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Unoccupied House Insurance

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  • Furnished and unfurnished cover
  • Holiday homesempty housesvacant on extended holiday, owner in care home and empty between tenants all covered.
  • Underwritten by AXA Insurance.
Emma Myrie

Written by

Emma Myrie

Insurance Underwriting Expert

Sophie Kamkar

Reviewed by

Sophie Kamkar

Content Marketing Manager

Less than 1 minute

Updated: 7 Mar 2024

What is unoccupied house insurance?

Unoccupied home insurance is taken out when your property is left empty for longer than your standard policy cover allows (which is typically for more than 30-60 days). At Homeprotect, we consider a property to be unoccupied if it is unfurnished or hasn’t been visited for more than 30 consecutive days. Whilst some unoccupied home insurance policies can be bought on a short-term basis (typically 3, 6, 9 or 12 month duration), at Homeprotect we only offer policies with a 12 month duration.

Do i need unoccupied home insurance?

If you plan on leaving your property unoccupied for more than 30 days, you should consider an unoccupied home insurance policy.

You may need unoccupied home insurance if you’re:

Keep reading to learn about long term unoccupancy and what’s included when choosing our basic or extended cover.

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What’s covered by UNOCCUPIED HOME insurance?

Unoccupied home insurance cover varies depending on whether the property is empty on a short term of long term basis.

Short term unoccupancy

If the property is usually occupied but is left unoccupied for between 31 and 180 days, then you typically get all the cover of our standard policy terms, but with exception of certain exclusions, see what is and isn’t covered below:

What’s included?

Quick home emergency response times

Have a home emergency, such as electricity failure, faulty locks or vermin infestation? With the 24/7 Home Emergency cover, which we provide as standard, you can typically get an engineer at your home within four hours. And if you’re worried about an uncontrollable leak in your home, we aim to have an emergency plumber to you within two hours.

Extreme weather conditions may extend response time. Policy terms and claim limits apply.

5 star rated buildings cover

Our building insurance has been given the highest rating by independent financial research companies, Defaqto and Moneyfacts.

Repair guarantee

Any buildings work we undertake is guaranteed for 24 months following a claim and any contents repair work we undertake is guaranteed for 12 months.

New for old

Where we replace an item, we will do our best to meet the original specification on a ‘new for old’ basis. If we can’t find an exact replacement, we’ll offer you a suitable alternative, or a full cash settlement.

Legal advice

We provide Legal Protection cover as standard, giving you access to telephone legal advice on any personal legal issue, under the laws of the UK, any European Union country, the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Switzerland and Norway.

What isn’t included?

Escape of water incidents during the period: 1 October – 1 April (inclusive).

Theft incidents, unless all security features (e.g. locks and alarms) included in your property are maintained in good working order and in full operation.

Claims involving money and high risk items (e.g. jewellery).

Damage cause gradually, or by wear and tear, or by failure to fix a known issue.

Faulty design or poor workmanship.

Damage caused by pets.

The cost of repairing or replacing items following a mechanical or electrical fault.

Lost items.

Long term unoccupancy

If the property is not usually occupied, or is left unoccupied for more than 180 days, there are two levels of cover. Basic cover is available online. Extended cover is available over the phone, via referral to our underwriting team. The following table compares what sort of insured events are covered:

Insured lossBasic cover (available online)Extended cover (call for quote)
Fire, Lightning, Earthquake, Explosion, Aircraft or other flying devices (FLEEA)
Liability to the public
Escape of Water or oil
Accidental damage
Storm or flood
Subsidence or tree roots
Theft (including attempted theft)
Malicious damage
Collisions with wild animals or vehicles
Aerials & falling objects
Damage by emergency services

Looking for more cover? Give us a call on 0330 660 1000 to talk to our team about extended cover.

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UNOCCUPIED HOME Insurance Cover Levels

The following cover levels apply for both short and long-term unoccupancy:

Buildings cover

Covers the main structure of your home if you need to rebuild or repair it.

up to £1 million

(eligibility criteria applies)

Contents cover

Covering the value of all your possessions in the home, on a new for old basis.

from £25,000

Home emergency

Covers emergencies that occur in your home like uncontrollable water leaks, electricity failure, faulty locks and vermin infestation. Two levels of cover are available.

up to £500

Family legal protection

Provides a 24/7 legal advice helpline and up to £25,000 cover for claims involving contract disputes and property damage. For a claim to be successful, there must be reasonable prospects (more than a 50% chance) of winning the legal case. Two levels of cover are available.

up to £25,000

Outbuildings cover

Covers rebuild or repair of your outbuildings (such as detached garages, greenhouses, sheds and summerhouses).

from £20,000

Liability cover

Liability cover involving accidental death, bodily injury or illness or property damage that you are legally liable to pay.

up to £5 million

protect your home with unoccupied property insurance

If you’re planning to be away from your property for over 30 days – or if you’ve unexpectedly left your property vacant and don’t know when you’ll be back, get a quote with Homeprotect and protect your unoccupied property. Unoccupied property insurance provides the protection you need.  

You can read more about why unoccupied homes are riskier in our guide.

what are the restrictions of unoccupied home insurance?

At Homeprotect, we offer policies with a 12-month duration. The extent of cover varies depending on whether the unoccupancy is only for a short period (between 31 and 180 days) or a longer period (more than 180 days).

Most unoccupied policies we sell are for long-term unoccupancy. Our standard cover for long-term unoccupancy (available online) is restricted to those insured events which could result in a total loss, were they to occur – Fire, Lightning, Earthquake, Explosion, Aircraft impact (typically abbreviated to ‘FLEEA’ cover). Whilst FLEEA cover is limited, in comparison to a standard policy it is also typically much cheaper.

We can potentially extend the policy coverage, beyond FLEEA, to cover circumstances such as theft, malicious damage, storm, and flood. To obtain this extended cover, our underwriters will need to review your circumstances. Please note, however, that we do not offer cover against escape of water/oil or accidental damage for unoccupied properties.

The restrictions in cover are because unoccupied properties are typically much more susceptible to damage, because there are no occupants to prevent damage or limit the extent of the damage.

“Our unoccupied property cover is very popular and we currently insure over 20,000 unoccupied properties. Due to the heightened risk of damage to unoccupied properties, our cover is restricted, in comparison to our standard property cover, but it is also much cheaper.

Just make sure you take all the necessary precautions to limit the risk of something happening to your property which is not covered – for example, turn off water at the mains, to reduce the risk of an escape of water incident.

If your property does become occupied then make sure you tell us, so we can adjust your cover accordingly.” 

Gerry McNally, Home Insurance Expert

New Customer?

If you’re deciding on whether to buy home insurance with us, you can use our latest policy booklets as a guide.

Existing Customer?

Your Questions Answered

To make a claim with unoccupied home insurance, you will need to:

  • Have your Policy Document to hand
  • Have proof of ownership and a valuation (e.g. receipts or bank statements)
  • Provide proof of loss along with a full description of what happened

When you’re ready, log in to submit your claim online or call our claims hotline.

The cost of unoccupied house insurance will vary depending on factors such as location, rebuild value, property security, property maintenance, and the level of cover you choose.

You can get a quote for unoccupied home insurance today. 

If you own a second home which is usually occupied, but will be unoccupied between 31 and 180 days, you typically get our standard policy cover, but with exception of the following exclusions:

Escape of water incidents during the period: 1 October – 1 April (inclusive).

Theft incidents, unless all security features (e.g. locks and alarms) included in your property are maintained in good working order and in full operation.

Claims involving money and high risk items (e.g. jewellery).

Yes, you can insure your property with unoccupied home insurance if it’s left unoccupied for more than 30 days while you’re in the process of selling.

Please get in touch with our team so we can update your policy to reflect the fact that your property is now unoccupied.

The type of home insurance policy you need will depend on how long your property is unoccupied between tenants.

If the property is usually occupied but is left unoccupied for between 31 and 180 days, then you typically get all the cover of our standard policy terms, but with exception of the following exclusions:

  • Escape of water incidents during the period: 1 October – 1 April (inclusive).
  • Theft incidents, unless all security features (e.g. locks and alarms) included in your property are maintained in good working order and in full operation.
  • Claims involving money and high risk items (e.g. jewellery).

Check out our home insurance for landlords.

If your property was unoccupied but now has residents, get in touch with our team so that they can update your policy to reflect this.

Homeprotect defines an ‘unoccupied home’ as a property that is unfurnished or hasn’t been visited for more than 30 consecutive days.

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