Insuring a house that my parents live in

Murphy_The_Cat

I'd be very grateful if anyone can offer me some pointers



My sister (who lives abroard) and I have recently been "willed a house".
Our parents will live in the house until the end of their days, rent free.
The house is Grade 2 Listed.


In the next month, the buildings insurance policy is coming up for renewal.


How do I get a policy which covers the property, without spanking my sister and I in the pocket ?


The complications seem to be a)there are family members living in a house that we own, rather than paying tenants &b) the property is Grade 2 Listed.


Currently, my parents pay for contents insurance out of their own pocket, but my sister and I would be happy to insure under a buildings and contents basis if it could be done economally and effectively.

AnotherJoe

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

I'd be very grateful if anyone can offer me some pointers

My sister (who lives abroard) and I have recently been "willed a house".
Our parents will live in the house until the end of their days, rent free.
The house is Grade 2 Listed.
In the next month, the buildings insurance policy is coming up for renewal.
How do I get a policy which covers the property, without spanking my sister and I in the pocket ?
The complications seem to be a)there are family members living in a house that we own, rather than paying tenants &b) the property is Grade 2 Listed.
Currently, my parents pay for contents insurance out of their own pocket, but my sister and I would be happy to insure under a buildings and contents basis if it could be done economally and effectively.

Can your parents not take out the insurance, and then you reimburse them?

Murphy_The_Cat

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Can your parents not take out the insurance, and then you reimburse them?

Sadly not - they don't own the house and all policies that I've found so far specifically ask if you own the house and then go on to ask who lives in the house.

System

When I asked my insurance company about insuring a house a family member lived in they said I needed landlord insurance. Whether the tenant pays rent or not was not relevant.

Robin9

As its Listed - NFU or Ecclesiastical. Expect to pay far more than a standard house.

Zorillo

Most Property Owners insurers will offer to cover this situation but you will probably need to speak to a broker rather than trying to sort it directly.

eddddy

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

My sister (who lives abroard) and I have recently been "willed a house".

Do you mean gifted a house? (So you now own the house.)

Or do you mean, it's being left to you in your parent's will when they die? (So for the moment, they own the house.)

Obviously, if they still own the house, they would have a regular home insurance policy - which you could pay for, if you want.

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

In the next month, the buildings insurance policy is coming up for renewal.

But if you own the house, you should have arranged insurance from the date of transfer. You shouldn't be waiting for the policy renewal date.

The current buildings policy would probably be invalid, as your parents no longer own the property.

So you need to deal with it urgently.

Murphy_The_Cat

eddddy wrote: »

Do you mean gifted a house? (So you now own the house.)

Or do you mean, it's being left to you in your parent's will when they die? (So for the moment, they own the house.)

Obviously, if they still own the house, they would have a regular home insurance policy - which you could pay for, if you want.



But if you own the house, you should have arranged insurance from the date of transfer. You shouldn't be waiting for the policy renewal date.

The current buildings policy would probably be invalid, as your parents no longer own the property.

So you need to deal with it urgently.

The house has been left to my sister and I from another family member rather than my parents (who live there).
The existing insurers are aware of the current ownership status.:beer:

xylophone

The testator gave the "right of occupation" to your parents for their lifetimes - a "quasi trust" situation as discussed in your other post.

It might be worth looking here ( and mentioning the Grade 2 listing).

https://www.ukinsurancenet.com/property-insurance/property-trust-insurance/

Murphy_The_Cat

xylophone wrote: »

The testator gave the "right of occupation" to your parents for their lifetimes - a "quasi trust" situation as discussed in your other post.

It might be worth looking here ( and mentioning the Grade 2 listing).

https://www.ukinsurancenet.com/property-insurance/property-trust-insurance/

it's going to be (another) conversation with the solicitor to see EXACTLY the ownership status is of the property so that my sister and I can correctly insure it - nothings ever straightforward, is it ?

xylophone

nothings ever straightforward, is it ?

Not where a trust may be involved, no, (and I speak from experience).

I strongly suggest that you clarify the situation because there may be other considerations (as well as buildings insurance).