Unoccupied Home Insurance: How much does it cost?

The cost of insurance on an empty house varies based on several factors, including the property type, location, duration of vacancy, and level of coverage.

Standard home insurance typically stops covering a property after 30 days of unoccupancy, which means most empty homes require specialist unoccupied home insurance.

Unoccupied home insurance premiums are calculated based on your specific property and how long it will be empty. To give you an idea of the typical cost, we have provided our average premiums for different cover levels and durations in the tables below.  It only takes 2 minutes to check your price by getting a quote.

Generally, yes. If you compare a specialist unoccupied home insurance policy to a standard home insurance policy, the premium for an empty house will typically be higher.

There are two main reasons for this:

1. Increased Risk: When a property is left empty, the risk of a claim increases significantly. Minor issues, such as a small leak, can quickly escalate into a major disaster if no one is there to spot them. Empty homes are also more vulnerable to theft and vandalism

2. Specialist Protection: Standard home insurance is designed for occupied homes, and many insurers are reluctant to provide cover beyond basic fire, earthquake, and explosion.  This means claims such as those for burst pipes, floods, subsidence, theft, and malicious damage are often excluded.  More onerous conditions, such as 7-day inspections, are often imposed by non-specialist insurers.

While the cost is higher, it is far cheaper than the alternative, i.e. having a claim denied by a standard insurer because you didn't have the correct cover in place.

While there is no law in the UK that forces you to insure a property, unoccupied home insurance is often a requirement in several common situations:

• Mortgage Lenders: If the property is mortgaged, your lender will almost certainly require you to keep the building fully insured. If they discover the property is empty and incorrectly insured, you could be in breach of your mortgage agreement.

• Probate: If you are the Executor or Administrator of an estate, you have a Duty of Care to protect the assets of the deceased. Failing to insure a probate property could leave you personally liable if the property is damaged and the estate loses value.

• Power of Attorney or Deputyship: If you hold either of these, you have a Duty of Care to protect the property.  Failure to do this could result in you personally funding uninsured losses.

• Property Owners Liability: Even if you own the house outright, you are still legally responsible for any injury or damage caused by your property to third parties (e.g., a slate falling off the roof and hitting a passerby). Specialist unoccupied insurance automatically includes Property Owners Liability to protect you from these potentially massive legal costs.

Unoccupied Home Insurance

Most customers choose our Silver cover, which includes Insurance Premium Tax. Typical premiums are:

Level of Coverage

Policies with broader cover, including flood, subsidence, escape of water, theft and malicious damage, are more expensive than basic FLEEA cover, which only includes fire, lightning, earthquake, explosion and aircraft.

Property Type and Condition

Homes under renovation or in poor condition may face higher premiums due to increased risk. Boarded-up properties or those in disrepair are harder to insure and may attract fewer quotes.

Location

The property's postcode affects risk. Areas with high flood, theft or subsidence risk will generally have higher premiums.

Value of the Property

Higher-value homes typically cost more to insure because their rebuild or repair costs are higher.

Number of Bedrooms

Some policies are priced based on the number of bedrooms. A four-bedroom home usually costs more to insure than a similar three-bedroom property.

Duration of Vacancy

The longer the house has been empty, the more limited your options may be. Properties that have been unoccupied for over two years may attract higher premiums and fewer willing insurers.

Specialist Coverage with Insuristic

Insuristic offers tailored unoccupied home insurance policies with flexible cover levels and options for contents, liability, and structural risks. We do not limit our cover to basic FLEEA risks, and our policies are designed to suit a range of scenarios including probate, renovation or care-related vacancy.

The cost varies based on the property’s type, value, location, and the duration of its unoccupied status. Once a home has been empty for more than 30 days, most standard policies reduce or remove cover, meaning a specialist unoccupied home insurance policy is usually essential.

With Insuristic, you can choose flexible short-term insurance or annual cover, tailored to your situation, whether the property is in probate, awaiting sale, undergoing renovation, or empty due to care arrangements.

To get a quote visit the following pages:

General Unoccupied: For situations such as the property is up for sale, between tenants, during renovation, you're away travelling or on business, or when the owner is in care, visit our Unoccupied Home Insurance Page.

Probate: Visit our Probate Property Insurance page

If you have further questions, visit our Help section from the main menu and select the appropriate FAQ page from the list.