Insurance for empty properties is available for a wide range of scenarios. In fact if your property is:

• your own home which you leave vacant while working abroad for several months; or
• let to students who go back home during the long vacations;
• in between tenants or undergoing refurbishment;
• a second home which is empty for most of the year; or
• a probate property which is taking a while to sell;

then empty property insurance could be worth a look.

Why is the fact that the property is empty an issue for insurers? Merely going on holiday is not really an issue for mainstream home buildings and contents insurance. But when a property stands vacant for 30 days or more – even if it is an extended holiday – many insurers consider the building to be a higher risk.

Not only is your empty property at greater risk from burglars, but there is also no one around to respond quickly to a flood or fire. Even a little leak left unattended could cause extensive damage, for example. In a let or owner occupied property on the other hand, there is typically someone on site to alert the emergency services or call a professional immediately to deal with the situation.

As with other types of buildings and contents UK cover, it’s important to check what insurance for empty properties relates to. For instance, find out whether fixtures and fittings are included and check what your obligations are. Your vacant property insurer may ask that you have the property regularly checked upon, for example, or that you ramp up your existing security arrangements. You will usually be asked to turn off all the mains supplies for electricity, gas and water etc.
These are all potential ways of helping reduce the risk of something happening to your property while it is not being lived in.

What will affect the price?
The standard things that affect a building and contents insurance quote may also apply to insurance for empty properties:

• location, location, location – if your house is in a low risk area for crime or flooding, the cover could typically be for less than a property in a postcode that bears a higher risk;
• security precautions – have you got the latest, high spec burglar alarms, window and door locks? Technology on window locks moves forward all the time, and if you are getting windows replaced it could be worth bearing this in mind;
• cover – some insurers offer a basic level of cover, others have a bells and whistles policy. When deciding on unoccupied property insurance you need to decide which aspects of the cover are most important to you, and how much you are prepared to pay for them; and
• your own history – whether this is your first property policy or a renewal, an insurer might enquire whether you have made any claims on previous policies. If you have a no claims bonus, why not be rewarded for your responsible home ownership with a discount on insurance for empty properties?

Tags: empty property insurance

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 at 6:11 am and is filed under Unoccupied Property Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.