how to insure an empty home

eastmidsaver

hi,
tennants have now moved out of a rented house, and now the owners want to sell the house.
however, their insurance company says under the policy they need to switch all the services and drain the system, off otherwise it could invalidate the policy.
this doesn't really seem practical because it will make the house cold over the winter months.
as the owners are not planning to let it anymore, i suspect it is no longer classed as a commercial property so i imagine they don't need a landlord policy anymore?
has anyone got any advice on how to insure it whilst it is empty and it goes on the market?
many thanks.

mgfvvc

What's the problem with it being cold over the winter months? Not good for viewings?

Empty houses are harder to insure. Fresh Insurance seem to be able to insure empty houses.

eastmidsaver

thanks,  yes that is a reason as it is much nicer to view if not cold.
but also, would the pipes etc not freeze up?
ok thanks, i'll pass that name on.

user1977

eastmidsaver said:

but also, would the pipes etc not freeze up?

That's the point of draining the system...

eastmidsaver

ok thanks for clarifying.
i understand that in these instances the type of insurance is called "unoccupied" insurance.
i will look up Fresh as advised above, but please let me know of any other insurers / brokers that can help.
many thanks.

BooJewels

I've insured an unoccupied property through Vasek Insurance.  I actually went through a local broker to find them, as the quotes I was getting on my own were very high, with a lot of exclusions.  There are a number of understandable endorsements and they're pretty expensive (compared to the same property if occupied), but I've been happy enough with the service, although you can only really tell when you make a claim, which thankfully, I've not needed to. 

In our case, the alternative to draining the system was to keep the heating on and controlled by the thermostat - which was necessary, as we were spending time there clearing it.