Home insurance unoccupied clauses are the reason a perfectly valid policy can fail to pay. Nothing is cancelled and no letter arrives. After a stated number of consecutive days with nobody living in the property, the wording narrows cover to a short list of perils, and the most likely causes of loss in an empty house are not on that list. Owners discover this after the event, which is the worst possible moment.
The clock, and what starts it
The period is written into the policy and is usually thirty, forty five or sixty consecutive days. What starts it is nobody living there, not whether the furniture is still in place. A long hospital stay, an extended trip, a house waiting for probate, a property between tenants or one emptied for building work all start the same clock, and none of them feels at the time like a change to the insurance.
Which perils survive and which fall away
What usually survives is fire, lightning, explosion and aircraft, sometimes storm. What usually falls away is escape of water, theft, attempted theft, malicious damage, accidental damage and often subsidence. Escape of water is the important one: a failed joint in an empty house runs for weeks, and the repair bill after that is larger than a fire in many cases.
What to do before the period runs out
Tell the insurer before the day rather than after. Ask whether they will extend cover by endorsement, what conditions come with it, and what the premium change is. If they will not extend, buy unoccupied property cover, which exists exactly for this and is written in three, six and twelve month terms. Doing nothing is the only genuinely expensive option.
The conditions that come with extended cover
Documented inspections at stated intervals, heating maintained at a minimum temperature or the system drained down for winter, post cleared rather than accumulating, and sometimes specific locks or an alarm. These are conditions of the cover, not suggestions, and the inspection record is what the insurer will ask for. Setting a calendar reminder is the difference between a claim paid and a claim argued.
Questions people ask about home insurance unoccupied
How long can a house be empty on normal home insurance?
Commonly thirty to sixty consecutive days, and the exact figure is in the policy wording under unoccupancy. After that, cover narrows unless the insurer has agreed otherwise.
Does furniture left in the house keep it occupied?
No. Occupancy means somebody living there. A fully furnished house with nobody in it is unoccupied for insurance purposes.
What if I am away for three months?
Tell the insurer before you go. Many will extend cover for a holiday absence with conditions; a few will not and an unoccupied policy is then the answer.
Is a house in probate treated the same way?
Yes, and the additional problem is that the policy has to be in the right name. Executors should tell the insurer about the death and about the property standing empty, and should expect conditions about inspections.