Home insurance for an unoccupied property

[Sam9769]

Hi,

Can anyone please recommend an insurance company that insures unoccupied properties?

Thank you

Adrian Flux

Can you tell em a bit more about them please?

I used this company for unoccupied house insurance last year after my father in law died. House was empty for 8 months. Insurance was easy to arrange and needed to check the house every 2 weeks which the neighbours helped us with

Estate Insure | 25 Carbrook Hall Road, Sheffield, S9 2EJ
www.ecsbrokers.com
at

I tried to get my brothers house insured after he sadly was sectioned. I spoke to a broker but the clauses were quite restrictive- I’d have had to attend every week to do a check ( and keep photographs of my visit for evidence). It was a whole day return job. In the end I didn’t insure it and just went there about every fortnight to check in. I drained the water pipes and turned off the water at the mains over the winter.

I had Barclays which then changed to Arriva, they were really good. I did the application on the phone as I didn’t want to mess it it up and give the wrong details.

Try a broker - I went through Howdens to get a policy for my late mother’s house. You will need to check the details as we had clauses about minimum temperatures : draining heating systems over winter and regular in person checks.

Friends were Coop members and they could not provide insurance but recommended a specific broker.

We also went through Howdens and got a good deal. About to renew it.

I used them for my empty flat before selling, my aunt is a solicitor and uses them for her house too.

They are super helpful, they give you a call back and set it up. They also refund you easily if you need to cancel before the end of the policy.

The policy said you need to check it regularly but didn’t ask for photos or anything

I use CETA insurance.

Depends on the age if the owner but we used SAGA (underwritten by AVIVA) - premium much smaller than I expected and they ended the contents part as soon as the house was cleared. Heating has to be left on with water turned off at the mains. House is about to go on the market and the estate agent (local independent not a chain) will do all the required visits (I've been doing some with a fantastic neighbour doing the others as I live 200 miles away). I have been impressed with the staff and the customer service at SAGA.

I just used Dynamo. They found me a very competitive quote far less than the others I found via other companies.

Thank you.

We used Adrian Flux for a few months last year

I also used Adrian Flux last year. The quotes I obtained varied wildly between £400 and £1600 for exactly the same cover. AF were at the cheaper end of the scale and didn't impose too many conditions - and they reimbursed some of the premium when the property sold.

Thank you for your post.

Did you need to leave the heating on or drain down the water system?

@Sam9769 After DM went into a home, we kept the heating in. You would get other deterioration if you leave a house freezing. It’s not worth it in very cold weather.

You do need to ensure pipes are lagged, maintenance is done and you get the property checked if you cannot do it yourself. Neighbours might well help but visit personally if you can.

No, neither of those was a requirement, but the house was empty from February to September and the weather wasn't as cold as it is now. The only stipulations were that the property was in good condition, e.g., no windows boarded-up, and had secure locks on the doors and windows.

They also wanted someone to visit the property on a regular basis. This could have been a problem for me, but the neighbours on either side were happy to help and popped in once a week. I left a small notebook which they signed whenever they were there, and the agent selling the property would also sign it whenever he was conducting viewings.

It was all quite straightforward.

Thank you very much for your response.

My empty home policy stipulated either keeping the heating on at 15°C or draining down the system between November and March. We kept the heating on and the neighbours checked in every week when we couldn’t get there (it was a 5 hr drive).

Thank you all for your posts.
I really appreciate it!

We’ve just renewed the insurance on our empty property. We went for £5K contents (which was the minimum) and also rebuild costs in case it burns down. Around £500.