Insurance for Empty Property

Are you currently responsible for an empty property which is subject to probate, pending formal determination of ownership?

If so, this is the time to give serious consideration to the need for insurance for the empty property and its contents in order to maintain safeguards against such a variety of risks as flooding, storm damage, fire, impacts, vandalism and theft.

There are other reasons, of course, why a property you own currently unoccupied property – the builders might be in to carry our renovations or refurbishment, you might be working or travelling away from home for a month or so, or the let property you own might be empty whilst you look for new tenants to succeed a tenancy that has ended. In any of these cases, it may repay to review the insurance arrangements.

Why do you need insurance for empty property?

Specialist insurance for empty property is necessary because of what typically happens to the cover that normally protects the building and its contents when it is continuously occupied and in normal use.

Insurers typically reduce the level of that cover quite substantially – or regard the cover as completely lapsed – once the property has been left empty for a given number of consecutive days. That period might be 30 or it might be 60 days – depending on the insurer – but the fact is that the property may be left exposed to serious uninsured risks of loss or damage once it has been unoccupied for a month or so.

Empty or unoccupied property insurance is designed to make good that shortcoming and restore the cover you need to safeguard both the structure and fabric or the building and its contents.

What you need to know when buying cover

There are a number of questions you might want to ask about any insurance policy for empty property:

• exactly what risks are covered – bearing in mind that you may have a choice between more basic levels of cover or those which offer more comprehensive protection;
• what is the duration of the cover – if you are only going to be away for four months, let’s say, you might not want the expense of cover that lasts the whole year;
• how flexible is the cover – if you find that you are going to be away for longer than you envisaged or if building works are running over schedule, is it possible to extend cover for as long as is necessary;
• are both buildings and contents included – some policies may cover just the building or its contents, but you may qualify for a discount if you insure both under a combined policy; and
• are there any specific measures you are required to take whilst the property remains empty – such as regular, recorded visits and inspections and whether these may be conducted informally or need to be by a commercial property management company.

Why choose us?

At UKinsuranceNET we are able to answer all of these questions – and more. In establishing a close working relationship with you at a personal level we speak with authority and expertise in all matters relating to the insurance of your empty property.