Hi, I have a recently inherited house which is un-occupied/empty. Does anyone know of insurance co's who can quote?. I note that "normal" on line quotes do not apply as there are exclusion clauses for eg
The insured home must be your main/sole residence The property myst not be unoccupied for more than 30 days in a year etc etc
What do people do who have second/holiday homes or homes/investment properties undergoing renovation..??
joe
You're best to approach an insurance broker (probably a commercial one would be your best bet) who can give you a specialised quote - as you've found out, most normal policies don't provide the level of cover you need and the companies concerned aren't interested. Worth shopping around as rates will vary greatly; this being higher-than-normal risk, the cost will depend on whether your business is wanted.
Watch out for significant exclusions, eg vandalism is often not covered; nor are major renovations (the builders' insurance would be expected to cover against collapse etc).
You could try
"tarquinlinbin" wrote | I have a recently inherited house which is un-occupied/empty. | Does anyone know of insurance co's who can quote?. ... | What do people do who have second/holiday homes or homes/ | investment properties undergoing renovation..??
They go to experienced local insurance brokers who can deal with smaller and lesser known companies who are more flexible over such conditions. If it's an investment/renovation job then a policy covering building site risks and public/contractor liabilities would be used rather than a domestic policy.
Owain
Try AXA. They have a second home policy with a 6 month, rather than a 30 day restriction.
Sheila
Joe - If Rentguard doesn't work, try buying a self build property magazine and browsing the adverts for insurers.
Also, you can claim for class C (exempt) band council tax for at least
6 months depending upon the council.Daytona
Why do you say "but"? It is perfectly normal for rental properties to be totally empty.
Sure, but by "totally" I meant a house which is being insured as being empty with there being no intention of renting it out. Most landlords' insurance policies for rental properties do carry some form of stipulation/exclusion/waiver etc about periods where the property is empty although they tend to be less rigourous than for standard owner-occupier type policies.
David
big risk factor. Suggest calling brokers and asking advice, and getting on with whatever youre doing with it, as unoccupied is a risk.
Maybe someone needs housing on a temporary basis.
NT
Landlord's policies are quite similar to owner-occupier policies, and differ mainly in that they *permit* letting. That doesn't mean they require it. Sometimes restrictions on a house not being unoccupied for more than X weeks/months are in practice impossible to comply with, when you can't find a suitable tenant. So it can sometimes be possible to downgrade "unoccupied" to "unattended", meaning it's OK so long as you visit the property every now and then to make sure all is well, or to have an arrangement with the downstairs neighbour to give you a call if it floods.
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