Home insurance for an empty property still exists, it just does less than it did. Owners often assume the policy has ended, or that it is untouched, and neither is right. What happens is narrower and more specific: after the unoccupancy period in the wording, a small number of perils survive and the rest drop away, and the ones that drop away are the ones an empty building is most likely to suffer.
What typically survives
Fire, lightning, explosion and impact by aircraft are almost always retained. Storm and flood often are. Property owners liability usually continues, because the duty to anyone lawfully on or near the property does not stop when the occupants leave. In practice the building is still insured against catastrophe and no longer insured against the everyday.
What typically falls away
Escape of water is the big one, and it is also the most likely loss. Theft and attempted theft, malicious damage, accidental damage and often subsidence go with it. Some wordings also suspend cover for glass and for damage by falling trees. The peril list in the unoccupancy clause is the definitive statement and it is worth reading rather than summarising.
What you can do about it without changing insurer
Ask for an unoccupancy extension. Many insurers will grant one for a stated period with conditions attached, and some will do it at modest cost. Where they will not, the answer is a specialist unoccupied policy running alongside or instead. Either way the decision should be made before the period expires, not discovered afterwards.
The practical measures that also reduce the risk
Keep the heating on at a low temperature through winter or drain the system down. Turn the water off at the stopcock if the system is drained. Have somebody check the property on a regular, recorded schedule. Clear the post. Keep the garden looking used. Each of these is usually a policy condition and each of them independently cuts the chance of the claim.
Questions people ask about home insurance for empty property
Is my house still insured if it is empty?
Partly. Catastrophe perils usually continue and the everyday ones, escape of water, theft, malicious and accidental damage, usually stop after the unoccupancy period.
How do I keep full cover on an empty house?
Either an unoccupancy extension from your existing insurer, agreed in writing, or a specialist unoccupied policy. Both come with inspection and heating conditions.
Does leaving the heating on help?
Yes, and it is usually a condition. Frost damage and burst pipes are a large share of empty property claims, and keeping a minimum temperature is the cheapest prevention there is.
Do I need to tell my insurer if the house is empty for a month?
If the wording's period is thirty days, yes. Telling them early costs nothing and is the only way to know what you still have.