House insurance during probate

timmo08

I'm getting quotes for insurance on the house of a deceased relative while we apply for probate (likely to take 6 months apparently). The house is unoccupied but a neighbour visits 1-2 times a week and I stay in it approx. every 4-6 weeks. Other visits could be arranged.

Some of the quotes I've been getting for insurance are astronomical, 4-5 times what was previously being charged while the relative was alive and in residence. I was expecting an increase but this seems ludicrous. The last renewal during occupancy was just over £200, quotes I'm now getting online are between £650 - £950. Some policies will only cover fire, not damage due to water escape, theft etc, which feel essential in the circumstances. I noted that most of the websites didn't even ask during the quote process if the property was being checked or not, so that seems to make little difference.

Can anyone suggest any companies who might do better? So far I've tried ukinsurance.net, towergate, insuristic, homeprotect.
Thanks for any suggestions.

Lorian

Have you tried the incumbent insurer as part of the conversation advising them of the sad occurrence.

comeandgo

We had to get insurance for our empty house and the lower prices you quote are in line with what we paid.  There were a few conditions we had to comply with, a minimum house temp of 15 or water off and drained and someone to visit every week.  We used Stanhope Insurance.

timmo08

Lorian said:

Have you tried the incumbent insurer as part of the conversation advising them of the sad occurrence.

Thanks - yes, the last insurer was Direct Line but apparently they don't do policies for probate. 

timmo08

comeandgo said:

We had to get insurance for our empty house and the lower prices you quote are in line with what we paid.  There were a few conditions we had to comply with, a minimum house temp of 15 or water off and drained and someone to visit every week.  We used Stanhope Insurance.

Thanks - the conditions won't be a problem but the prices are appalling. Apparently the Stanhope website doesn't do quotes, they call back which doesn't bode well. Looks to me as though they deal with more high-end stuff?

TELLIT01

Have you spoken to a local insurance broker.  They should be familiar with the type of cover you need.

maman

TELLIT01 said:

Have you spoken to a local insurance broker.  They should be familiar with the type of cover you need.

I'd agree. We recently needed specialist insurance while we had extensive building work done and I found a broker the best bet. Our 'normal' insurance company wouldn't cover. 

DullGreyGuy

I assume you are getting quotes for unoccupied property insurance?

Insurers won't ask what visits are happening because the policy will state what it considers is necessary and what is required after X days between what it considers necessary. The most extreme policies will require water systems to be drained, windows boarded or barred and letterboxes blocked. 

Some the neighbour checkins may be enough, assuming the house is still full of furniture etc. Others will require someone to sleep in the property two consecutive nights every 28 days for it not to trigger restrictions on EoW or vandalism etc. 

Agree with others, a proper broker will be able to find the most appropriate policy but it will be notably more expensive than an owner occupied home. 

timmo08

Hi, thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately mostly confirming my worst fears regarding the extortionate costs but I've still got a quote or two to come. I understand why it would be more than for a 'normal' policy but jeeeez......
Strangely, on the point of using the property (e.g. if required for insurance) the local council are trying to say that any use of it will cause them to reclassify it as a second home and bump up the council tax!
Death is an expensive business...