Home insurance for an empty house is specifically designed for properties that are unoccupied for more than 30 days. Standard home insurance, used for lived in, occupied homes, typically provides broad protection without strict conditions. However, once a home becomes empty, you may need a specialist policy that includes different cover levels, policy conditions and risk management requirements.
Standard home insurance is intended for occupied properties and usually includes cover for a wide range of risks. Depending on your policy, this might be on a standard or accidental damage basis. You can also include a high level of contents cover, with the option to specify high value items or those regularly taken away from the home, such as watches, cycles or laptops. There are usually no additional requirements such as regular inspections, draining down the water system or switching off utilities.
Home insurance policies are not designed for unoccupied properties. When a property becomes empty for more than 30 days, standard home insurance is often no longer suitable. If the insurer agrees to continue cover, they typically endorse the policy with new conditions, and these may significantly change how the cover works. However, they do not usually require things like regular inspections, draining the water system or switching off utilities.
In contrast, unoccupied home insurance is designed for empty properties and is more likely to include these kinds of conditions. These may include:
An unoccupied home insurance policy typically has more restricted contents coverage due to the higher theft risk associated with empty properties. A low level of cover may be available, or some providers may not offer it at all. Where offered, it will usually have a single article limit of £1,000 and a maximum sums insured in the region of £30,000. There is unlikely to be cover for items away from the home like in a standard home insurance policy.
Insuristic sets more manageable inspection requirements compared to many providers:
With Insuristic, you can choose the level of cover that suits your needs:
You may need home insurance for an empty house if the property is:
Insuristic is a UK based specialist offering flexible, scenario specific protection. Benefits include:
If your property becomes unoccupied for more than 30 days, your standard home insurance may no longer be suitable. A specialist policy from Insuristic ensures the home stays protected, even with the added risks that come from vacancy. Choose the right level of cover for peace of mind while the property is empty.
Click on any of the links below:
Click to go back to our empty house insurance FAQ page.
Hi, I'm Rob Faulkner, CEO & Founder of Insuristic.
I’m passionate about simplifying insurance to help everyday people, executors, beneficiaries, and law firms confidently choose the right probate insurance or unoccupied home insurance policy, without jargon, big commissions, or unnecessary fees that inflate your costs.
As an ACII-qualified Chartered Insurance Broker with nearly 30 years of experience, I’ve led product innovations at insurers, brokers, and Insurtech firms, developing solutions that make insurance simpler and more transparent.
I’m especially passionate about product development and marketing, which sit at the heart of our customer-first approach.
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/.
Registered Office: Unit 2, 262 Walsall Road, Cannock, England, WS11 0JL. Registered in England and Wales No: 13926650.
Insuristic is a registered trademark. ©Copyright 2023 Insuristic Limited. All Rights Reserved.
