Insuring unoccupied homes

bylromarha

Few weeks on now from Mum's death, the paperwork is starting to be processed.

Probate not yet granted, so we can't proceed with selling.

Finding it hard to get an insurance quote for a house which is unoccupied, where I'm not the owner and gets visited by my sister once a week.

Any companies you can recommend? confused and co don't seem to be able to give us quotes for buildings insurance.

Bossyboots

I used these - https://www.jltpropertyinsurance.co.uk/ - for my mum's house when I was in your position. I found them easy to deal with and very helpful.

Also, we had the house on the market and a buyer found before probate was actually granted although I did find out beforehand that there was only minimal waiting at our Probate office so it was a calculated risk but it worked out okay.

jackyann

Did your mum have house insurance? When I was in this position, I simply asked the insurer (Prudential) if they would continue with the insurance and arranged for it to be paid out of the estate. The only conditions were that it was visited once a week and that the heating was set to "frost free".

bylromarha

jackyann wrote: »

Did your mum have house insurance? When I was in this position, I simply asked the insurer (Prudential) if they would continue with the insurance and arranged for it to be paid out of the estate. The only conditions were that it was visited once a week and that the heating was set to "frost free".

That's what I thought could happen, but as she was a loyal customer, her loyalty was rewarded with ever increasing premiums. :mad:

The amount Nationwide have quoted for the remaining 10 months of the policy is ridiculous, hence looking around for an alternative.

Trapdoor

Same as jackyann ... I contacted Legal & General in our case, as mums policy was due for renewal a couple of weeks after she died. They were happy to renew for a year at the same level, with stipulations about jewellery and 'valuables' to be removed and put into safe keeping, the water to be switched off/drained down and the house visited weekly (we have a neighbour of mums who pops in regularly to check things and is very reliable and they were happy with this).

Oddly though, when we asked about reducing the contents cover right down (as she was seriously over-insured) they wouldn't reduce the policy premium even by £1. Just happy to have fairly reliable insurance for as long as we need though.

Suggest you contact the current insurer and see if they will just extend the cover...

Tuesday_Tenor

bylromarha wrote: »

The amount Nationwide have quoted for the remaining 10 months of the policy is ridiculous, hence looking around for an alternative.

Don't quite understand here; surely the policy is already paid for?

As with other posters, the AA Insurance let the policy continue with no extra charges for the remaining 7 months of that year's already-paid policy. I was visiting, and staying overnight, regularly while clearing the house, and later to keep the garden tidy. AA wanted to know when it became unfurnished and unoccupied, and the situation regarding water and heating, but didn't change the premium at all. The house sold at the 6-month point, so we actually got a month's refund at the end!

Nationwide sounds very mean. Are you sure there isn't a mis-understanding somewhere? I guess it depends on the area though, and the current insurance climate might be different to my own situation 2 years ago. This summer a friend had lead flashings stolen from the roof of the empty house she was selling. She'd been on at the Estate Agents to get a board put up, as they were very tardy about this. As soon as they did so, the house was targetted by these thieves! So maybe it's tougher now ...

rpc

We used Adrian Flux.

Additional terms will apply, but they have specialist insurers that are far better in terms of cover and premiums that regular home insurers. Lloyds wanted to levy an extra premium (huge) and remove most perils from our cover. The cover we got through Adrian Flux was far more comprehensive and of a comparable cost to our regular insurance.

bylromarha

Mum paid her policy by monthly DD. With the account frozen, they can't get their money, so are cancelling the account unless we pay for the policy in full or source it monthly from our own funds.

2 months DD to Nationwide is the same price as 1 year's policy with JLT mentioned above.

Hermia

bylromarha wrote: »

Few weeks on now from Mum's death, the paperwork is starting to be processed.

Probate not yet granted, so we can't proceed with selling.

Finding it hard to get an insurance quote for a house which is unoccupied, where I'm not the owner and gets visited by my sister once a week.

Any companies you can recommend? confused and co don't seem to be able to give us quotes for buildings insurance.

I ended up having to use Swinton as I couldn't find anyone else. It was quite expensive (mind you, the house isn't in the nicest area), but I was told that the insurance would be invalid the moment probate was granted so I didn't have much time to keep ringing around.

LutonGirl

My Father was insured with Age UK. When he died we contacted them, told them the house would be unoccupied, but with regular visits, heating on low, items of value removed etc... They were fine with it.

Aidanjm

I am in a similar position and after a lot of searching decided to go with Towergate Connect to whom I am paying £38 monthly for the empty property