Building Insurance before purchase

davidmcn

ccfc1972 said:

Still some confusion as to when e are going to exchange, hopefully be next week, looking to complete on the 15th Jan.
If I take out insurance now, with a start date of the 15th Jan, what happens if we do not then complete on that day?

Do you mean what happens if you don't exchange on that day? You need insurance from exchange, not completion. If you start the policy earlier than you need to, then nothing will "happen". You'll just have spent money unnecessarily on the premium.

ccfc1972

davidmcn said:

ccfc1972 said:

Still some confusion as to when e are going to exchange, hopefully be next week, looking to complete on the 15th Jan.
If I take out insurance now, with a start date of the 15th Jan, what happens if we do not then complete on that day?

Do you mean what happens if you don't exchange on that day? You need insurance from exchange, not completion. If you start the policy earlier than you need to, then nothing will "happen". You'll just have spent money unnecessarily on the premium.

Ah ok I see. Well we may yet exchange and complete on the same day, it's all still up in the air. So if I take out the insurance and for any reason it doesn't then happen, I can just cancel the policy I assume?

davidmcn

ccfc1972 said:

davidmcn said:

ccfc1972 said:

Still some confusion as to when e are going to exchange, hopefully be next week, looking to complete on the 15th Jan.
If I take out insurance now, with a start date of the 15th Jan, what happens if we do not then complete on that day?

Do you mean what happens if you don't exchange on that day? You need insurance from exchange, not completion. If you start the policy earlier than you need to, then nothing will "happen". You'll just have spent money unnecessarily on the premium.

if I take out the insurance and for any reason it doesn't then happen, I can just cancel the policy I assume?

I expect so, yes. But generally you'll know for certain on the day of exchange whether or not you're exchanging, so you shouldn't have to guess and put the insurance in place in advance.

ccfc1972

davidmcn said:

ccfc1972 said:

davidmcn said:

ccfc1972 said:

Still some confusion as to when e are going to exchange, hopefully be next week, looking to complete on the 15th Jan.
If I take out insurance now, with a start date of the 15th Jan, what happens if we do not then complete on that day?

Do you mean what happens if you don't exchange on that day? You need insurance from exchange, not completion. If you start the policy earlier than you need to, then nothing will "happen". You'll just have spent money unnecessarily on the premium.

if I take out the insurance and for any reason it doesn't then happen, I can just cancel the policy I assume?

I expect so, yes. But generally you'll know for certain on the day of exchange whether or not you're exchanging, so you shouldn't have to guess and put the insurance in place in advance.

OK great thanks.

mlb95

ccfc1972 said:

We have had documents through to sign for completion. Contract, Title Plan, TR1 etc.
The solicitor also says that they need a copy of the Building Insurance Schedule posting through. Obviously we haven't completed the insurance yet as we haven't exchanged...is it normal to take the insurance out before completion on a property you do not yet own? How does this work? Confused.

We also received this list of documents, including asking for the building insurance document from our solicitor and we, like you, were confused.

They clarified by stating it's the standard list of what they need completed in order to exchange, but just emailing a copy of the building insurance showing its started/been taken out, on the day of exchange would suffice. 

pinkteapot

I've never taken out the policy before exchange of contracts. When close to exchange I get quotes and decide who I'll use. Then, as soon as my solicitor has confirmed exchange, I've gone online, bought the policy, and emailed confirmation to my solicitor. They'll want proof of insurance from exchange, but none of the solicitors I've used has ever had a problem with me doing that.

Obviously if you are completing on the same day and are in the middle of shifting boxes then you might want to take the risk and do it the day before! You do get a 14 day cooling off period with insurance during which you can cancel, so if the sale falls through at the absolute last minute you could use that to get a refund.  

tek290

Sorry to hijack the thread but I am completing tomorrow and had a similar question.

I'm buying a ground floor flat and will be a joint freeholder with the couple that live upstairs. I thought the seller had arranged for the existing policy to be changed such that my name was included but, having just received the completion statement, it looks as if they've cancelled the policy as it will expire on 17 January. The completion statement includes that I will pay a pro-rata amount for the 10 days that I'm living there whilst the policy is still valid. My solicitor hasn't flagged anything so I assume this is fine.

My main question is the cost, the insurance that the seller has is £98.50 per month (£1,182 for the year). Is it just me or is that incredibly expensive? It's a Victorian terraced house in London and nothing out of the ordinary, it's not at risk of flooding and no signs of subsidence etc. My solicitor has suggested it's expensive but not something I've really looked at before. Will obviously look to obtain quotes next week myself but good to get a steer on what's considered expensive!