Unoccupied house insurance

bright_side

Hi there is anyone able to offer any advice regarding unoccupied house insurance please?  I’ve tried looking into it but it’s all gotten a bit too much and I’m worried about getting something wrong.  

My Mum and Stepdad recently passed away within weeks of each other so their home is now empty and will be for some time while probate is going through.  We will be going there a few times a week for the forseeable as we need to decorate it, so will need to keep water/gas/electric supply on.

Many thanks for any help.

mr_stripey

i had a similar situation and had to use a specialist insurer (I think it was Adrian Flux - although I am sure there are others).

Rodders53

Often the Insurer for the dwelling will keep the policy in force following the death of the occupiers for some time after -- have you asked them??  Certainly that's what happened when the M-i-L passed back in 2015.

They might wish to impose some special terms (e.g. heating on at, say 12 C 24/7 to protect from frost damage) and regular visits to check...

FlorayG

You can get specialist insurance. The one I had ( forget who, sorry, it was  while ago) required me to visit at least every two weeks and advised I take photos of meters while I was there and keep them so that I could prove I had been visiting if there was a claim. I don't think it was noticeably more important than normal insurance

Teapot55

I think the biggest risks from the insurance company’s point of view are things that hardly ever go wrong but could possibly and there would be no-one there to see and take action like there would in a house with someone living in it. 

Mainly it’s from water pipes or water tanks that could leak in the loft and cause water damage. If the property doesn’t have those it’s one less thing to worry about. The insurance company will have advice for if the property does have them. 

Definitely approach the existing insurance company first to check they’ll be happy to continue cover. They will tell you anything you need to change. If I recall, the name on my father’s bank account was changed from ‘Mr XY’ to ‘Executors of Mr XY’ and the house insurance premium continued to come out of the account in the same way it had before he passed. 

sxgirl

We were in this situation with 2 properties last year when my partner’s father died, then my mum the following month - so sympathies!

Insurance companies had different approach - Saga allowed existing policy to continue and also renewed it (in executor’s name). Halifax allowed it to run for 9 months but would not renew when it expired. Yes, was a real job to find cover, especially as we expected house sale to complete soon after. In the end I found Abcord, took out a year’s policy as could then get refund when sale completed. All worked well.

Yes, all will usually expect weekly visits to the property, minimum level of heating in winter or drain down of system, and still only seem to cover the most basic risks. (Not sure if you will be covered for accidental damage if you’re doing a lot of decorating etc.) 

Hope this helps.