Unoccupied House Insurance

We have been away for 6 months and 7 month periods. We turn the water off and the heating on at around 45 degrees. We arranged for friends to visit the house every week to check things over and to collect the post. At no point did Aviva mention anything about occupancy of the house, only stipulating the above.
 
izwozral said:
We have been away for 6 months and 7 month periods. We turn the water off and the heating on at around 45 degrees. We arranged for friends to visit the house every week to check things over and to collect the post. At no point did Aviva mention anything about occupancy of the house, only stipulating the above.
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The reply from Aviva UKDI is dated 17th October 2023 as follows:

For a property to be considered 'lived in' you must be carrying out of normal, everyday activities there - these would include regular cooking, eating, bathing, cleaning, and sleeping at the property. Staying in the property for one night within the 60-day period does not constitute 'lived in' and does not therefore negate the policy exclusions.

Steve
 
marchie said:
The reply from Aviva UKDI is dated 17th October 2023 as follows:

For a property to be considered 'lived in' you must be carrying out of normal, everyday activities there - these would include regular cooking, eating, bathing, cleaning, and sleeping at the property. Staying in the property for one night within the 60-day period does not constitute 'lived in' and does not therefore negate the policy exclusions.

Steve
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Thats me fooked, cooking bathing cleaning, all swear words esp the bathing bit. :eek:
 
Them people at Dover would love it short to long term . You are in Dover ? Just rent it out, are you near a uni BBC radio 2 had students all complaing at the cost.

IT said 7 bedroom house at £800 A MONTH EACH ROOM.
 
marchie said:
The reply from Aviva UKDI is dated 17th October 2023 as follows:

For a property to be considered 'lived in' you must be carrying out of normal, everyday activities there - these would include regular cooking, eating, bathing, cleaning, and sleeping at the property. Staying in the property for one night within the 60-day period does not constitute 'lived in' and does not therefore negate the policy exclusions.

Steve
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Just goes to show the lack of consistency within institutions. In this case, it suits insurance companies - the masters of obfuscation and double standards.
 
Insurance companies do from time to time change their policy wordings, although new wordings can only take effect when the policy renews , as far as I know , that's contract law.
Best thing is to ask them for the wording currently in force under your policy and check it.
The other thing is that large insurers are often the providers of cover under different schemes. The scheme wording may very well have been written by different brokers or underwriting agents. So not impossible for a single company to handle claims differently depending on the actual product bought.
 
jacquigem said:
Insurance companies do from time to time change their policy wordings, although new wordings can only take effect when the policy renews , as far as I know , that's contract law.
Best thing is to ask them for the wording currently in force under your policy and check it.
The other thing is that large insurers are often the providers of cover under different schemes. The scheme wording may very well have been written by different brokers or underwriting agents. So not impossible for a single company to handle claims differently depending on the actual product bought.
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That's why I referred to 'badged policies' provided by CAMH, John Lewis, M&S, HSBC etc. Aviva appear to have the majority of the 'badged market', and they have replied to me with the latest version of their Cover Restrictions as I posted in Post #22 above. My policy renewal was 3rd February 2023; I don't recall being advised of the restriction on Cover, but I didn't read the policy booklet from Cover to Cover either. A request to extend the Unoccupancy to 90 days would be a variation to the Policy Terms, and therefore an amendment to the underlying contract.

Either way, Aviva will not play ball, and, unless you want to go through the tortuous and lengthy process of involving the Financial Services Ombudsman, with no guarantee that the ruling will be in your favour, the only option is to find an alternative Insurer. I need Legal Expenses Cover anyway and Aviva specifically rule out adding this cover mid-term

Steve
 
marchie said:
That's why I referred to 'badged policies' provided by CAMH, John Lewis, M&S, HSBC etc. Aviva appear to have the majority of the 'badged market', and they have replied to me with the latest version of their Cover Restrictions as I posted in Post #22 above. My policy renewal was 3rd February 2023; I don't recall being advised of the restriction on Cover, but I didn't read the policy booklet from Cover to Cover either. A request to extend the Unoccupancy to 90 days would be a variation to the Policy Terms, and therefore an amendment to the underlying contract.

Either way, Aviva will not play ball, and, unless you want to go through the tortuous and lengthy process of involving the Financial Services Ombudsman, with no guarantee that the ruling will be in your favour, the only option is to find an alternative Insurer. I need Legal Expenses Cover anyway and Aviva specifically rule out adding this cover mid-term

Steve
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Agree , if you have read your wording and your not covered then your only option is to find a wording that suits. The point I was trying to make is that it is not impossible for the new wording to be backed by the same insurer as the old wording.
I would think not too difficult to buy stand alone legal expenses cover if needed.
 
jacquigem said:
Agree , if you have read your wording and your not covered then your only option is to find a wording that suits. The point I was trying to make is that it is not impossible for the new wording to be backed by the same insurer as the old wording.
I would think not too difficult to buy stand alone legal expenses cover if needed.
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Aviva have just withdrawn from the over 60 days cover provision, and AIB confirmed this morning that it is now the norm. They are looking to get a quote [might take them a further couple of days and won't be cheap ...] but they forewarn that it is unlikely to be an 'off the shelf' policy/solution

Steve
 
AIB came back with a couple of supplementary questions from the Underwriters: When was the property last valued by a Surveyor to verify the buildings insurance replacement cost I had quoted; and when was the Consumer Unit and wiring last checked. Quite chuffed that my own calculations for the buildings insurance worked out at a tad over £3000 per sq metre, and an April 2023 Valuer's Report for the Upstairs Flat recommended £2950 per sq metre!

It is likely to be Tuesday before we get the quote, the Underwriters' stipulations for insurance cover, and the inevitable restrictions

Steve
 
We were away for 5 months last winter, our home insurance is with LV and they were happy to extend the 'unoccupied' period for a reasonable cost, with a few limitations on the cover. They even gave a part refund when we returned a bit earlier than the extension.
 
AndyC said:
We were away for 5 months last winter, our home insurance is with LV and they were happy to extend the 'unoccupied' period for a reasonable cost, with a few limitations on the cover. They even gave a part refund when we returned a bit earlier than the extension.
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Just looked on LV website; 'We can't insure your property if it is Grade 1 or Grade 2 Listed, or Scottish/N.Irish equivalent', so that's another option rules out!

Steve
 
Still researching this, policy due 28 November.

One Insurance Solution, a trading name of Brightside Insurance Services Ltd, offered a policy with 90 days unoccupied but this was very expensive. They then offered a policy for an unoccuped propery £386.53 for 12 months with a cancellation fee of £35 with the balance refunded. So this would cost £131.63 for 90 days.

The offer from CETA Insurance Ltd (found through Money Supermarket) is looking like the best option so far. £281.68 for 12 months with up to 180 days unoccupied. Buildings cover £750,000, contents £75,000, excess £250. Just waiting for confirmation of any conditions or reduced cover while unoccupied.

For comparison the best prices (through Compare the Market) I could find for -
31 days unoccupied £168.17
60 days unoccupied £253.89
 
Try NFU. They underwrite their own policies so make up their own rules. I accepted their quote this year, LV quoted just about the same.
 
marchie said:
Aviva have just withdrawn from the over 60 days cover provision, and AIB confirmed this morning that it is now the norm. They are looking to get a quote [might take them a further couple of days and won't be cheap ...] but they forewarn that it is unlikely to be an 'off the shelf' policy/solution

Steve
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How about getting a policy that renews halfway through your trip away? then you have 60 days of continuous days away. Policy ends and the new policy (either a renewal or a different company) resets the clock and you have another 60 days away?

gives you 4 months :)
 
wildebus said:
How about getting a policy that renews halfway through your trip away? then you have 60 days of continuous days away. Policy ends and the new policy (either a renewal or a different company) resets the clock and you have another 60 days away?

gives you 4 months :)
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A very dubious practice. I wouldn't advise it.
 
wildebus said:
How about getting a policy that renews halfway through your trip away? then you have 60 days of continuous days away. Policy ends and the new policy (either a renewal or a different company) resets the clock and you have another 60 days away?

gives you 4 months :)
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Not any more, Daavid. Aviva have closed that 'loophole', and it is now 60 days unoccupancy maximum, plus the more onerous 'someone must undertake [sic] Activities of Daily Living, rather than just pop in for a quick weekly visual check and scoop up the junk mail. One of the criteria is to undertake cooking, which is a bit of a bugger in a 33 degree August heatwave to ask your neighbour to cook boiled beef and carrots instead of giving an Iceburg Lettuce a quick rinse under the tap :ROFLMAO:

Steve
 
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