Unoccupied insurance is a short term property policy for a building nobody is living or working in. It exists because ordinary property policies narrow their cover after a stated period of emptiness, and because an empty building is a worse risk rather than a lighter one. If you have arrived here because somebody told you your policy might not pay, this page is the whole answer in one place.
When you need it
When a residential or commercial building will be empty for longer than the unoccupancy period written into your current policy, which is commonly thirty to sixty days on a household policy and thirty to ninety on a landlord one. Common triggers are probate, a stalled sale, a long refurbishment, a failed tenancy, a move into care, or a commercial unit between tenants.
What it covers
The building, against a defined and shorter list of perils: always fire, lightning, explosion and aircraft; usually storm, flood and impact; sometimes escape of water, theft and malicious damage depending on the property and its security. Property owners liability is normally included. Contents are limited or excluded, and valuables almost always excluded.
What it asks of you
Inspections at a stated interval with a written record. Heating maintained at a minimum temperature through winter, or the water system drained and isolated. Post cleared. Locks and security to a specification. Services isolated where required. These are conditions rather than suggestions, and the inspection record is the document that proves you met them.
How it is bought and ended
In three, six or twelve month terms, usually starting the same day, from specialist insurers and schemes rather than the household names. Most refund pro rata if the property sells or is reoccupied. When somebody moves in, it ends and the right policy for the new situation starts, on the same day so there is no gap in either direction.
Questions people ask about unoccupied insurance
What is unoccupied insurance?
A short term property policy for a building nobody is living or working in, written on a narrower peril list and a heavier set of conditions than ordinary cover.
Do I really need it?
If the building will be empty beyond your current policy's unoccupancy period, yes, unless your insurer will extend in writing. Otherwise cover narrows automatically on a date.
Is it expensive?
More than the occupied equivalent, because there is nobody there to notice a problem. Short terms keep the total cost proportionate to how long the building is actually empty.
What is the most common reason a claim fails?
A condition not met: no inspections, or the heating off with the system not drained. Both are avoidable and both are written on the schedule.