Short term unoccupied house insurance means you can get the cover necessary if you’re between tenants, going away, doing renovations or awaiting probate, without having to commit to a full annual policy.
At Emerald Life we offer short term unoccupied house insurance with fixed-term three and six month policies. Alternatively, for customers who buy a 12 month policy we offer a pro-rata refund based on the remaining number of days the policy would be valid, providing you haven’t made a claim.
Get a quote online now with a duration to suit you.
That gives you two options of getting unoccupied house insurance for the amount of time you need.
Of course a lot of the situations where you need unoccupied house insurance are quite open-ended. You might be trying to sell a vacant property or want to travel without a fixed end date in mind.
You are always welcome to take out an additional three or six month unoccupied house insurance policy should time run on, although this can work out more expensive overall. On the other hand, our 12 month policy can work out cheaper and we don’t even impose an admin fee for any amendments or cancellation.
This is part of our continuing mission to deliver better quality service and value to our customers.
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How Does Unoccupied House Insurance Work?
Unoccupied house insurance takes account of the fact that an empty property is more at risk of damage and burglary.
For instance, leaks and fires are much more likely to be noticed in an occupied property before they have a chance to cause major damage.
With burglary the effect is two-fold as your absence makes your home an attractive easy target while again an intrusion is less likely to be noticed and so more harm can be done. If you are away for a few months you are more likely to have a claim and that claim itself could have a higher cost than a brief burglary while you were out at the shops.
Of course these unfortunate circumstances are unpredictable. But insurers who carry the risks of thousands of homeowners take them very seriously. Most home insurance policies will only cover your home if it is unoccupied less than a month. More than a month and the property will normally be deemed to be unoccupied and thus carry this higher risk level. That means a standard home policy could be invalid and the insurer could refuse to pay out on any claims.
An unoccupied house insurance policy considers the higher risk of your property and prices your policy accordingly.
That does mean unoccupied house insurance is usually more expensive than standard home insurance. But with short term unoccupied house insurance you can reduce the amount you pay overall – whether by going for a shorter policy term or buying a 12 month policy and then cancelling for a pro-rata refund when you no longer need it.
How Do I Cancel My Policy For a Refund?
If you buy a 12-month policy then you can cancel your policy when you no longer need it as long as you haven’t claimed.
To do so just let us know via email or phone. We also don’t charge an admin fee for this service.
This is part of our mission to be a fairer and more helpful insurer to all our customers.
What If I Let The Property?
At Emerald Life we insure a wide variety of situations. As well as unoccupied house insurance we also provide landlord insurance and so if you need to change your unoccupied policy to a landlord policy this can be arranged.
Our landlord insurance can also be used short-term with the same system of three and six month policies or a pro-rata refund on 12 month policies.
How to Get Short Term Unoccupied House Insurance
To get a short term unoccupied house insurance you can use our fast online quote form.
You will be asked about how long you would like cover for. At that point you can choose from three, six and 12 month policies.
Simply choose whatever option is most appropriate to you to complete your quote.
There are a number of other variables you can choose from that will affect your pricing.
For instance, unoccupied house insurance comes in three levels. Level One is very basic and only covers a few very major eventualities. Level Three is the most comprehensive and includes things like damage from burglary and vandalism.
You can also change your pricing with a voluntary excess that increases the amount you contribute to any claims.
Whatever options you decide, make sure you read your quote documents in full to make sure all the details are correct and that the cover is right for you.
Then you can simply buy online through our portal.
Article: Short Term Unoccupied House Insurance
