It is unfortunately the case that sometimes one hears some spurious arguments put forward to suggest that it may be unnecessary to buy unoccupied property insurance online (or anywhere else) as there are other ways around this.

As we are entering springtime, a period often associated with getting one’s house in order for the year ahead, we would like to offer some observations relating to some of the more commonly heard comments in this domain.

Insurance providers won’t know if you are letting, as opposed to living in, your property – so for landlords insurance, cheap solutions may be found through owner-occupier policies

This may typically be incorrect and risky.

Insurance providers may have sophisticated methods at their disposal of checking the occupancy status of property.  That may be even more likely to be checked in the event of a claim.

If you make a claim under an owner-occupier landlords buildings insurance policy for property that was, in reality, being used for the generation of rental income, your claim may be rejected.  You may also find that, in some circumstances, you may have committed a prosecutable offence.

It may also prove to be very difficult for you to obtain insurance in future.

As a practical aside, the need to buy unoccupied property insurance online may apply as equally to owner-occupiers as landlords.

Nobody will know if your property was unoccupied when the problem arose

The same comments apply as to the point made above.

Insurance providers may well make inquiries relating to the occupancy position of your property and they may be able to ascertain whether it was unoccupied at the time an event took place.

It isn’t worth taking out unoccupied property insurance – who will break into your property if it is empty?

It is important to note that unoccupied property cover protects not only against burglary but a range of other risks including disasters that may affect your property itself.

Also, the logic of the statement is questionable.  Even if your property is unoccupied it may still be furnished and furnishings may be attractive to thieves.

Even in a case where the property is unfurnished, it may still be attractive to vandals.

It might be unwise to disregard these risks simply in an attempt to save what may be a relatively modest sum of money for appropriate insurance.

If you spend a night in it occasionally then it isn’t unoccupied

Different insurance policies may have different definitions as to what constitutes occupation.  Simply sleeping the occasional night, in an otherwise unoccupied property, may not mean that your insurance providers will automatically consider that the property is occupied.

It might be advisable to take detailed advice on this point and to read carefully the conditions of your policy.  If in doubt, it might be worth considering more seriously the need to buy unoccupied property insurance online, simply for your peace of mind.