Unoccupied Property Insurance

Why do I need cover?

As a deputy, your responsibility is to act in the best interests of your client and safeguard their property when they are unable to do so themselves. Unoccupied buildings insurance is essential for covering various situations that can arise when a property is vacant for over 30 days, such as when a client enters long-term care or after their passing.

A typical insurance policy does not necessarily provide adequate cover for vacant homes and some insurers may refuse to cover a property left unoccupied for 30 consecutive days or more.

What does it cover?

The policy covers against insured loss or damage to buildings for which you have accepted a legal or contractual responsibility to insure, up to a limit of £1,000,000.

Cover also includes residential contents as standard within the policy limit of £1,000,000 (cover for loss or damage to contents caused by theft or attempted theft is limited to £50,000, and theft or attempted theft of jewellery, watches, items containing gold, silver or platinum, stamp- coin- and other collections, works of art and antiques (‘valuables’) is excluded where the buildings are unoccupied.

Valuables with a value of more than £2,500 any one item are entirely excluded.

Do I need to visit?

An initial internal and external inspection must be conducted within 15-days of the property cover and then must be carried out at least once every 30 consecutive days. A record of all inspections, including dates, times and observations must be maintained, and these records must be retained for the duration of the unoccupancy and made available to the insurers upon request.

How much?

Finders offer competitive fixed term rates. If the property is sold within the term of cover, a refund will be issued for the remaining months not used (a minimum payment of 3 months cover is required on all properties).

Risk Management Steps

Empty buildings can give rise to claims from various sources and thieves look for easy pickings. All doors and windows should be securely locked and we would recommend locks should be changed if possible. Sealing letterboxes can prevent would-be arsonists. Neighbours can be requested to keep an eye on the property and let them know who to call in the event of an incident.

If thieves do break-in, they could attempt to remove the copper piping, having little regard for the resultant water escape, or worse still, gas. You should have all water supplies turned off at the mains and the system drained down. During winter months, there is an increasing incidence of burst pipes, so a drain down would greatly reduce burst pipes.

All gas supplies should also be turned off at the mains and pipes purged of existing gas.

Arsonists or thieves attempting to cover their tracks may look to set fire to the property, so all unnecessary combustible waste materials that you are legally entitled to remove should be safely removed as soon as practicable.

Unless you are maintaining a fire/intruder alarm system, it is wise for all electrical supplies to be turned off at the mains to reduce the risk of an electrical fire starting. You may wish to reinstate the electrical supply temporarily for the purposes of periodic checks of the property or other visits to the property.”