Unoccupied Home Insurance

If you only live in your property occasionally, maybe because you live elsewhere at other times, or because you are a landlord and the property experiences periods when it isn’t rented and empty for this reason, you need to put into place specialist unoccupied home insurance.

It is also advisable to make arrangements for it to be secure and maintained whilst empty, to prevent it falling into disrepair and becoming a target for vandalism. You may find quotations for unoccupied home insurance are more than standard policies as empty properties are a far greater risk for the insurer:

You can minimise these risks and potentially reduce your premiums with the unoccupied home insurance company by following some basic maintenance procedures:

• During the cold months you should run the central heating on a low setting, and also consider having the property drained of water, as frozen pipes can burst.
• Visit the property regularly to clear post, to reduce the risk of vandalism, burglary, or squatting, and remove any valuable items.
• Arrange for the gardens to be maintained to a minimum standard.
• Hang curtains to make the property appear occupied.
• Have it regularly inspected and undertake essential repairs for any damage before small problems turn into bigger and more expensive issues.