No, it’s not legally required, but yes, you absolutely should. Empty properties face a much higher risk of theft, vandalism, storm, flood, and escape of water. Most standard home insurance policies maintain their normal cover for up to 30 consecutive days of the property being unoccupied. After this, the cover is often reduced to basic FLEEA (fire, lightning, explosion, earthquake, aircraft) or withdrawn entirely.
With no one living there, small issues like leaks or broken windows can go unnoticed and cause major damage. Insurers consider unoccupied homes higher risk, which is why cover changes after 30 days.
Many standard policies downgrade to basic FLEEA cover. This excludes some of the most common causes of claims, such as escape of water, theft, malicious damage, and flood.
With Insuristic, you can choose from Bronze, Silver, or Gold cover, with Silver and Gold including these broader protections.
Specialist unoccupied home insurance applies whether the home is in probate, has recently become empty due to the owner’s death, is undergoing renovation, awaiting sale, between tenants, or empty because the owner has moved into care.
If you’re acting as an executor, attorney, or deputy, having the right cover is essential to protect both the property and yourself from personal liability.
Yes. If you only need cover for a few months, you can arrange short-term empty house insurance for 3, 6, or 9 months, with the flexibility to extend or cancel early. If your circumstances change and you no longer need the policy, pro-rata refunds are available if no claims have been made.
Lenders may require continuous insurance, insist on comprehensive cover, and ask to be named as an interested party. Insuristic can meet these requirements.
There’s no legal requirement to insure an empty home, but failing to do so can be a costly mistake. Most standard policies stop offering full protection after 30 days. Specialist cover from Insuristic ensures continued protection for as long as the property is empty, whatever the reason.
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Click the link to go back to our empty house insurance FAQ page.
Rob Faulkner is a leading expert in executor insurance risk and probate insurance, with nearly 30 years’ experience in the UK insurance market. He is the founder of Insuristic, a specialist provider of probate-related insurance solutions and educational content for executors.
Rob is an ACII Chartered Insurance Broker, a Chartered Manager, and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. His background spans insurers, brokers, and Insurtechs, always focused on innovation, transparency, simplicity, and fair value.
He’s passionate about helping everyday people, executors, beneficiaries, and law firms choose the right probate property insurance or unoccupied home insurance, without jargon, inflated fees, or hidden commissions.
Rob is especially passionate about product development and improving insurance education through marketing, helping people understand what they are buying. These values sit at the heart of everything we do at Insuristic.
Want to learn more? Visit my author page or follow me on LinkedIn.
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