empty of everything - except for fixtures such as kitchen units, boiler, curtain poles and carpets. It is visited every day to check for post, security, weeding etc.
Because of the time it has been empty we are now having to pay Council Tax again.

We have been through all the comparison sites listed on MSE, and the other individual ones, but we don't fit the templates some use.

Any ideas how we can get a sensible quote?
I'm tempted to suggest that as we are paying full Council Tax for two properties, that the Insurance would be so much cheaper for an occupied property that my husband moves back in with a single bed, laptop and microwave and stays here until it's bedtime.
The only problem is that since my stroke I need help some times, and he wouldn't want to leave me as the responsibility of our teenage daughter overnight.

phill99

Internet comparison sites are fine if you ae a square peg in a square hole. You are not. You need to go to a traditional 'over the counter' broker who will know exactly how to deal with you 'claim' and the fact it is unoccupied. They also have access to broker only insurers and you will get a much better deal with them.

skintsue

phill99 wrote: »

Internet comparison sites are fine if you ae a square peg in a square hole. You are not. You need to go to a traditional 'over the counter' broker who will know exactly how to deal with you 'claim' and the fact it is unoccupied. They also have access to broker only insurers and you will get a much better deal with them.

Thanks for the advice.
That is exactly what I will do first thing tomorrow.
It would be a much better option than making my husband move out every evening. I'd miss my morning cuppa in bed while trying to get mobile - but not the snoring!

skintsue

Hi Phill99
I took your advice, and it was great. Thank you for saving us a small fortune :beer:
First thing in the morning I started getting phone calls about the sites I had visited, so I told each caller that I was only comparing, and what could they offer that was better than the previous agent.
I told them exactly the truth about the tenant damage claim that was not accepted, and she was gone, about the freezer content damage, which was no longer there, and the previous insurance being cancelled as it was rental insurance, and the house was now up for sale.
The only quotes on the comparison sites had come in at least £650 for 12 months, and their calls confirmed that was it - no deals.
The next few came back at £360'ish, which I thought were more reasonable, but needed hubby to get home before paying, as he had to use his card for the funds.
By the time he got home at 6.30 the price had dropped to £133 FOR EXACTLY THE SAME LEVEL OF COVER.
That is over £500 saved in 2 hours of computer searching, dealing with a dozen calls totalling 1 1/2 hours, and some note scribbling.

Should I put that on my 1% saving post on the Debt free section of the forum?:)