Your Responsibilities
- You must take all reasonable steps to prevent loss, damage or an accident and keep the vacant building(s) in a good state of repair.
- You must tell us or your broker before you start any conversions, extensions or other structural work to the buildings that;
- Change the use of the buildings in any way;
- Involves the external surfaces of the buildings being affected/changed.
- You must ensure that a responsible person is appointed to supervise and check a vacant property internally and externally at least once a week and any mail, newspapers or flyers are removed from the home.
- You must ensure the house and gardens of a vacant home are maintained in good condition.
- Ensure all and any electrical appliances are unplugged/disconnected from the supply other than those needed to maintain central heating or alarm systems.
- Ensure that all security protections for your unoccupied house e.g. alarm systems are maintained in good working order and are in full operation at all times.
These are only a brief selection of your responsibilities – please refer to your unoccupied house insurance policy wording for the full listing.
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Top Tip #1
Check with your unoccupied house insurance company to clarify any special conditions that may apply to your policy if your property becomes occupied. Failure to comply with conditions attaching to your policy may result in an unoccupied house insurance claim being declined.
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Top Tip #2
Ensure all areas of an unoccupied house are maintained. A poorly maintained garden or exterior can indicate to thieves and vandals that the house may be unoccupied.
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Top Tip #3
Unoccupied homes with security systems in place such as alarm systems, CCTV cameras, dead bolts or motion detector systems are three times less likely to be burgled.
