Away for three months - House & Contents Insurance

[OldAgeTravellers]

We are moving back to the UK from the South of France and wondering what others do about their house insurance while away for three months or more. I have searched this site but can’t find any previous discussions.

 

[Jenka]

Declare to insurance company ,they may ask you turn water off and set heating etc,generally restrct the cover .plus charge you !

 

[Oscar]

Have a look at the Caravan & Motorhome club home insurance, they do cover for up to 90 days

 

[quickweh]

Camping and Caravaning Club do 6 months, not sure if overseas properties covered.

 

[DavidG58]

Most answers I would guess would be English property, do you use a French broker?

my mother had a place in France they regularly left it for 6 months, so I guess it is doable or they didn’t bother with insurance

too late to ask now

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[pandas]

Try John Lewis

 

[IanRJ]

Last couple of years we have had a friend 'stay' at our house one night per month, which is the stipulation (cant be unoccupied for more than 30 days at a time) and visit 2 or 3 times a week to make sure all is well. However prior to last year (when we were moving almost daily) typically one of us would fly home each month to handle business, collect drugs and sort mail etc. 2 days at home then back to wherever the van was. One of us came back 4 times over 7 months in 2019. Wont be doing that anymore though - will mostly rely on the friend to come and stay over (and party no doubt ).

 

[berni109]

Try intasure.

 

[OldAgeTravellers]

Most answers I would guess would be English property, do you use a French broker?

my mother had a place in France they regularly left it for 6 months, so I guess it is doable or they didn’t bother with insurance

too late to ask now

The French Property is no problem they are much more laid-back and more regulated by the government so not as many restrictions. But we are buying in the UK so need to find a tolerant UK company so we can take longer trips.

Thanks to all for the other suggestions. The C&MC came out double the cheaper end of comparison site and the £54 membership on top. Will look at the CCC. The MCC don’t appear to have an insurance discount.

 

[deleted79651]

We are moving back to the UK from the South of France and wondering what others do about their house insurance while away for three months or more. I have searched this site but can’t find any previous discussions.

We have cover on our French hovel via Axa and I didn't see any restrictions on absence or reduced cover. I have advised the Broker of our 'normal' period of absence and also advised them of our inability to return to France because of the COVID travel restrictions. Our neighbour does a periodic check inside the house and we have turned off the water supply at the mains.

We also had to ask [and pay for ...] the heating engineer to open the house up to both service the Central Heating Boiler and to extend the 'Holiday Mode' Thermostat setting because it has now been 16 months since we last set foot inside the house. I have the Engineer's invoice that refers to resetting the Holiday Mode in case there is any debate about periodic checks etc.

'Twas the stuff of dreams, but Brexit and COVID have contrived to attempt to turn it into a nightmare ...

Steve & Elaine

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[Bolti]

Try LV the standard policy is 60 days but for a small cost ( last extension was £10 .50) are happy to extend cover

 

[clanjones]

Try M&S they definitely do 90 days away. I used top cashback and got an extra £50 back!

 

[PJGWiltshire]

Its all down to your position of telling them. Yes the policy will say cannot be left unattended for so many days. If someone is checking on the property regularly or staying then that is covered. Simply turn off the water, drain boiler down and turn off power. Its checked by family/friends, so if there are any issues, you fly home and then claim on insurance. How do they know where you have been and for how long.

 

[Bobandfay]

We have also got 90 days with C&MC have to be a member of club though

 

[Abacist]

Commercial property insurers can insist on weekly visits with photographic evidence to prove that the visits have been made to empty properties which comes at a price! Read the small print in your policy or you may find you are uninsured in the event of a claim!

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[Jays2]

How many of you have claim off your insurance?
Is it worth it, as not mandatory as a vehicle?

 

[Abacist]

How many of you have claim off your insurance?
Is it worth it, as not mandatory as a vehicle?

And what if it burns down or floods and you are not insured!

 

[Stealaway]

Oops

 

[Stealaway]

And what if it burns down or floods and you are not insured!

How likely is that going to be? When was the last time you had a flood or fire within 10 miles of you.

 

[Bolti]

How likely is that going to be? When was the last time you had a flood or fire within 10 miles of you.

Isn't that what we insure for. The unexpected.

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[OldAgeTravellers]

How many of you have claim off your insurance?
Is it worth it, as not mandatory as a vehicle?

I understand the question and it is one I have often asked myself. If your house is worth say £250k and costs £200 a year to insure on average it would cost £10,000 over 50 years so not a massive gamble to avoid a £250k loss. And in the UK it would have gained much more than that in 50 years.

 

[Jays2]

But it’s not a whole loss is it!
You sit have the plot with servicies.

 

[deleted79651]

But it’s not a whole loss is it!
You sit have the plot with servicies.

But you also need to allow for clearance of the site, stabilisation, architects and planning fees. The recommended amount was around 12.5% of the rebuilding costs [rather than market value] around 10 years ago and the percentage could sit between 15% to 20% if it is a Listed Property. You can get an idea by looking at the recommended insurance amount on the original survey and then following the annual inflationary increases suggested by the insurers.

Steve

 

[IanRJ]

But it’s not a whole loss is it!
You sit have the plot with servicies.

So, if I have my house (£250k say) and its been fire/flood into it damaged, it'll cost £80k to repair. Where would I get the money to actually bring it back up to standard? 65 years old, retired, wouldn't get / couldn't pay a mortgage or loan. I'd be left with an unliveable property.

As for risk, the chances of a fire/flood etc may be small perhaps 1:500,000 chance (though I've had two upstairs leaks that ruined the downstairs ceiling over the last 10 years, didn't claim just fixed it), - but hey, people buy a lottery ticket with odds of 1:14,000,000 just for a small prize and 1:88,000,000 for a jackpot, and guess what - every week some one wins!

 

[Minxy]

Getting back on track ... go on some of the comparison sites and have a shuftie as some will come up with 90 day options. We had 90 days with Sun Life, previously Axa, now with Halifax but only for 60 days as we didn't need 90 day anymore.

One comparison site we used recently for MH insurance was Asda Money and they found us a provider (Lifesure) who was £90 cheaper than others for the same cover so use that one as well.

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[Jays2]

Just saying that house insurance is not mandatory.
If you leave your house empty outside of the terms of the contract, then the insurance is invalid.
Therefore why insure.
It’s all about acceptable risk, you as an individual are willing to take.

 

[deleted79651]

Just saying that house insurance is not mandatory.
If you leave your house empty outside of the terms of the contract, then the insurance is invalid.
Therefore why insure.
It’s all about acceptable risk, you as an individual are willing to take.

If the property is subject to a mortgage, loan, equity release or similar encumbrance, insurance cover will be a condition of the borrowing.

Steve

 

[Lynne Roy]

Camping and caravan club 120 days

 

[Minxy]

Just saying that house insurance is not mandatory.
If you leave your house empty outside of the terms of the contract, then the insurance is invalid.
Therefore why insure.
It’s all about acceptable risk, you as an individual are willing to take.

The cost to insure is vastly cheaper compared to the cost to replace/repair if it is badly damaged, insurance also covers other things too, not to 'rebuild' costs.

If the property is subject to a mortgage, loan, equity release or similar encumbrance, insurance cover will be a condition of the borrowing.

OooooooooOOOOOOoOoOOOOOoooo ... that' means we can choose to NOT insure ours now seeing as we fully own it having paid the mortgage off on 1st May!

Let me think ... should I or shouldn't I .... err ... I'll insure it I think ... not worked hard all these years to pay for it and lose it if there's a major problem.

 

[Jays2]

It’s all individual, anybody can do what they want.
Just pointing out that only vehicle insurance is mandatory.

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