Insuring an unoccupied property

BottomBurp

My father passed a while back and I jointly inherited the house, which is a small low value old cottage in the country. We're currently waiting for probate to complete and have a number of offers on the property. Meanwhile the insurance is about to expire and we would like to maintain cover of the property (contents not important) until it is sold. Can anyone recommend a company or broker with expertise in this? I'm getting quotes that seem excessive to me.

geographica

Check this out if you haven’t already https://scsi.ie/consumer/build/calculator/

Austin1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058295933/insuring-an-unoccupied-property

Op, I'm surprised you managed to get several quotes, as it's usually a decline from insurers for a new business quote, so you have to stick with the present insurers. You need to satisfy them that the property is kept secure and checked regularly, they almost always restrict cover to Fire Only, they sometimes shorten the duration of cover to say, 6 mths - then they review the circumstances with you before agreeing to extend again.

As it is regarded as a higher risk, the premium is often higher. I would not go down the road of trying to insure as a holiday home, if a substantial claim was incurred, and it came out in the wash that you just wanted cover in place when trying to sell, they could refuse to pay the claim due to non-disclosure.

The above is based on my experience working in the industry for 12yrs until 2010, although the market has changed since then (but not that much!)

naughtysmurf

I enquired about insuring an unoccupied house last year, the premium ranged between €1100 & €1450 depending on the level of cover required

you probably should already have let the current insurer know that the house is unoccupied as I doubt that you currently have the cover in place that you think you may have,

Any reputable insurance broker should be able to get a quote,

Henry Ford III

I insured a property that was unoccupied recently. The cover is for fire only, the water supply must be turned off, and there's no cover for contents. Property must be visited regularly also.

So it's quite restrictive and is relatively expensive too.

BottomBurp

I ended up getting decent cover that didn't require the electricity or water turned off and covers things like vandalism. I did of course let the old insurer know and that policy is now in the name of the estate with diminished cover. The new policy came in at 750 but they pricematched the renewal on the existing policy and beat it by 50 for a cover of 450 (through Chill)

Eggs For Dinner

OP, you seem to have a very competitive premium, given the high risk, as perceived by insurers. Can I strongly urge you to examine the policy wording in fine detail, particularly the Unoccupancy Warranties? Please don't just go by what you may have been told over the phone

BottomBurp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120598094#Comment_120598094

The policy has a doc titled "Unoccupied Home Insurance Policy Quotation Schedule Statement of Fact" which shows that the house has been and will be unoccupied. A crew called Plum underwriting with UK and Irish presence. Seems legit.

Eggs For Dinner

Plum are very legit, I'm just cautious about the terms and conditions regarding water, security, restricted cover etc. Just read over the policy document and the schedule together when you take out cover