Home insurance on new house prior to moving in

lesae

We have been advised to get home insurance on the house we are buying as I believe we can be held responsible for it when the contracts are exchanged, even though we don't have the moving date yet . It will be a matter of weeks now though as everything is about ready.

Got a good quote from Zurich but I was concerned about stating we are living there when we aren't yet. Spoke to them on the phone and they said they won't insure us as we aren't living there. I'm a bit concerned now how I'm supposed to get this insurance to cover us for somewhere we aren't living, yet it's recommended? Any ideas anyone? It's not an empty property so I'm assuming the owners now have it.

p00hsticks

It's a long time since I bought, but when I did the solicitor I was using for conveyancing could arrange temporary buildings insurance to just cover the period from exchange to completion - it might be worth asking your if they could do the same. Presumably you'll know the completion date at the point that contracts are exchanged….

twopenny

I arranged with the insurance to be from my date of moving.

Is the house already purchased and standing empty?

mebu60

How do I insure an empty property between exchange and completion? — MoneySavingExpert Forum

lesae

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81880469#Comment_81880469

No, it's occupied by the people we are buying from.and will be until we agree the completion date. The recommendation is that you get insurance from when the contracts are exchanged though, not the completion date when you actually move in. You have some liability from then you see

lesae

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81880501#Comment_81880501

It's not empty though

eddddy

lesae said:

No, it's occupied by the people we are buying from.and will be until we agree the completion date. The recommendation is that you get insurance from when the contracts are exchanged though, not the completion date when you actually move in. You have some liability from then you see

Normally, you would agree a completion date before you exchange contracts (and the completion date would be stated in the contract).

Are you saying that you will be exchanging contracts without a fixed completion date? If so, is it because your sellers are buying a newbuild? If so, do you understand the implications of that?

You are probably buying using the "standard conditions of sale". Those conditions state that the buyer is responsible for insuring the property between exchange and completion.

But if that period is long and uncertain, you could tell your solicitor that you want a special condition of sale added, saying that the seller is responsible for insuring the property between exchange and completion. (But the seller could still refuse.)

Alternatively, if it is the usual fixed 2 or 4 weeks between exchange and completion, most insurers should be happy to cover that period. Or you could look for special "Exchange to Completion" buildings insurance.

MyRealNameToo

Once you have exchanged contracts you are committed to buying the property at the agreed price, even if the property is only a smouldering pile of rubble. The seller therefore sustains no loss in that scenario and so has no insurable interest in the property. This is why buyers are told to arrange the insurance at the point of exchange rather than completion.

Most insurers are reasonable on both sides of the fence, many policies explicitly state that they will continue to protect the seller to the buyers benefit in the event of a loss after the exchange and before completion. Similarly but not as explicitly many will allow you to cover your future home even though you dont yet own or live in it. In both cases however some may set a maximum time limit between exchange and completion.