House Insurance? Unoccupied 90 Days or More?
If your home is going to be empty for 90 days then it is very unlikely your standard home insurance will cover you. Most home insurance policies only allow you to leave your home for up to 30 – and in some cases 60 – consecutive days and still hold full insurance cover. When looking at house insurance unoccupied 90 days or more can be a big issue.
Check your home insurance policy wording to find out how long you can leave your property empty and still be able to make a claim. Remember, if you exceed that period you may, in effect, have no insurance cover at all.
Most home insurance providers see long-term unoccupied properties as a higher risk. For instance, an escape of water claim for a leaking pipe in an occupied property might not be that serious if you notice it early. But left unnoticed for weeks and you could have a serious flood with massive damage caused to your property and belongings.
Besides escape of water, unoccupied property is also at higher risk of theft and malicious damage.
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Standard home insurance is not designed or priced to account for this risk and insurers will likely refuse any claims you make as a result of the property being unoccupied beyond an allowed period – again, check your policy for details but it is very unlikely that a standard home policy would cover a 90 day unoccupancy period.
Besides a higher price, unoccupied home insurance contains additional requirements of you as policyholder. For instance, you may be requested to turn off utilities like gas and water, or if there’s a reason why that doesn’t work for you, there may be additional exclusions or higher excesses. There is also likely to be an inspection requirement as a further measure to avoid anything going wrong.
But does unoccupied home insurance mean you have to commit to a full year of cover even though the property may not be empty that long? After all some of the common reasons for getting unoccupied house insurance are travel, probate and property sales. While these can all take a while, they all average around a few months rather than a full year. That’s where Emerald can help you with a policy that matches your needs.
Unoccupied Home Insurance Cover For 90 Days
Some unoccupied home insurance providers recognise this – including Emerald Life – and provide short term unoccupied house insurance so you don’t risk overpaying or holding the wrong type of cover.
Our unoccupied home insurance can be held for as little as three months, or 90 days. For house insurance unoccupied 90 days insurance is one of our standard products and we would be glad to help;
We have a variety of different options when it comes to the policy duration of unoccupied home insurance. You can choose from a three month, six month or twelve month policy for your house insurance unoccupied 90 days insurance is one of our most popular.
With the twelve month policy you can cancel any time and receive a refund based on how much of the policy remains for just a £15 admin fee. Therefore if you don’t know how long you need unoccupied home insurance for then the annual policy can be a good option.
Shorter policy lengths may offer a smaller premium but the actual value is different. For instance, a six month policy will be cheaper than a three month policy that is then renewed for a further three months and an annual policy offers the best value overall compared to repeatedly renewing shorter policies. The downside is that you have to pay for an annual premium up-front and there may be a cancellation fee.
How To Get Unoccupied Home Insurance For 90 Days
To get unoccupied home insurance simply visit our quick online quote form or call us now. You will need details about the property including the date it was built, claims history and the property’s rebuild value.
The rebuild cost reflects how much the property would cost to rebuild if it were totally destroyed and so matches the amount of buildings cover you should insure for. Note that this is not the same as market value because you already own the land and rebuilding is more about the cost of labour and materials rather than how desirable the area is to buyers.
If you have had any previous claims or issues like flooding or subsidence, we may request further documentation to help us provide cover and that will have an effect on the premium, even if for a different property.
Renovations Insurance Cover For 90 Days
A popular reason for unoccupied property is renovations. There is naturally an increased risk to the property when it undergoes a renovation. That includes both the building and the contents.
Workers coming and going, doors and windows open and walls removed all leave plenty of opportunities for theft. Plus a renovated unoccupied property obviously stands out. In the case of a large renovation the home may also be unoccupied for a long period of time.
Then of course there is the actual work being undertaken. Even the best professionals can cause accidents. Structural damage could be very expensive to fix. Fires and floods are also a risk. To avoid a discussion over who caused some expensive damage it’s best to make sure that you have adequate cover. Even then, the insurer will want to know that your contractor is suitable for the task required, and also has their own personal liability insurance, but as a responsible owner you would want to know that as well.
Insurers in general do not provide cover for properties that are being demolished. This is a much more specialised insurance as, for most insurances, the aim in the case of an accident is to restore the building; not so in the case of a demolition. The insurance then is a package of third party liability, environmental risk and other covers, and there are specialists who can look at this for you.
These are just some of the reasons your standard insurer may not cover your renovation, especially if it means the house is unoccupied. And do remember that if the renovations have not been notified to your insurer, your insurance policy may be void.
If you are considering works, please call us now for a quote.
We may also require a Scope of Works in order to be able to provide cover from the date works begin. This can often be received after purchasing the insurance but will be required for cover to be valid.
Your contractor should be able to provide a Scope of Works that contains the deliverables of the project as well as a timeframe.
Once you have received an unoccupied property insurance quote you should also check the exclusions and endorsements. For instance, some renovation insurance policies include endorsements requiring the removal of waste by skip at least weekly.
Subject: House Insurance Unoccupied 90 Days (England), House Insurance Unoccupied 90 Days (Wales), House Insurance Unoccupied 90 Days (Scotland), House Insurance Unoccupied 90 Days (N Ireland)