Whether it is your own home or one that you let to tenants, there are times when your property may need to be left empty and unoccupied. You might be taking an extended holiday, for example, working away from home for a while, have a longer than usual void between one lot of tenants moving out and new ones moving in, or have vacated the property for it to be renovated or extended.

In any of these or other circumstances, your regular home insurance or landlord insurance is almost certain to become severely limited in the level of protection it offers. Or, it may lapse entirely, since insurers are wary of the heightened risks when a property has been unoccupied for longer than 30-45 consecutive days (the exact period varying from one insurer to another).

To restore the protection your property continues to need, therefore, specialist standalone unoccupied property insurance is required.

How can you save money on its purchase?

Specialist providers

• unoccupied property insurance is a niche product but one likely to be offered by a wide range of providers;

• nevertheless, your own property is unique, and any insurance cover needs to be tailored to suit your particular needs and circumstances – you want to be certain that your unoccupied property insurance offers good value for money;

• a specialist broker, with expertise and experience in arranging this niche product may be best placed, therefore, to match your individual requirements to the appropriate products available – at a competitive market rate;

Unoccupied property cover for as long as you need it

• practically every other type of general insurance policy is written for a period of 12 months;

• although your property may be unoccupied for longer than a month or so, though, you may not intend to be away (or you do not expect tenants to be absent) for as long as a year;

• so that you may save money and tailor your unoccupied property insurance only to the period you actually need it, therefore, the cover may be purchased for a given interval – for just three or six months, for instance;

Flexibility

• further savings may be made thanks to the inherent flexibility of unoccupied property insurance;

• if you discover that the property is likely to be empty for longer than you originally anticipated, it is usually possible to extend the policy for as long as necessary – rather than facing the expense of arranging yet further cover;

Safeguarding your empty property

• even though you recognise the importance of unoccupied property insurance, there are still common-sense measures you may take to security while you are away – any insurer is entitled to expect you to take such measures and may even offer discounts on the premiums you pay;

• the reasons are obvious – properties with no security measures installed are five times more likely to be broken into than those with even quite simple deterrents, says Police UK;

• to save money on your unoccupied property insurance, therefore, you might want to consider upgrading the locks on doors and windows, fitting movement-detecting security lighting, or even installing a burglar alarm.

If your property is going to stand empty for any longer than a month or so, you need to consider unoccupied property insurance. Thankfully, there are a number of ways you may save money on arranging that specialist cover.