Unoccupied Home Insurance

What insurance do you need for an empty house?

When a residential property will be left empty for more than 30 consecutive days, you usually need a specialist policy known as unoccupied home insurance (sometimes called empty house insurance or vacant home insurance).

Standard home insurance policies generally don't cover properties that are unoccupied for long periods. It is common for standard home insurers to:

• Apply new policy conditions to reduce the risk of a claim whilst a property is empty.

• Increase the premium; or

• Decline to continue to cover the property.

Don't get caught out.  Insuristic offers three levels of unoccupied home insurance — Bronze, Silver, and Gold — so you can match the cover to your situation.

Common empty house insurance scenarios

Most buyers of empty-house insurance are dealing with one of the situations below. Click through to the guide that fits; each covers what to watch for, how the cover works, and how to arrange it.

If any of these describe your situation:

• the owner has moved into care
• property is up for sale
• between tenants
• being renovated
• the owner has recently died
• property is in the probate process
• the owner is overseas or working abroad

Cover variations:

• buildings-only cover
• short-term unoccupied home insurance

What happens if you don't tell your insurer that the house is empty?

If you don't tell your insurer that the house is empty, they may reject your claim if something goes wrong — and the Financial Ombudsman Service is likely to side with them.

Most standard home insurance policies allow up to 30 consecutive days of unoccupancy. If the house will be empty for longer than that, you should check your policy schedule for the exact limit, and then you need to inform your insurer as soon as possible (the policy often dictates within 7 days of the property becoming empty).

Because empty houses pose a significantly higher risk, many insurers either restrict cover, increase premiums, or refuse to continue covering the house at all.

The Financial Ombudsman Service has published case studies of claims being rejected because the house was unoccupied when the claim was made. In both of the examples below, the FOS ruled in favour of the insurer — not the homeowner:

• An Insurer rejected a claim because the house was left unoccupied, and the insurer was not notified
• A burst pipe claim was rejected because a property was left empty whilst an elderly person was admitted to hospital

Don't leave it to chance. If your house will be unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days, notify your insurer first to see if they can offer the cover. If they can't or won't, buy a specialist unoccupied home insurance policy.

Common conditions when insuring an empty house

Unoccupied home insurance comes with conditions you don't usually find on standard home cover.

These vary between insurers  (some are stricter than others) — but the common ones include:

• The house will need to be inspected regularly. Many insurers require 7-day inspections; Insuristic only requires inspections every 14 days. (More on Insuristic's requirements in the inspection section below.)
• Insurers will recommend (some may insist) that you isolate and drain the water system.  If draining the system isn't practical, and you buy our Gold cover, the policy includes Escape of Water cover, capped at £3,500 per incident.  Between 1st October and 31st March, you'd need to keep the heating on at 15°C with the loft hatch open.  If you want to eliminate water-escape claims, draining the system is always the best bet.  
• You'll usually be expected to switch off non-essential utilities while the house is unattended — keeping only the supplies needed for security or heating.
• The maximum sum insured for a single item of contents is often restricted. Insuristic's single article limit is £1,000, and items like jewellery, watches, furs, precious metals, artwork, antiques, money, and personal possessions are excluded. Remove these from the property and store them securely.
• Cover for contents in outbuildings (garages, sheds) is often restricted. Lawnmowers, bikes, and tools are common theft targets, particularly when the main property is empty.
• You'll usually be able to choose from different levels of cover. Insuristic offers Bronze (FLEEA), Silver, and Gold — see the cover-levels section below.

The most popular Insuristic policy is a 3-month Gold policy, averaging £163.

Over the last 12 months (March 2025 – April 2026), premiums across our unoccupied home insurance book (before Insurance Premium Tax) typically range from around £35 for three months' Bronze cover to £570 for annual Gold cover.

Premiums depend on these factors:

1. The number of bedrooms in the property.

2. The Property Rebuild Value: i.e. the cost of rebuilding the house, including professional and debris removal fees.

3. The area the property is located in, for example, some properties might be in a high theft, flood or subsidence risk area, which influences the prices the underwriter charges.

4. Property Maintenance: if the property isn't in a good state of repair or is boarded up, this will reduce the number of insurers that might quote and the price.  

5. The level of cover you buy.

The only way to find out how much unoccupied home insurance costs is to get a quote online, which takes only a couple of minutes.

Insuristic can quote online for houses in good repair, with offline support for trickier-to-insure homes.

You can compare our 3 levels of unoccupied home insurance cover below:

Each cover level has its own Insurance Product Information Document (IPID) that summarises what's covered, key limits, and what's excluded. Read the IPID for the level you're considering, or the policy wording for the full terms and conditions. Any additional exclusions that apply to your specific policy will be listed on your schedule.

Our Unoccupied Home Insurance policy is underwritten by SJL (Worcester) Ltd, trading as SJL Insurance Services, on behalf of Lloyd’s Syndicate 4444, which is managed by Canopius Managing Agents Limited.

Canopius Managing Agents Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority (Financial Services Register number 20484).

Lloyd's of London  is the world's largest specialist insurance market, with a Standard & Poor's financial strength rating of A+. Cover backed by Lloyd's syndicates is among the most financially secure in the UK insurance market — meaning when a claim is needed, the funds to pay it are there.