Building insurance for an empty property is about the structure alone, which is the part that cannot be moved out and cannot look after itself. Contents usually leave with the occupier. What stays is a building exposed to weather, water, frost and anyone who notices it is empty, with nobody inside to raise an alarm, and insurers price exactly that difference.
What the structure is exposed to when nobody is in it
Water is the first and largest: a failed joint, a cracked pipe after a frost, a tank overflowing, each running unnoticed for as long as it takes somebody to visit. Then weather damage that nobody reports until it has spread, a slipped tile letting water into a roof void for a month. Then theft of lead, copper, boilers and cable, and the damage done getting at them. Then occupation, and in some areas arson.
The peril list you can usually get
Fire, lightning, explosion and aircraft are always available. Storm, flood and impact usually. Escape of water sometimes, often at a higher excess or excluded entirely over winter. Theft and malicious damage depend on the area and the security. Subsidence is frequently excluded. What matters when comparing quotes is this list rather than the premium, because the cheaper quote is often cheaper because it covers less.
Security conditions, in the order insurers ask about them
Locks to a stated standard on all external doors, windows secured, any ground floor opening boarded where the building is vulnerable, an alarm where the area or the value warrants it, and the building not left visibly derelict. Insurers also ask whether services are isolated, because a building with live gas and a broken window is a different risk from one that has been made safe.
Getting the sum insured right on a building nobody uses
The rebuild cost does not fall because the building is empty. If anything it rises, because a property that has stood empty and deteriorated costs more to reinstate. Owners sometimes reduce the sum insured to reduce the premium on a building they are about to sell, which is the most expensive kind of saving because underinsurance reduces every claim proportionally.
Questions people ask about building insurance for empty property
Is the structure still insured if the building is empty?
Under a specialist unoccupied policy yes, on a defined peril list. Under an ordinary policy after the unoccupancy period, only for a narrow set of perils.
Do I need contents cover on an empty building?
Usually not once the contents have gone, though fixtures, boilers and cabling are part of the building and are exactly what thieves take.
Can I reduce the sum insured while it is empty?
It is a false economy. The rebuild cost does not fall, and underinsurance reduces every claim proportionally, including small ones.
What security will an insurer expect?
Locks to a stated standard, secured windows, sometimes boarding on vulnerable openings, and the services made safe. The requirements are listed as conditions rather than suggestions.