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Renovating an empty property carries risks that Empty Home Renovation Insurance is designed to protect against. Standard home insurance often won’t cover unoccupied properties undergoing works, particularly when empty for more than 30 days.
Empty Home Renovation Insurance bridges that gap. It provides tailored cover for the existing structure (and optional contents) during building works, protecting against key risks such as fire, theft, storm, escape of water, malicious damage, and liability claims.
With flexible 3–12 months, pro-rata refunds (subject to no claims) if your project ends early, and the option to extend if needed, this insurance is designed to adapt to your renovation timeline.
You can get an instant unoccupied home insurance quote online for projects under £50,000, while larger or structural works can be referred to our specialist team.
On this page, you will find helpful information to help you insure an empty home during a renovation project.
If you have questions not covered on this page, start a chat or contact us. You can click on any of the items in 'Contents' to jump to the section that interests you.
Insuristic makes it easy to insure an empty property online whilst it is being renovated.
You can learn more about the cover you can buy, property inspection rules and guidance on our renovation acceptance criteria below.
Need to insure an unoccupied home? Start your quote today
When your home is empty and undergoing renovation, standard home insurance often isn’t enough.
For short-term projects your existing insurer may be able to help you, but if the property is going to be empty for more than 30 days, they may restrict cover or also refuse to continue to insure the property.
If you are planning any form of renovations your first point of call should be your existing insurer. If you have recently acquired a property that is going to be empty until the works are completed, then it may be more cost effective to arrange unoccupied home insurance from the outset with a specialist like Insuristic.
Our cover isn’t restricted to basic FLEA (fire, lightening, explosion and aircraft) damage cover like many of our competitors. Our Silver and Gold cover options allow you to include cover for flood, escape of water, theft, malicious damage and subsidence. You can also include contents insurance cover too.
For background, see our Guide to Insuring an Empty House and Unoccupied Home Insurance FAQs.
Our unoccupied home insurance policy will quote online for non structural projects with a value of less than £50,000. Examples of work we will cover without referral to our underwriters include:
Many insurers will require some of this work to be discussed with them, with specific cover restrictions, conditions, and additional premiums applied. Insuristic does not do this, nor does it increase your premium.
When work involves structural changes, such as knocking down walls or extending the property, we can consider these offline on referral to our underwriters.
For example, once you have completed our online quote form, we can consider structural renovation projects such as:
When you complete our quote form, you will receive a call from our underwriting team at SJL Insurance.
They will discuss your situation and provide advice, as well as recommend suitable cover.
We offer flexible policies you can tailor to the project. Choose 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, with the ability to extend or cancel at any time:
If your works finish early or the property becomes occupied again, and no claims have been made, you’ll receive a pro-rata refund for any unused cover. If the project overruns — or you need extra time while searching for tenants — you can extend easily at renewal.
This flexibility makes it simple to match your insurance with your project timeline.
The cost depends on several factors:
In addition, where structural work is involved:
Where we have quoted online, the average Insuristic customer spends £265, including insurance premium tax, and purchased our silver cover for six months.
You can arrange building insurance on its own, or choose to include contents cover.
You can compare our 3 levels of unoccupied home insurance cover below:
Bronze is our basic level of Empty Home Renovation Insurance cover. It only covers loss or damage to the buildings (or contents if you have chosen to insure that) caused by:
Fire
Lightening
Explosion
Earthquake; or
Aircraft
This cover is often referred to as FLEEA Insurance cover.
In addition, this cover level also includes:
Architects & surveyors fees and debris removal
Property owners liability insurance, covering your legal liabilities up to £2,000,000 should a member of the public be injured or have their property damaged at your premises.
There will be exclusions which can be found in your Insurance Product Information Document (IPID) or policy wording.
Silver is our mid-range level of cover. It extends to the FLEEA cover provided by Bronze to also include loss or damage to buildings (or contents if you have chosen to insure that) caused by:
Storm
Flood
Weight of snow
Impact of vehicles or animals
Falling trees, lamp-posts or telegraph poles
In addition it also provides cover for:
Accidental breakage of sanitary fittings
Accidental breakage to underground services which extend from your home to the public mains which you are legally liable for
The cost of finding the source of any leaks up to £1000 following an escape of water
Breakage or collapse of fixed radio or television aerials, satellite dishes & their masts
Increased domestic metered water charges up to £750 following an escape of water.
There will be exclusions which can be found in your Insurance Product Information Document (IPID) or policy wording.
Gold is our highest level of cover. It extends the cover provided in levels Bronze and Silver, to also include loss or damage to buildings (or contents if you have chosen to insure that) caused by:
Subsidence, heave or landslip (unless you live in an area prone to this type of damage. If this is the case and the cover is excluded, this will be shown clearly on your policy schedule).
Escape of Water or Oil to a maximum of £3,500 for any individual incident (to main this cover, you will need to keep the heating on at all times set to a constant temperature of 15 degrees)
Malicious Damage
Theft or Attempted Theft.
Exclusions will be found in your Insurance Product Information Document (IPID) or policy wording.
If you're unsure how our cover compares to others, read our guide on why it's difficult to compare unoccupied home insurance to understand what makes each policy different.
You must ensure your contractors have public liability insurance for the work they are undertaking. Your insurance will not cover any damage they cause to your property; this is what their insurance is for.
We will not cover any loose fixtures and fittings until they are installed. These items will then form the buildings, so you must ensure that the building rebuild value provided is sufficient to cover these enhancements to your property.
Always request copies of your contractor’s Public Liability, Employers’ Liability, and Contract Works insurance before work begins.
To stay covered, you must comply with your policy documents, paying attention to:
If you want to see at a glance what is or isn't covered, please view the IPID (Insurance Product Information Document). The policy wording contains the full terms and conditions of the insurance policy. There may be other exclusions and these will be listed on your schedule.
Our Unoccupied Home Insurance policy is underwritten by certain underwriters at Lloyd’s and administered by SJL Insurance Services.
Lloyds is the world's leading insurance marketplace, with an insurance premium income in excess of £35 billion.
SJL Insurance Services is a leading UK Underwriting and Insurance Broking business.
If something goes wrong, we make the process as straightforward as possible:
Read our property insurance claims page for more information.
If you need to make a claim on your unoccupied home insurance policy, don’t worry. The team at SJL Insurance Services are only a phone call away.
Between the hours of 9am and 5pm call 01905 27775. Outside of these hours call 0121 411 0535.
Here are some common FAQs. You can find many more on our Unoccupied Home Insurance FAQ page.
Yes, if your property will be unoccupied for more than 30 days and undergoing building work, you’ll likely need specialist Empty Home Renovation Insurance cover. Without the right policy, you could face rejected claims or even policy cancellation.
If you’ll still be living in the property during works, you should discuss this with your existing insurer first. our Empty Home Renovation Insurance will not be appropriate for your needs.
If the home will be empty, you’ll likely need an Unoccupied Home Insurance policy that will insure renovations.
No, as the property is unoccupied during renovation.
No, in a Empty Home Renovation Insurance policy, fixtures, fittings and materials awaiting installation are not covered until they are fixed to the property. They then form part of the buildings, so you must ensure your rebuild value reflects this.
You will need to provide:
If you are unsure about anything our claims team at SJL Insurance will advise you every step of the way.
Yes—most lenders require adequate insurance during renovations to protect their interest.
If their cover is invalid or inadequate, you may face gaps in protection. Your insurance policy won’t cover any damage they cause. Always check their policy documents for evidence of cover before work begins.
Yes, you can cancel your Empty Home Renovation Insurance policy early. We don’t charge to cancel and provide pro-rata refunds (subject to no claims).
If you have a loan or mortgage against the property, it is likely your lender will require this. It’s easy to do this on the cover page when requesting your Empty Home Renovation Insurance quote. The interested party will be listed on the quote and policy schedule if you need to provide a copy of the policy documents to the lender.
You can easily extend your Empty Home Renovation Insurance cover online if the works are non-structural, or contact your underwriter at SJL Insurance if they handled the structural renovation insurance.
Empty Home Renovation Insurance is designed to protect the existing structure of your property (and optional contents) while it is unoccupied and undergoing works. Cover typically includes:
Fire, lightning, explosion, earthquake, and aircraft (FLEEA)
Storm, flood, weight of snow, falling trees or poles
Escape of water or oil (subject to conditions)
Malicious damage, theft or attempted theft
Property owners’ liability up to £2 million (or £5 million on some tiers)
Your chosen policy level (Bronze, Silver or Gold) determines which perils are included.
You should check that your contractors must hold their own insurance for the works until it is installed, and also public liability insurance in case they damage your property or injure you or the public.
Our policy protects the property itself, not the building works in progress.
Yes, in almost all cases. If your property will be empty for more than 30 days and you are carrying out renovations, your standard home insurance will usually restrict or remove cover.
Empty Home Renovation Insurance ensures you remain protected during this period. It keeps your property covered while building work takes place and satisfies the requirements of most mortgage lenders, who expect adequate insurance even if the property is temporarily vacant.
Rob Faulkner is an ACII Chartered Insurance Broker with nearly 30 years' experience in the UK insurance market. He is also a Chartered Manager and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
As the founder of Insuristic, Rob has developed clear, flexible insurance solutions for property owners and people managing empty homes.
You’ll also find Rob writing regularly about probate insurance and risk management, another key area of his expertise.
He’s especially passionate about product development and improving insurance education through marketing to help people understand what they are buying, values that shape everything we do at Insuristic.
Want to learn more? Visit my author page or follow me on LinkedIn.
Insuristic Limited is an Appointed Representative of SJL (Worcester) Ltd, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with the reference number 763599. This can be checked by visiting https://register.fca.org.uk/s/.
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Please Note: Our broking team at SJL Insurance will need to talk to you to discuss your requirements. This is an advised service.
Please Note: Our broking team at SJL Insurance will need to talk to you to discuss your requirements. This is an advised service.
Please Note: Our broking team at SJL Insurance will need to talk to you to discuss your requirements. This is an advised service.
Please Note: Our broking team at SJL Insurance will need to talk to you to discuss your requirements. This is an advised service.
Please Note: Our broking team at SJL Insurance will need to talk to you to discuss your requirements. This is an advised service.
Please Note: Our broking team at SJL Insurance will need to talk to you to discuss your requirements. This is an advised service.