How To Insure An Empty House: Complete Guide

To insure an empty house, you need a specialist Unoccupied Home Insurance policy, as standard home cover usually becomes invalid after the property has been empty for more than 30 consecutive days.

The process involves considering why the house is empty (such as probate, sale, or renovation) and how this effects the risk, choosing a cover level that matches this risk, ranging from basic fire, explosion and lightning to comprehensive theft, malicious damage, flood, subsidence and burst pipe cover. 

You should then ensure you can meet specific policy conditions like regular inspections.

If you choose Insuristic, you can buy flexible cover for 3, 6, 9, or 12 months and buy online in minutes.

Please note:

• To find out more about the cover available, please visit our Unoccupied Home Insurance page.
• If you have questions, please visit our Unoccupied Home Insurance FAQs page.
• If the owner has passed away and the property at any stage of the probate process, this page isn't for you.  Click here to visit Probate Property Insurance Page.

• Specialist Insurance is Crucial: Standard home insurance often won’t be valid when insuring an empty house for longer than 30 days, due to heightened risks.

• Understand the Elevated Risks: An empty house is more vulnerable to vandalism, theft, and unnoticed damage such as leaks or burst pipes. These risks make it essential to insure an empty house with specialist cover.

• Stricter Policy Conditions Apply: When insuring an empty house, expect requirements like regular inspections and enhanced security measures.

• Different Situations Require Cover: You may need to insure an empty house after a death, during probate, while awaiting sale, or during renovations.

• Costs Vary: The price of insuring an empty house depends on the vacancy duration, property value, location, and level of cover.

This page will tell you all you need to know if you need to insure an empty house, or start your quote now – it only takes 2 minutes

You might think you understand home insurance, so why would it be any different when you need to insure an empty house?

This is a valid question, but the answer lies in the significantly higher risk that empty properties present to insurers. 

If you consider this from the insurer's perspective.  Their typical home insurance customers usually live on the property, rarely leaving it empty overnight except for the occasional holiday or business trip.

However, when a property remains empty for an extended period, typically defined by insurers as being unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days, several factors significantly increase the risk of loss and damage to the property:

1. Firstly, there is a greater potential for undetected damage.
   1. Issues such as burst pipes, leaks, or electrical faults that could cause a fire, may remain unnoticed for weeks or months in an empty property; and
   2. Delayed detection can result in far more extensive and costly damage than the same issues at an occupied home, where these problems would likely be identified and resolved quickly.
2. Secondly, there is an increased risk of vandalism and theft:
   1. An empty house is a more appealing target for vandals, thieves and squatters. There are no occupants to deter them, and often no immediate reporting of break-ins. Which makes the potential for damage and loss significantly higher.
3. Lastly, there can be a lack of regular maintenance:
   1. If no one is living in the property, routine maintenance tasks may be neglected, resulting in the gradual deterioration of the property and increasing its susceptibility to damage from weather, pests, or general wear and tear.

Due to these increased risks, home insurance policies frequently include specific clauses, limitations, or exclusions that apply when a property is unoccupied for a certain period. This is all designed to limit the risk to the insurer.

Common exclusions are flood, subsidence, malicious damage, theft, and reduced cover for risks like escape of water loss or damage to contents. 

Additional requirements, such as regular inspections, inspection reports, draining water systems, and switching off utilities, are also likely. 

If you are planning to modernise your property, you need to be careful. Some insurers will exclude cover if you haven't declared it, and they may refuse to continue cover if the property is also empty.

Whether you are moving out for a few weeks to avoid the noise and mess or the property is already empty between tenants, you’ll need a specialist unoccupied provider that is actually comfortable covering a building under renovation.

When do you need to tell us?

• No need to inform us: For simple aesthetic changes like painting and decorating.

• How we make it easy:

  • Tell us during the quote stage: You can obtain insurance at no extra cost for non-structural renovations, provided the project cost is under £50,000. This might include new kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors or entire rewires.
  • Major Structural Projects. If your plans are more ambitious, like you are building an extension, knocking through walls, or room conversions- tell us during the quote process, and our underwriters will call you to offer advice and to provide a more specialist policy.

As mentioned above, insuring a property sitting empty carries a higher risk for insurers than a lived-in home.

This increased risk often translates to higher premiums. Several factors come into play when determining the cost of unoccupied home insurance:

• Length of Unoccupancy: The longer your property is vacant, the higher the risk and therefore the premium.
• Property Value and Size: Like standard home insurance, the rebuild cost, number of bedrooms and the value of any contents will influence the premium. Higher value equates to potentially higher claim costs.
• Location: Properties in areas with high crime rates or a history of flooding will likely have higher premiums due to the increased risk of claims.
• Level of Cover: The more comprehensive your policy, the higher the premium will be. You can adjust the level of cover to suit your needs and budget.
• Claims History: If you've made previous home insurance claims, you might face higher premiums as insurers see you as a higher risk.  For probate clients we don’t ask about your own personal claims, we only need to know if you are aware of previous claims at the property.

Average Costs:

While the exact cost varies greatly depending on the factors mentioned above, here are the average costs that our clients paid over the last 12 months (May 2024 to May 2025).  We have left out the cover they provided, but typically most clients chose Silver or Gold cover.

See Your Price – Get a Quick Online Quote

Insuring an empty house requires a slightly different approach than insuring an occupied one.

Below is a step-by-step guide to help you navigate the process.

• Review Your Current Home Insurance: Thoroughly examine your existing policy documents. Look for clauses regarding unoccupancy, vacancy periods, and any limitations or exclusions that may apply. If unsure, consult your insurer.
• Contact Your Current Insurer: Speak with your current insurer to inform them of the property's vacancy and to understand their stance. They may offer an extension or a temporary unoccupied home insurance policy, or they might advise you to seek specialist cover. Be aware that continuing with a standard policy while the property is vacant for an extended period could invalidate your coverage.

Determine the Vacancy Period

Accurately estimate how long the property will be unoccupied. This is crucial as it will dictate the type of policy you need.  If the property is empty for less than 30 days, your existing insurance is likely to be suitable.

Check your policy schedule as this will usually state how long you can leave the property empty for.

Identify the Reason for Vacancy

Is it due to probate, renovation, awaiting sale, a second home not currently in use, or another reason? Different reasons may have slightly different insurance considerations.

For instance, if you are renovating the property, you might be comfortable with basic coverage; however, if you are liable for the losses, such as when insuring as an executor or with a power of attorney, you may want to consider obtaining as much coverage as possible to protect your liability.

How long has the property been vacant?

Insurers will need to understand this, and many will only quote online if the property has been empty for less than 2 years.

Long-term unoccupied properties are often derelict and boarded up, which is not an attractive risk for many insurers.

Has the property been continuously insured?

This is another question that insurers ask. If it hasn't been, insurers may be concerned about someone insuring a property after it has been damaged and suffered a loss in order to immediately claim on the new policy.

If the property hasn’t been continuously insured, the underwriter might impose restrictions on certain claims, such as burst pipes, vandalism, and theft, for a specified period.

Consider the cost of rebuilding the property

• Be careful not to underinsure it, which is common since 8 out of 10 properties in the UK are underinsured.
• It is your responsibility to set an appropriate value for rebuilding the property (this is not the market value, which can sometimes be less than the cost to rebuild).
  • Failing to do so could result in your claim being rejected by the insurer or the payout being reduced, leaving you to cover the difference, which could represent a significant loss. 
• If you don’t know the cost of rebuilding the property, some providers, such as Insuristic, can quote based on the number of bedrooms in the property and offer a blanket sum insured, which you need to ensure is adequate.
• Companies like Rebuild Cost Assessment or BCH can provide you with an insurance rebuild valuation to eliminate underinsurance.

Check the property’s condition

• Are there any obvious issues like boarded-up windows, leaks, damage, or cracks on the walls?
• Any issues with the property's state of repair must be declared to the insurer before arranging cover.
• Resolve the issues before arranging cover, as this can improve the likelihood of insurers providing quotes.

Check the property's security

Many insurance policies will require a specific type of lock on all exterior doors to the property and locks on all accessible windows.  This is asked during the quotation stage, and it is important to get this right, as failure to comply with a security condition can invalidate your cover for claims arising from a break-in.

Consider the Level of Cover Required

• What risks do you absolutely need to insure against to avoid financial loss? 
• Are there any risks you are willing to exclude if you can minimise those risks?
  • For example, you might be fine with excluding escape of water cover if you have drained the water systems. 
• Be clear on how much you need to insure the building for (considering the points above).
• If you are leaving contents in the property, think about how much it would cost to replace them. However, be aware that contents coverage for empty properties usually has a single article limit, typically £1,000, so store high-value, theft-attractive items safely.

Once you've identified your insurance needs, it's important to find the right provider. Specialist unoccupied home insurance providers offer products tailored to the unique risks and requirements of empty properties, something many standard insurers aren’t equipped to do.

• Compare Multiple Quotes: Don't settle for the first quote you receive. Contact several insurance providers to compare their coverage options, policy terms, and premiums.
• Understand What You're Comparing - Comparing unoccupied home insurance policies can be more complex than standard home insurance. This is due to wide variations in cover levels, exclusions, and conditions from one provider to another. For more information read: Why its difficult to compare unoccupied home insurance.
• Look out for hidden costs: Many insurance providers will charge administration fees and another fee if you need to cancel your policy.  Early cancellations are common as many people don’t know exactly how long they need to insure for.  This is why Insuristic will never charge you a cancellation fee.  Instead you would get a pro rata refund representing any unused cover.
• Check how to make a claim before you buy: When you purchase insurance, having an easily accessible claims service is essential. It's important to research this before you buy. For example, Insuristic provides this upfront; our underwriters offer a claims service that includes advice accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can find this information on our How to Make a Claim page and also on our Quote/Policy Schedule.
• Check Insurer Reputation and Reviews: Look for online reviews.  What are their customers saying about their experience buying unoccupied home insurance?  Are they easy to deal with, what is their claims service like, how easy is it to contact them and how quickly do they resolve enquiries. 
  • You will find Insuristic on Trustpilot if you are interested in ours.

• Provide Accurate Information: Be honest and thorough when providing information about the property and the reasons for vacancy. Inaccurate information could make your policy invalid.
• Understand the Coverage: Carefully review the policy's coverage, including perils like fire, storm, flood, vandalism, theft, and property owners' liability.
• Check for Exclusions and Limitations: Pay close attention to any exclusions or limitations in the policy. For example, some policies might exclude coverage for certain types of damage if the property isn't regularly inspected.
• Note Any Specific Conditions: Unoccupied home insurance policies often come with specific conditions you must adhere to, such as regular property inspections (e.g., weekly or bi-weekly), maintaining particular security measures, or turning off utilities and water supplies. Failure to comply with these conditions could invalidate your policy.
• Clarify Any Doubts: Don't hesitate to ask the insurer any questions about the policy wording, coverage, or conditions.

• Select the Right Policy: Choose the policy that best meets your needs and offers the appropriate level of coverage for your specific circumstances.
• Review the Policy Documents: Carefully review all the documentation before buying a policy.
• Pay Your Premium: Ensure you pay your premium on time to activate and maintain your coverage.

• Comply with Policy Requirements: Strictly adhere to all the conditions outlined in your policy, such as regular inspections and maintaining security.
• Keep the Insurer Informed: Notify your insurer of any changes in the property's circumstances, such as a change in the property's use, vacancy period or any significant events or damage at the property.

Insuring an empty house might seem complex, but by following this guide and getting a quote from Insuristic, you can avoid the pitfalls and adequately insure the property. If you still aren’t sure, you can always start an online chat or contact us, and a member of the team will be happy to help you.

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