Unoccupied Insurance for Overseas Residents

If you live abroad, you might nevertheless continue to own property back in the UK. The property might be:

• the home which you intend to occupy when and if you return to live again in the UK; or
• It might be an investment property which you have bought as a buy to let property.

In either case, there may be relatively long periods when the property remains unoccupied – because you have decided not to let out your home whilst you are away, because it is under refurbishment, or there is a gap between tenancies if you are letting the property.

That is a time when you might want to pay special attention to the insurance which keeps your property protected against a whole range of different risks.

Why do you need unoccupied insurance for overseas residents?

There is little doubt – and it is certainly the view taken by practically any insurer – that an empty and vacant property is vulnerable to widely different risks to those faced when the premises are occupied on a more or less continuous basis.

For one thing, empty buildings tend to become magnets for vandals, intruders and other unwanted visitors. Despite all reasonable attempts to keep the premises secure, it remains difficult to deter such potential for damage from these sources.

An unoccupied property is also more vulnerable to the need for urgent repairs and maintenance to be conducted. What might have been a relatively minor incident if it had been spotted early by the occupants of the building may grow into a major incident – and extensive damage – if it remains undetected.

For reasons such as these, you might want to take a closer look at the home insurance you might have arranged when you were the owner occupier or landlord insurance if the property is let – and you will almost certainly discover that the insurance lapses or becomes severely restricted in scope if the building is left unoccupied for more than a month or so.

That is when you are likely to need unoccupied insurance for overseas residents.

What you need to know when buying cover

Unoccupied property insurance is designed to take over from where your standard home insurance or landlord insurance left off.

What is probably the most important thing to know, therefore, is the extent to which the replacement cover meets your particular needs and circumstances. Some forms of cover, for instance, may still be relatively limited in the scope of cover offered, so it is important to ensure that the insurance you buy is as comprehensive as you need it to be.

Also important is to establish your own role in mitigating the risks of loss or damage. The fundamental principle in English law, for instance, is that you take the amount of care to prevent loss or damage as though you had no insurance policy in place – in other words, that you take every reasonable step to prevent things getting out of hand.

Some insurers, for example, might insist that the building is regularly inspected – either by friends or relations or by a professional property security company – and that a written record is kept of such inspections.

Why choose us?

Here at UKinsuranceNET, we have more than 20 years’ experience in ensuring that any property left empty whilst its owners are overseas remains safely protected by unoccupied property insurance.

You may arrange our cover online and, so, quickly and easily ensure that your unoccupied insurance comes into immediate effect.