Empty house insurance

WillowLeaf

Prestige Underwriting were reasonable

Salsa2006

Hello, I am sorry for your loss, there is such a lot to sort out. We had a similar issue when I lost my Mother, most insurance companies won't insure empty properties, although AXA did give us 60 days unoccupied as long as the property was checked every other day. I used a broker called Adrian Flux who did come up with some competitive rates. We went for the annual insurance policy as we were informed we would be able to recover the unused months if the house sold quickly. Once you try to obtain a refund and add on all the refund amendment fees it is expensive. We kept a log of every check up visit and the heating on low to comply with the terms of the policy. It is peace of mind though for the empty property.

WIAWSNB

Hi CM33.

£1k is very high - is there a reason? It would typically be around half that. Perhaps you cannot arrange to have someone check it at least monthly?

The two insurance options given above seem good - Home Protect (I'd never heard of them) sounds incredibly reasonable, and Adrian Flux are established and reliable.

They will, almost certainly, require evidence of monthly visits - isn't there a local friend or neighbour who can do this?*

Alternatively, as suggested, if you can have someone 'move in' who'll stay over on regular nights, then you can take out conventional insurance which is much cheaper. I have a relative doing just this at the moment, with a house that took a long while to get probate due to a threatened challenge. My daughter is staying there during the week, so fulfills that task. (However, it's taken so long to sort, that the LA's CT has kicked in, but even then it's a 'win' because having her there alone gives a 25% discount, whereas it would otherwise be the full amount!)

Will you be inheriting the house, or otherwise benefitting from the estate? Tbh, although you should be able to get it way below £1k, will you not ultimately be compensated?

*After fighting off the erroneous claim by the deceased's family, we then had the satisfaction of telling them they wouldn't be compensated for the (invalid) insurance they insisted they place on the property; when we gained access, over a year's worth of mail was behind the door...

kipsterno1

If you look through the Death, funeral and probate board there are many threads on this subject. You should be able to get cover much cheaper than that.