Insurance on prospective purchase

[OhTheAngst]

I have just spoken to my vendor and it has emerged that he let his house insurance lapse at last renewal! I don't think he realised that he could cancel as from completion and get refund. I have suggested gently but firmly that he should get cover again, but what happens if he hasn't by the time we exchange? Obviously I can arrange my own insurance from completion, once we have exchanged, but I'm concerned about the time from exchange to completion.

We just moved in to our new house and I'm sure we had to have insurance for the new house in place from exchange. Time between exchange and completion was 4 days, so it wasn't a problem at all.

Ah right, tis probably me getting it wrong then.

Yep, you need to arrange insurance from the date of exchange. If you already know the date you're due to exchange then it can all be arranged in advance to automatically start at midnight on that date.

Once you have exchanged you are "committed" to buying it, so the building society will insist that you have buildings insurance in place from the date of exchange onwards.

You can transfer your current insurance across; they usually cover both your current house and the new one between exchange and completion.

I wouldn't worry about what he does, tbh. If it burns down before exchange date it's his problem, not yours.

Very helpful, thanks all. I am (almost) as ignorant as my vendor - but luckily there is MN... Fingers crossed it doesn't burn down, then.