Buildings Insurance between Exchange and Completion - who's responsibility?

What_time_is_it

We are selling a house and nearing exchange and completion. The property is vacant and we have appropriate vacant buildings insurance in place. However, this runs out on Sunday. We are likely to complete the sale at the end of next week, and we may well exchange contracts tomorrow. 

Who is responsible for paying for the buildings insurance from Monday onwards?

sammyjammy

Regardless of what the buyers do you should ensure you have the property insured IMO.

DullGreyGuy

What_time_is_it said:

We are selling a house and nearing exchange and completion. The property is vacant and we have appropriate vacant buildings insurance in place. However, this runs out on Sunday. We are likely to complete the sale at the end of next week, and we may well exchange contracts tomorrow. 

Who is responsible for paying for the buildings insurance from Monday onwards?

It is prudent for both to insurer it as the buyer is committed to buy whatever happens to the building but if they disappear into the night you are left with a burnt out shell and only their deposit to try and fix it. 

What_time_is_it

Thanks for the replies. That is also my thinking at the moment. It is frustrating that we need to renew a policy for just a few days, but probably necessary.

DullGreyGuy

What_time_is_it said:

Thanks for the replies. That is also my thinking at the moment. It is frustrating that we need to renew a policy for just a few days, but probably necessary.

Whats your plan for after selling? many will transfer their policy to their new property. 

What_time_is_it

DullGreyGuy said:

What_time_is_it said:

Thanks for the replies. That is also my thinking at the moment. It is frustrating that we need to renew a policy for just a few days, but probably necessary.

Whats your plan for after selling? many will transfer their policy to their new property. 

It's an inherited property and it's currently empty. We have our own house.
We will cancel the policy. Probably after about 1 week!

DullGreyGuy

What_time_is_it said:

DullGreyGuy said:

What_time_is_it said:

Thanks for the replies. That is also my thinking at the moment. It is frustrating that we need to renew a policy for just a few days, but probably necessary.

Whats your plan for after selling? many will transfer their policy to their new property. 

It's an inherited property and it's currently empty. We have our own house.
We will cancel the policy. Probably after about 1 week!

So when shopping around make sure you ask the cancellation fees, before buying, and factor that in when deciding who to go with. 

EssexHebridean

I was a little sneaky when I renewed our contents insurance on our flat last year. The renewal was just over a week before we moved. I left it to the last minute (which I wouldn't usually do) meaning I was then in a position to simply cancel under the 14 day cooling off period once we had actually moved.  As I say - that was contents only though - I'm not sure I would have taken the same approach had it been buildings, in case anything surfaced retrospectively... 

theartfullodger

Nobody HAS to have insurance cover (although mortgage offer may demand it) but you'd be mad not to have it 

DullGreyGuy

EssexHebridean said:

I was a little sneaky when I renewed our contents insurance on our flat last year. The renewal was just over a week before we moved. I left it to the last minute (which I wouldn't usually do) meaning I was then in a position to simply cancel under the 14 day cooling off period once we had actually moved.  As I say - that was contents only though - I'm not sure I would have taken the same approach had it been buildings, in case anything surfaced retrospectively... 

It's not sneaky at all, the same cancellation fees can apply during the cooling off period as after it. Any new policy you had bought instead of renewing would have had a cooling off period.

What_time_is_it

DullGreyGuy said:

EssexHebridean said:

I was a little sneaky when I renewed our contents insurance on our flat last year. The renewal was just over a week before we moved. I left it to the last minute (which I wouldn't usually do) meaning I was then in a position to simply cancel under the 14 day cooling off period once we had actually moved.  As I say - that was contents only though - I'm not sure I would have taken the same approach had it been buildings, in case anything surfaced retrospectively... 

It's not sneaky at all, the same cancellation fees can apply during the cooling off period as after it. Any new policy you had bought instead of renewing would have had a cooling off period.

But presumably, cancellation would than mean that you weren't actually covered during those 14 days. So, as @EssexHebridean says, if a problem subsequently arose that had occurred during those 14 days, there would be no cover in place at all?