nyelb

Trying to find out why the home insurance on house in UK is trying to change to "holiday home" because we have been out of UK and can't get back because of Covid restrictions. Anybody have similar problems or advice?

christmasoompa

Hi, welcome to BE.

How long have you been out of the UK? Most home insurance won’t let you leave the property for more than a certain amount of time, so if you’ve been away longer than that (check your policy) then it’s invalid and any claim would be refused. So it’s a good thing that your insurance company is asking you to switch to a different policy, which will then cover the property.

Whereabouts are you and why can’t you return? Be mindful of other things too i.e. becoming tax resident in the country you’re currently in, and any travel insurance also becoming invalid if your trip exceeds the maximum, etc.

durham_lad

We once left the house for almost 3 months during a trip to the USA and before leaving we paid a premium to up the policy from no longer to 30 days to 90 days. As soon as we were back we switched back to the smaller premiums.

Helen1964

I did something similar with a rental property I bought. I knew it was going to be unoccupied for a while so for those months I paid a higher premium. Then switched to lower premiums once tenants moved in.

spouse of scouse

We bought a home on a June visit to the UK, but wouldn't be returning to live there until November. We paid a slightly higher 'unoccupied property' premium until November, when our insurer switched us to a regular policy.

OP - I'd be a bit wary of a 'holiday home' policy, as I'd imagine that would attract a higher premium due to multiple/different people using the property, than would be the case for a home that was simply unoccupied. I think your insurer should be talking to you about an unoccupied policy, not a holiday home one.