Whether your property is empty waiting on the sale, been left the property in a will or intending to let your empty property you need to keep your asset safe with specialist empty property insurance. Empty property insurance will cover your property while it’s unoccupied and will differ from traditional home insurance.
Unfortunately insuring your empty property can be challenging as many home insurers consider the risk of an empty property as too high for a number of reasons; the chances of it suffering damage are much higher (e.g. burst pipes in cold weather due to a lack of heating), as are the increased chances of it being subjected to various types of criminal damage (e.g. vandalism, burglary or squatters). An empty property also faces an increased risk of storm damage or flood due to a lack of monitoring and maintenance.
If you happen to be the owner of an empty property there are some very simple precautions you can take to ensure your property remains in good order.
- Regularly inspect it, don’t leave it for weeks and months; ensure you or a trusted friend or relative gain access to the property and carry out a proper inspection of each room and outbuildings.
- Install insurer approved security including alarms and approved locks.
- To reduce the risk of fire, remove all combustible materials such as free newspapers and junk mail and consider a fire alarm alongside any security alarm
- Provide your contact details to trusted neighbors who can then notify you if anything untoward has occurred
Another important consideration is that of plumbing, I had the misfortune of being one of the first on the scene of a colleague’s house that had suffered burst pipe damage during the couples extended winter holiday break. The damage was extraordinary, utter devastation for the couple which lead to them being out of their property for 10 months, the damage was discovered within 24 hours but the damage so extensive the eventual claim ran into tens of thousands of pounds. So if your property is to be empty for the winter period then I recommend draining your pipes and having the heating on at regular intervals.
If your property is currently empty you need specialist empty property insurance from a Broker with proven experience in this particular unique area of insurance. Our empty property insurance solution is provided by one of the UK’s leading specialists providers, they will offer cover that meets your requirements and your budget, so you can be assured of a great deal from The Property Insurer.
Doug Phelan
The Property Insurer
