60 days unoccupied means not insured

moneysaver128

Looking at Post office insurance (Ageas) and their exclusions. It appears that an insured is not covered if away for over 60 days. That is a fairly common exclusion. However they also state that under 60 days you are also not covered

-  'Even if the damage or loss you are claiming for takes place in the first 60 days while you are away.' [Furthermore]

When your property is unoccupied, we will not pay for the following Building [contents] claims: 

-Vandalism 

-Leaking or freezing water and leaking oil 

-Theft

-Damaged glass, toilets and other fittings 

-Accidental damage'

This seems to exclude what many people insure for,  ie  burst pipes and break ins?

Does this seem to other forum users a very 'tight' wording of policy or is this under 60 days exclusions for important things common with other home insurance companies?

sammyjammy

Its pretty standard, if you will regularly be away longer than this it is worth speaking to a broker as you may require specialist insurance

DullGreyGuy

moneysaver128 said:

Looking at Post office insurance (Ageas) and their exclusions. It appears that an insured is not covered if away for over 60 days. That is a fairly common exclusion. However they also state that under 60 days you are also not covered

-  'Even if the damage or loss you are claiming for takes place in the first 60 days while you are away.' [Furthermore]

When your property is unoccupied, we will not pay for the following Building [contents] claims: 

-Vandalism 

-Leaking or freezing water and leaking oil 

-Theft

-Damaged glass, toilets and other fittings 

-Accidental damage'

This seems to exclude what many people insure for,  ie  burst pipes and break ins?

Does this seem to other forum users a very 'tight' wording of policy or is this under 60 days exclusions for important things common with other home insurance companies?

I think you are misreading it....

Lets say you were going away for 90 days and on day 35 you neighbour phones and says someone spraypainted all over the front of your home, police were called but not hopeful of finding the person. Given there is nothing you can do you decide to continue your holiday.

When you get home you cannot claim for this vandalism even though it happened after the property was unoccupied for 35 days because the property was unoccupied for 90 days in total therefore voiding anything that happened during that period not just anything that happened after 60 days and before you returned home.

comeandgo

I agree with the interpretation by DullGrayGuy.  I’ve just been through this with the post office house insurance.  Had to leave them and buy special insurance for unoccupied property.  

moneysaver128

DullGreyGuy said:

moneysaver128 said:

Looking at Post office insurance (Ageas) and their exclusions. It appears that an insured is not covered if away for over 60 days. That is a fairly common exclusion. However they also state that under 60 days you are also not covered

-  'Even if the damage or loss you are claiming for takes place in the first 60 days while you are away.' [Furthermore]

When your property is unoccupied, we will not pay for the following Building [contents] claims: 

-Vandalism 

-Leaking or freezing water and leaking oil 

-Theft

-Damaged glass, toilets and other fittings 

-Accidental damage'

This seems to exclude what many people insure for,  ie  burst pipes and break ins?

Does this seem to other forum users a very 'tight' wording of policy or is this under 60 days exclusions for important things common with other home insurance companies?

I think you are misreading it....

Lets say you were going away for 90 days and on day 35 you neighbour phones and says someone spraypainted all over the front of your home, police were called but not hopeful of finding the person. Given there is nothing you can do you decide to continue your holiday.

When you get home you cannot claim for this vandalism even though it happened after the property was unoccupied for 35 days because the property was unoccupied for 90 days in total therefore voiding anything that happened during that period not just anything that happened after 60 days and before you returned home.

Just been in touch with Ageas customer services. They say no insurance for burst pipes if you are away UNDER 60 days/house unoccupied - ie on holiday. Seems different to other companies under 60 days approach?

Smithcom

Just been in touch with Ageas customer services. They say no insurance for burst pipes if you are away UNDER 60 days/house unoccupied - ie on holiday. Seems different to other companies under 60 days approach?

That sounds likely to be a load of twaddle.  But you should investigate

Ask them to point you to:

1.   The policy definition of unoccupied
2.   This mysterious escape of water exclusion if you are on holiday

SC

Smithcom

comeandgo said:

I agree with the interpretation by DullGrayGuy.  I’ve just been through this with the post office house insurance.  Had to leave them and buy special insurance for unoccupied property.  

The reason that the 60 day exclusion is worded that way is to avoid people who are away for 60 days + simply saying 'ah yes, but the damage occurred on day 30'

SC

comeandgo

Smithcom said:

comeandgo said:

I agree with the interpretation by DullGrayGuy.  I’ve just been through this with the post office house insurance.  Had to leave them and buy special insurance for unoccupied property.  

The reason that the 60 day exclusion is worded that way is to avoid people who are away for 60 days + simply saying 'ah yes, but the damage occurred on day 30'

SC

I do know why it is worded that way, I had no problems with the wording and its meaning.

DullGreyGuy

Smithcom said:

Just been in touch with Ageas customer services. They say no insurance for burst pipes if you are away UNDER 60 days/house unoccupied - ie on holiday. Seems different to other companies under 60 days approach?

That sounds likely to be a load of twaddle.  But you should investigate

Ask them to point you to:

1.   The policy definition of unoccupied
2.   This mysterious escape of water exclusion if you are on holiday

SC

Do you have a link to the policywording?

Looking at the current wording (https://www.postoffice.co.uk/dam/jcr:f3c6757e-9167-4345-9050-715d5481fd87/home-insurance-policy-booklet.pdf) it simply says these things are not insured if your property is Unoccupied(defined term). By definition for it to be Unoccupied it must be empty for 60 days and so it cannot apply if you are away under 60 days... however....

Unoccupied
By unoccupied, we mean that your home hasn’t been or won’t be lived in for more than 60 days in a row, or doesn’t contain enough furniture to be lived in. Regular visits to the home, or occasional overnight stays would not count as a break in this period.

If you’re planning on being away for more than 60 days in a row, please let us know. Just to be clear, when we use the word unoccupied under What’s not covered, we will apply this from the first day of when you plan to be away from your home. If you are unable to be at your home due to unforeseen or unexpected circumstances, we will apply this from day 61. Certain parts of your cover won’t be valid, even if the damage or loss you’re claiming for takes place in the first 60 days while you’re away

There is a difference between if this is a planned or unplanned being away from home, for a planned stay away then the unoccupied clause applys from day 1 whereas in some cases for an unplanned absence unoccupied wont start until day 61.

moneysaver128

DullGreyGuy said:

Smithcom said:

Just been in touch with Ageas customer services. They say no insurance for burst pipes if you are away UNDER 60 days/house unoccupied - ie on holiday. Seems different to other companies under 60 days approach?

That sounds likely to be a load of twaddle.  But you should investigate

Ask them to point you to:

1.   The policy definition of unoccupied
2.   This mysterious escape of water exclusion if you are on holiday

SC

Do you have a link to the policywording?

Looking at the current wording (https://www.postoffice.co.uk/dam/jcr:f3c6757e-9167-4345-9050-715d5481fd87/home-insurance-policy-booklet.pdf) it simply says these things are not insured if your property is Unoccupied(defined term). By definition for it to be Unoccupied it must be empty for 60 days and so it cannot apply if you are away under 60 days... however....

Unoccupied
By unoccupied, we mean that your home hasn’t been or won’t be lived in for more than 60 days in a row, or doesn’t contain enough furniture to be lived in. Regular visits to the home, or occasional overnight stays would not count as a break in this period.

If you’re planning on being away for more than 60 days in a row, please let us know. Just to be clear, when we use the word unoccupied under What’s not covered, we will apply this from the first day of when you plan to be away from your home. If you are unable to be at your home due to unforeseen or unexpected circumstances, we will apply this from day 61. Certain parts of your cover won’t be valid, even if the damage or loss you’re claiming for takes place in the first 60 days while you’re away

There is a difference between if this is a planned or unplanned being away from home, for a planned stay away then the unoccupied clause applys from day 1 whereas in some cases for an unplanned absence unoccupied wont start until day 61.

 It still seems to me that they are clearly saying No insurance for burst pipes vandals etc, if you are away under 60 days. Particularly the bit where it says - 'Certain parts of the cover will not be valid, even if the damage or loss you are claiming for takes place in the first 60 days while you are away.'

I may be incorrect but that's how I read this. I can't see how to read it otherwise.  I cannot see this endorsement in other policies as I have been looking carefully. Here is what Post Office/Ageas replied to my email:

Thank you for contacting Post Office Home Insurance. I hope you are well.

The following limitations would apply if the property is unoccupied.

Unoccupied Endorsement:

Please be aware that when a property has not been lived in for 60 days, an unoccupied endorsement is applied and this restricts the amount of cover provided by the policy

Our definition of unoccupied is that the home has not been or will not be lived in for more than 60 days in a row. Regular visits to the home, or occasional overnight stays do not count as a break in this period. The unoccupancy begins from the first day the home is empty, or if the home becomes empty due to unforeseen or unexpected circumstances, then the restrictions apply from day 61. Certain parts of the cover will not be valid, even if the damage or loss you are claiming for takes place in the first 60 days while you are away.

When your property is unoccupied, we will not pay for the following Building claims: 

-Vandalism 

-Leaking or freezing water and leaking oil 

-Theft

-Damaged glass, toilets and other fittings 

-Accidental damage

If no one is living in the property, neither we will not pay for the following Contents claims: 

-Vandalism

-Leaking or freezing water and leaking oil 

-Theft 

-Accidental damage to home entertainment equipment 

-Broken glass and ceramics 

-Loss or metered water or oil 

-Protection for tenants 

-Valuables -Money 

-Credit cards

-Accidental damage to your contents

The policy booklet explains the cover and exclusions in detail.

DullGreyGuy

What is unclear from the wording is if you were going to be away for 90 days, have a burst pipe after 10 days and so rush home the same day. 

If you were planning to be away 50 days, are away 50 days and the pipe bursts on day 10 then you are covered if you come home straight away or not. 

As has been said already, the clause is intended to prevent arguments over if the pipe burst on day 58 or 62 of you 90 day holiday.