Insurance for an unoccupied house is a different purchase from insuring the same house with somebody in it, and the change happens on a date rather than a decision. Every buildings policy counts consecutive days with nobody living there, and after the number in the wording the cover narrows without anything visibly changing. The practical job is to notice the date before it passes and to buy the right product for the reason the house is empty.
Find the date in your own policy first
The unoccupancy clause is usually under general conditions or exclusions and states a number of consecutive days, commonly thirty, forty five or sixty. Count from the day the last person moved out rather than from the day you noticed. That date is the deadline for telling the insurer, and telling them a week early costs nothing while telling them a week late can cost the claim.
Decide which kind of empty this is
A house waiting for probate, a house between tenancies, a house for sale, a house being renovated and a house whose owner is in hospital are five different underwriting problems with different answers. Probate needs the policy in the right names. Renovation beyond decoration needs a works policy. A short gap between tenants may just need an endorsement. Say which it is, because the insurer will write a different contract for each.
What the specialist policy gives you and what it takes
You get cover for a building nobody is watching, usually in a three, six or twelve month term. You give up some perils, commonly escape of water at a full limit, theft and accidental damage, or accept them at a higher excess. You take on conditions: inspections at stated intervals with a record, heating on at a minimum temperature or the water drained, post cleared, locks to a specification.
The things that actually cause the claim
Water first, by a long way: a joint fails in an unheated house and runs for a fortnight. Then theft of metal, boilers and anything not fixed down. Then damage from a break in, and in some areas arson in a house that visibly looks empty. Each of those is exactly what the conditions are aimed at, which is why the conditions are the policy rather than the small print.
Questions people ask about insurance for unoccupied house
How long can a house be left empty before the insurance changes?
Commonly thirty to sixty consecutive days, and the exact figure is in your wording. After that, cover narrows to a short list of perils unless the insurer has agreed otherwise in writing.
Is unoccupied house insurance expensive?
Usually more than the occupied equivalent, because nobody is there to notice a leak or deter a thief. Short terms keep the total cost down when the house is only empty for a few months.
Do I have to inspect the house myself?
Somebody responsible does, at the interval the policy states, with a written record. Where nobody is local, a managed inspection service costs far less than the claim it protects.
What if the house is being renovated?
Renovation beyond minor decoration needs a policy written for works in progress, and the contractor should carry their own cover. Tell the insurer the scope before work starts.