How to Insure an Empty House? The 7 Key Steps

If you need to insure an empty house, the first step is to check with your current insurer. Most standard home insurance policies maintain their normal cover for up to 30 consecutive days of the property being unoccupied. After this, cover may be reduced to basic FLEEA (fire, lightning, explosion, earthquake, aircraft) or withdrawn entirely.

In many cases, switching to a specialist unoccupied home insurance provider is the best way to ensure full protection. This applies whether the property 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.

Step 1: Inform Your Current Insurer

If the property will be unoccupied for over 30 days, notify your insurer. If they cannot continue cover or impose restrictive conditions, look for a specialist alternative.

Step 2: Choose a Specialist Provider

Providers like Insuristic offer policies that go beyond basic FLEEA cover, including theft, escape of water, flood, malicious damage, and subsidence.

Step 3: Decide What Cover You Need

Unoccupied Buildings Insurance — protects the structure from major risks such as fire, flood, subsidence, and theft.
Contents Insurance — optional if the home is furnished; high-value items (valued over £1,500 each) should be stored securely.
Property Owners Liability Insurance — protects against third-party claims for injury or damage.

Step 4: Provide Accurate Information

Be ready to share details on the property’s condition, security, and why it’s unoccupied.

Step 5: Understand the Conditions of Cover

Specialist policies often include requirements like regular inspections, draining plumbing systems, or switching off utilities when appropriate.

Step 6: Choose a Policy Duration

With Insuristic, you can select 3, 6, 9, or 12 months. Short-term empty house insurance is ideal if you only need cover for a few months.

Step 7: Adjust if Circumstances Change

If the property is sold, let, or occupied earlier than expected, you can cancel or update your policy. Insuristic offers pro-rata refunds with no hidden cancellation fees.

Properties That Are Harder to Insure

Some properties are higher risk, such as those undergoing major structural work, boarded-up homes, or properties in poor condition.

Summary: How to Insure an Empty House

Insuring an empty house usually requires a specialist policy once it has been unoccupied for more than 30 days. A provider like Insuristic can tailor cover to your situation, whether it’s probate, renovation, awaiting sale, between tenants, after a bereavement, or a move into care, with flexible short-term or annual options.

Related guides:

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About the Author: Rob Faulkner

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.