Why may you need unoccupied property insurance? There may be many reasons why you have a property that is unoccupied:
you migh be a landlord looking for new tenants or going through a refurbishment;
maybe the current owner has been hospitalised and you have been asked to make sure it is safe in their absence;
or maybe you are looking to sell the property after the death of a close relative or due to a change in your personal circumstances.
Whatever the reason, there is little doubt how important it will be for you to have adequate protection for the property in place. And this is where unoccupied property insurance comes in.
As with all insurance policies, features and benefits of the cover could typically vary from provider to provider. However, the sort of coverage that an empty property insurance policy will usually include would be against damage caused by fire, lightning, subsidence, aircraft damage, and loss / damage due to theft (if signs of forcible entry are shown).
Public liability insurance is typically included too, which may be particularly useful if you have workmen in the property, who may claim against you for loss or injury that happened while on your premises.
With empty property insurance, it means that you can rest assured that your property will be covered against the perils that can do serious damage it and potentially cause considerable financial distress.
Obligations to you
Generally an unoccupied property or one that is undergoing renovations may be potentially more at risk than an occupied property and an insurer will usually ask that you fulfil certain obligations in order to benefit from unoccupied property insurance.
Of course any requirements that may be asked of you may vary between lenders but they might typically include systems draining down and being turned off; you seal up letterboxes and make general checks regularly on the property.
Finally, the term ‘unoccupied property’ tends to be used by insurers to describe a property that has been empty for 30 or more consecutive days. Therefore you should bear this in mind when you are taking a holiday that lasts over this period or you have to be away from home for any extended period of time for any reason. Failure to get into touch with your insurer will typically render your existing home building contents insurance invalid.
