House Insurance Comparison

An empty property can stick out like a sore thumb and you may be unpleasantly surprised at just how much attention it attracts from people of ill intent. Making sure that you have adequate insurance cover if your own or your buy to let property is empty may be important – when taking out insurance you of course have to look around for an empty property quote.

Empty property may equal potential invitation

There are a number of steps you are usually able take to make your property appear to be occupied when, in fact, it isn’t. The local police crime prevention units, plus some insurers, will be only too pleased to offer advice and guidance.

However, in spite of such measures, professional burglars use techniques that may see through your efforts. That may attract them to your property because typically burglars seek to avoid confrontation at all costs.

In a nutshell, that’s why an empty property is generally considered to be a higher risk by insurers than would be the case with an occupied property.

Unnoticed issues

It’s also the case that if your property is empty, a problem may arise that is initially trivial but which could turn into a major disaster if it goes unnoticed and un-remedied.

Water leaks are perhaps a prime example of such an occurrence.

Due to this insurance providers typically class property that is empty as being a much higher risk than one that is occupied.

Unoccupied property – definitions

Few if any properties are guaranteed to be occupied 24 x 7.

Exact definitions may differ between insurers but it may that if a property stands empty for a period of more than 30 days it may be defined as being unoccupied. It may be worth noting that this usually may apply to both buy-to-let insurance and owner-occupier policies.

If your property suffers a problem while it is classed as unoccupied, but vacant property insurance is not place, then any claims you make may be at risk of refusal. That’s why getting an empty property quote may be wise move.

Reasons

In general, insurance providers will regard your property as unoccupied if it meets the criteria outlined above and they typically won’t make exceptions. You may need an empty property quote if the property may be empty due to the following:

· gaps in lettings;

· if empty while you are decorating

· repairs, extensions or if making enhancements;

· if you are working away from home or on an extended holiday for more than 30 days;

· if the property you are insuring is a probate property.

If any of these situations leaves your property unoccupied for more than 30 days, the end result may be that your landlord insurance or your home buildings and contents insurance policy becomes invalid. This is a risk that may not be worth taking.

Empty property insurance providers

There are specialist providers of various forms of insurance for buy to let property.

A quick empty property quote may generally be obtained and that may provide you with the information you need to purchase a policy. Given the size of your capital investment in the property, it might be a smart move.

If you are a landlord, then you are running a business. And like any commercial enterprise, you will no doubt want to keep your outgoings as low as possible. So, if you are looking for buy to let insurance, then getting cheap landlord insurance may be on your mind.

So, does cheap landlord insurance exist?

Defining what is ‘cheap’ usually will depend on your expectations and whether the insurance for landlords policy you are looking for is either cheap in respect of:

• what benefits you wish to have in your insurance policy which you need to compare; Or,
• if it is simply a basic, low cost buy to let insurance policy that provides the minimum of cover (ie. it is a budget landlord insurance policy with no-frills).

The good news is that there are a number of affordable landlord building and contents insurance policies available which may help meet your let property insurance needs, whether you are looking for all-singing-all-dancing cover, or a just basic let property cover.

Finding the buy to let house insurance that is most suitable for you will depend on a number of factors which may or may not include the following:

• the type of insurance for buy to let property required – do you want no-frills, cheap landlord insurance? You need to choose whether you want buy to let building insurance or a building and contents insurance quote? etc;

• you may also be able to make savings on your insurance if you wish to cover more than one vehicle;

• you have to consider, will the property be unoccupied for more than 30 days at any one time (for example, is it undergoing refurbishment)? If so, you may need to consider an empty property insurance quote otherwise an existing landlord insurance policy may become invalid if the property stands empty for a period of time;
• what does the cover entail? buy to let insurance typically protects against many events, however they may differ between providers. For instance, there are a select number of buy to let insurance providers that cover malicious damage caused by tenants.

Finally, when looking for cheap landlord insurance, using the services of a specialist insurance for landlords broker may give you access to a range of competitively-priced BTL insurance policies, enabling you to select the cover that most suits your needs and your budget.