With no signs of the financial crisis subsiding or the property market picking up, home sellers are finding it difficult to sell their property and in some cases having trouble even letting it out.  This leaves the property unoccupied and in many cases their current insurers are unable to provide buildings insurance cover in these circumstances.

Empty House Insurance

In this scenario most standard home insurance policies will not provide cover for properties that are vacant or unoccupied for more than usually thirty days.  The property being one of your biggest assets, you can not afford the risk of your property being uninsured.  However there are specialist insurance companies that offer unoccupied property insurance under these instances. 

Properties become vacant for many reasons, some of these could include; property is to be sold, property has recently been purchased and is under renovation before the owner moves in.  Other examples include; the property could possibly be the subject of a will or a probate process, you could be buy to let landlord and are finding it difficult to rent the property in the current market.

When a property has been left unoccupied over a long period of time, maintenance issues often occur.  Many people are not aware of the correct temperature to leave the property in, which may cause pipes to burst due to freezing causing considerable a considerable damage to your property; rotting floor boards, damp walls, ruining carpets and furniture. Another cause of damage is caused by the lack of maintenance on the property roof where a tile may have become dislodged and as a result creating a water leak into the vacant property.

To minimise maintenance risks to your unoccupied property it is advisable that the property is visited at the minimum on a weekly rota. This can be either yourself, a neighbour or you can authorise your estate or letting agent to carry out the checks. There may be a charge levied by the letting or estate agent for this service. During the summer seasons you could drain the central heating and water systems and for the colder seasons setting the thermostats at a low temperature to avoid the pipes from freezing which could result in burst pipes and may hundreds if not thousands of pounds worth of damage and inconvenience to say the least.

Securing an unoccupied house is crucial. There are measures that you can implement to limit or avoid your property being vandalised or from squatters taking over. By investing in good standard locks for all external doors and accessible windows is paramount in securing your buildings. Most insurers that offer unoccupied buildings insurance cover will usually insist on a minimum of 5 lever mortise locks to be fitted on all external doors and that all accessible windows to have locks. Another prevention option is to have some form of an alarm system in place if budget allows it.
 
If there is any post, ensure that this is removed on a regular basis otherwise this can alert an opportunist burglar that the property is empty and has not been visited for some time. Making the property seem like if there is someone living there will also deter any unwanted attention. You could place some curtains and have some lights going on and off using a timer switch. If you are on friendly terms with your neighbours, then perhaps you could ask them to park their vehicle on the driveway of your unoccupied property.

The most important thing is that the property must have adequate insurance cover in place. By utilising the services of a specialist broker that specialise in unoccupied home insurance you will be in good hand. Most standard home insurance companies do not provide cover for empty houses but an experienced vacant house insurance broker should be able to provide cover for your premises against most risks.