House Insurance - When?

scholesfan88

Hey all

Fingers crossed we are hoping to exchange sometime this week and complete by 5th October.

We have no chain as buying a vacant property and the seller already has a new home. The seller seems agitated and the estate agent has sent a shirty email saying our solicitor has raised more enquiries and that the seller has answered them, if we dont exchange and complete by 5th October then they're remarking the property.

I don't want to hold up the exchange and the only thing I can foresee outstanding is arranging house insurance.

Could I buy this now with the start date of this Monday for example and it not be an issue?

We're only just over 8 weeks into the buying process so i dont understand why the seller has his knickers in a twist

Scholes

davidmcn

Shop around now and just arrange it on the day you exchange. Only takes minutes to do it online so no point in starting it unnecessarily early.

Slithery

Arranging insurance takes seconds on t'internet - it's not going to hold up anything.

G_M

scholesfan88 wrote: »

Hey all

Fingers crossed we are hoping to exchange sometime this week and complete by 5th October.
as you say - fingers crossed. But there is no guarantee. Those dates are just 'wouldn't-it-be-nice' dates.

We have no chain as buying a vacant property and the seller already has a new home. The seller seems agitated and the estate agent has sent a shirty email saying our solicitor has raised more enquiries and that the seller has answered them, if we dont exchange and complete by 5th October then they're remarking the property.
ignore. People get stressed. You'll exchange when you and everyone else is ready. Not before. Relax.

I don't want to hold up the exchange and the only thing I can foresee outstanding is arranging house insurance.
That is so quick and simple I doubt that is the only thing outstanding.....!!!

Could I buy this now with the start date of this Monday for example and it not be an issue?
Assuming you need it for Exchange (which is usual if using the 5th edition of the
Standard conditions of sale) then shoparound now and select your insurer. On the day of exchange, ring or go online to take out the polict.

We're only just over 8 weeks into the buying process so i dont understand why the seller has his knickers in a twist

Because people always get the knickers in a twist over property sales!

ethank

You'll generally get notice of exchange. You solicitor might say something like "The other side have advised they will be in a position to exchange tomorrow".

Nothing to stop you from running quotes on the comparison sites now, and then completing when you get notice of exchange.

five_four_three_two_one

Call me paranoid, but if you leave buying insurance until the day of exchange, isn't there a (very, very remote) risk that (for instance) a fire starts in the property after the time that contracts are exchanged but before the time you buy the insurance? A risk which could be avoided by buying insurance at least one day before exchange, with the start date set to the (anticipated) exchange date.

If exchange doesn't happen on the day you hoped for, couldn't you then cancel the policy? Possibly subject to an admin fee, but without losing the whole premium?

boo_star

five_four_three_two_one wrote: »

Call me paranoid, but if you leave buying insurance until the day of exchange, isn't there a (very, very remote) risk that (for instance) a fire starts in the property after the time that contracts are exchanged but before the time you buy the insurance? A risk which could be avoided by buying insurance at least one day before exchange, with the start date set to the (anticipated) exchange date.

If exchange doesn't happen on the day you hoped for, couldn't you then cancel the policy? Possibly subject to an admin fee, but without losing the whole premium?

I don't think so, no.

It's not yours until you complete so if it burns down after exchange but before completion it's the sellers problem, surely?

five_four_three_two_one

boo_star wrote: »

It's not yours until you complete so if it burns down after exchange but before completion it's the sellers problem, surely?

You seem to be disagreeing with the advice usually given on this forum, which is to insure the property from the date of exchange. I must say that I have no idea who is right about this (let alone why), so perhaps posters who've given this "usual advice" could comment on this ...?

EDIT: G_M's link (in post #4) seems to already answer this. Apparently using standard contract terms will explicitly make it the buyer's responsibility to insure the property from the date of exchange.

Which brings me back to my question, viz. shouldn't a paranoid buyer (this will soon be me, which is why I'm interested) *arrange* insurance *before* the date of exchange, to start on the date of exchange?

davidmcn

five_four_three_two_one wrote: »

Which brings me back to my question, viz. shouldn't a paranoid buyer (this will soon be me, which is why I'm interested) *arrange* insurance *before* the date of exchange, to start on the date of exchange?

Before the time of exchange, maybe. If your solicitor says "we're just about to exchange" you can say "hold on, I'll need to sort out insurance. Right, done it."

Of course, if you want to be really paranoid, you'd do it while standing outside the house ensuring that it hasn't already burnt down.

five_four_three_two_one

davidmcn wrote: »

Before the time of exchange, maybe. If your solicitor says "we're just about to exchange" you can say "hold on, I'll need to sort out insurance. Right, done it."

OK, that makes sense.

Of course, if you want to be really paranoid, you'd do it while standing outside the house ensuring that it hasn't already burnt down.

I was thinking of hiring a drone for a few minutes, to give me a quick aerial check that the house is still there

G_M

five_four_three_two_one wrote: »

Y

EDIT: G_M's link (in post #4) seems to already answer this. Apparently using standard contract terms will explicitly make it the buyer's responsibility to insure the property from the date of exchange.

Indeed. Most conveyancers now use the Standard Conditions 5th edition which puts the obligation to insure on the buyer from Exchange.

But a few conveyancers may still use the 4th edition which made the seller responsible up to Completion. And a few conveyancers may use their own contract, with their own unique terms.

As for the risk of a fire between Exchange and insurance, in reality the buyer almost always has time to phone the insurer; Each solicitor in the chain :

* speaks to the conveyancer above/below them in the chain, to confirm they are all ready
* they then usually each call their client to get final approval to go ahead
* they then call the conveyancer above/below again to formally Exchange on the phone

So there is inevitably a gap of time between the conveyancer speaking to their client, and Exchange actually taking place, during which the client (buyer) can activate the policy.

Though as David suggests, checking the house is still standing is an additional possible task for the ultra-paranoid!

Actually, a final viewing the day before is always wise, as the contract requires the seller tohand over the property at Completion in the condition it was in at Exchange. If the buyer has not visited/viewed for some weeks (as is often the case), there could be quite a difference in its condition........