Insurance when you don’t own the property

Turtle3Barbie

Hello all,

I’ve recently taken POA for my Nan who has been diagnosed with dementia. I’m trying to work out what type of home insurance would suit her needs. She currently lives alone in a property, which used to be owned by her, but now does not rent or own the property as it is currently owned by several family members (one does not have capacity, another is not a UK citizen) due to probate.

I know at a minimum she will need contents insurance, but what about buildings? I am assuming that she cannot purchase this as she does not own the property, but I also know that all the other parties will not sort out buildings insurance. Where does Nan stand in this situation?

Thank you for any advice.

Keep_pedalling

It is up to the owners to insure the building, she only needs contents insurance. 

Did these family members buy her house or was this a foolish decision to give the home away? If the latter and she ends up needing residenciall care, be prepared for the local authority to treat this as deliberate deprivation of assets. 

DullGreyGuy

Need to look at what agreements are in place, there would certainly be a question of if she has an insurable interest in the building but that can be created with a contract or trust etc.  There needs to be a discussion... what happens if the roof blows off in a storm next month? Who sorts it? Who pays for it? 

Contents insurance is clearly much more straightforwards and can be simply bought for her possessions. 

user1977

Turtle3Barbie said:

a property which used to be owned by her but it is currently owned by several family members due to probate.

Can you clarify what you mean by this? It's obviously not your nan's probate if she's still alive.

elsien

An additional question is does the person who doesn’t have capacity have a financial power-of-attorney or deputyship? 

Because if not, then they should have to protect their interests around the property and any other assets. 

Turtle3Barbie

Thanks for your reply’s.

the house was originally owned by Nan but some years ago she signed the deeds over to her two children. Since then one has passed and the other does not have mental capacity. Through probate, one half is now split between 5, who do not communicate or have chosen to not have any involvement in nans care. The sibling without capacity unfortunately does not have a POA or a stewardship yet. There are not trusts or contracts on the house as the siblings had not planned for any potential changes in circumstances/events.

As it stands, if anything was to happen to the property beyond simple repair, Nan could potentially be homeless.

Brie

The pragmatic solution given the complexities would be for either you or Nan to foot the cost.  You as the good grandchild or you as having POA and knowing that Nan would be homeless should the worst happen.  Frankly someone with dementia living alone is a dangerous situation and I would wonder about getting something moving about her getting into full time care - assuming the dementia has advanced that much.  Then again - my silly OH has occasionally left the gas on under a pan and not noticed for a couple of hours and he is supposedly fit as anything.  

If Nan is deemed suitable to go into a care home and doesn't appear to have the money for it then the local authority will likely put a lien on the home so they can pay and claim the money at a later date.  Or you can force the issue now and sell the house that she shouldn't have given away in order to have some quality care instead.  

elsien

The person who lacks capacity (capacity around what? Because capacity is time and decisions specific) may not be able to make a power of attorney.
If you are in England or Wales then someone should be applying for deputy ship for them now because it was taking upwards of 12 months to come through.
 If the person is in receipt of any means  tested benefits and owns part of a house they’re not living in, that would also need investigating to make sure they aren’t being overpaid. 

Edit – with regard to Brie’s comment above, having a dementia diagnosis does not automatically mean that you are not safe to live alone. And getting support in for most people is a preferred first step to  maintain independence. 

And the house cannot be sold as things stand because the person who lacks capacity can’t legally sign the paperwork for their share.