Home insurance on Exchange of Contracts

Mocha61

I understand that on Exchange of Contracts the buyer has to have insurance in place, does that mean having two lots of insurance between Exchange and Completion, one on current house and the second on new house, will an insurance company do that for you?

pinkteapot

Yes, they will. They're used to people buying houses and this being an issue. Their systems are set up for it. You can take out buildings insurance on the new place from exchange, then transfer the contents cover to the new property on completion.

The only time insurance companies can't cope is if you have a long time between exchange and completion. We had two months, and several insurers we contacted wouldn't do it, because they weren't happy covering the building without us in it for so long. We had to go with a high-end, expensive insurer for our first year as a result, then switched at renewal.

Technically I suppose you don't need buildings insurance on the old place after exchange as it's your buyer's responsibility, but I've always kept it. I'd be too scared not to!

deanos

Not sure if i can do this but i am going to take out a brand new policy for my new home starting when we exchange, and then cancel the old one when we move , or is it more complicated than this ?

G_M

That is certainly possible.

But first check your existing policy. Many of them will automatically include a new property for this period as it is a common occurrance.

deanos

Ok so i rang Esure, on exchange they will insure the new property on building only and continue to insure the current house buildings and contents, then on the day of completion the contents transfers to the new property, and buildings on old policy stops i will have to pay the difference in policy's and in my case is only £20 for the rest of the year (8 months)

so OP give your insurance company a call