Insuring Empty Property

[Old_Geezer]

With a very recent death in the family there is now a house we are trying to clear as much as possible. We were advised to inform the house insurers of the death and that no one is presently living there. The response from them was that everything valuable must be cleared out within 60 days or the insurance will be invalid/stopped/whatever.

One had assumed they'd simply ask for a sum to cover a higher premium. At this time of stress one could do without such demands.

Anyone know if it is the case that all insurers would take that attitude, or can one easily find insurers with a more reasonable attitude while it's considered what is wanted to do with the place, and continue to sort it's contents ?

Thanks.

[woofgang]

When my Mum died, we were told that someone had to sleep in the house....I want to say one night a week....for the insurance still to be valid. Did you by any chance ask if any such arrangement was possible?

[Peter Pedant]

yeah, no - phone around - sorry for your loss OG
burglary of dead peoples houses is common.
animals etc but they just do it

In my mothers case all they found was a cracked victorian plate and a broken child's doll ( hers )

[goodgoalie]

There are specialist companies that can provide temporary cover. Such as:
https://www.unoccupieddirect.co.uk/

[237SJ]

When my Mum died I just told her insurers that the house was unoccupied and the they were fine about it. I can't even remember having to pay more. I`m pretty sure it was the Co op

[Old_Geezer]

Thanks all.

No I don't think we considered asking about sleeping there, and I'm unsure she's up to it, to be honest.

Not my personal loss but busy supporting my partner at present.

Thanks for the link gg. Filled in the form, was a bit peeved when it then went to a bigger form, but I got a quote. Didn't seem unreasonable as an annual cost. Will bear them in mind when the 60 days are up.

Was rather good of the Co-op. Might be worth an enquiry also, but maybe existing customers are different to new.

[EDDIE51]

Yes, an empty property is a lot higher risk than an occupied one. So the response of the insurance company is what you would expect.

[EDDIE51]

Just to add, if you do nothing and there is a claim,the insurance will void the policy and refuse to pay out.

[Flonska]

When my mother died in July last year, her home insurers were very understanding and extended full cover on buildings and contents for 6 months. Exclusions of cover would only apply after that date e.g. theft, storm and flood, escape of water etc - but cover may be provided after the time allotted upon payment of additional premiums according to risk. All we had to do was ensure that the property was visited at least once a week. We did manage to sell the house within 5 months and the normal annual premium became due in that time. The Insurers simply charged a pro rata amount to the date of sale rather than us paying the whole of the annual amount and claiming a refund. My experience would suggest that I should expect other insurers would and should act in a similar manner. Upon notifying the Company of her death initially, I was passed on by the call centre staff to the "bereavement team" who handled everything from that point on. Perhaps your insurers have a similar arrangement and maybe you spoke to the "front line" who might rely upon a "script" to field calls. Perhaps asking to speak to a more senior person might help you - especially if you are the executor of the deceased's estate?

[Old_Geezer]

Since we have 60 days to remove valuable items (no idea which ones those are) I can't see how they could void a claim during the period. To try to do so would mean they're changing their demand to 0 days.

Wondering about the removed answer now...

Property has been visited every day so far. Lots of clearing etc. to do. May drop off fractionally as things progress but not by much. It turns out that there isn't much of the insured period left after 60 days hence, so the main change may well be a loss of business, permanently, for the unsympathetic company.

[Mamyalynne]

Removed was spam.

[Old_Geezer]

Thanks. Suspected so.