What happens with house insurance when someone dies?

[jurneezend]

My mum only has a short time to live. She is currently in hospital. My brother and I both live a few hundred miles away but are coming up to visit often and staying in her otherwise empty home. She told me today that she doesn't have any buildings or contents insurance, and would like my help to put some in place. We have got some quotes from a price comparison site. They each have different headline conditions around how long the property can be left empty for, which are clear, but I'm wondering what will happen when she dies - the house may then be empty for a longer period until it is sold. Would we need to take out a different policy then, or do policies usually have some sort of probate clause which gives continuing cover when somebody dies? I will of course read the full policy, but can only do that when we proceed to the next step of choosing a quote. In the meantime, it would be good to have the benefit of mumsnetters' experience in knowing what to look out for and anticipating potential problems.

My mum moved to a care home and we kept the house for using when we visited. She did have insurance in place and we notified them that the property was mostly vacant, they add a few things that you have to follow regarding , security, electrics, water and heating really and it was fine.

I was added as a joint policy holder as we had power of attorney and when she died in the summer we asked that the insurance stayed in place, but in my name only. No problems as yet!

Thanks frostyfingers. That's reassuring. My brother and I do have power of eterny.

Who is your insurer? I can't help wondering if we should avoid the cheaper companies in case they only want to insure the lowest risk properties and are less sympathetic to the house being empty.

When my uncle died the insurance company asked that the property be checked weekly and that the water be turned off from October to March at least. It was a bit difficult as we lived a distance away and the neighbours weren't keen to have a key, but we managed. When it went up for sale the estate agent kept an eye on it.

When my parents died it was a similar arrangement. In their case I kept the heating on very low on a timer and also turned off the water in the winter. That company were less fussy about the regularity of visits, just asked me to check it. That was easier as I only lived half an hour away and I visited it weekly.

We insured via John Lewis, who use RSA I believe. They have been fine with regard to the policy and empty house, and the premium wasn't too expensive although we are contesting a claim with them that they accepted and then turned down once I'd sourced some quotes from them.

Intasure is a company that specialises in empty properties -