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Although vacant properties attract undue attention from thieves and vandalism the vacant property insurance policy is much lower than a normal home insurance policy. This is because most insurance companies find vacant property rife with possibilities of theft, fire, floods etc. Similarly a storm could burst the pipes causing water to flood in the vacant house.

With vacant property insurance your vacant property is insured against such contingencies. However before you sign the policy papers you should check that vandalism is mentioned in it. If at all it is not, then including it could raise the cost of the insurance premium.

Although the competition among insurance companies is huge, there are very few that offer vacant property insurance policies. This is one reason why premiums for the policy are high; however there are a few tips that will help reduce the cost.

 You should check with atleast 3 other insurance companies and get quotes regarding the premium you will need to pay. This is essential since every insurance company is not the same, getting the best by shopping around will help you choose the one with lesser premium.

• You can also negotiate with insurance companies to lower the premium. Most of them will oblige, and this should be of good help to you.
• Check all the safety measures that you have implemented in your vacant house. Some of them include installing an alarm system, deadbolt locks etc. Smoke alarm systems are also great if you want an alarm to go off incase there is a spark of fire in the house.
• You could also ask someone like your friend or neighbor to regularly check your vacant property for you. You could also let them pick up your letters from the letter box. This should give your home a live-in feeling.
• Try not keeping the interiors of the house empty. If it is put in some furniture so that it looks like people are living in it, you can also put in curtains. This need not be expensive furniture; you can get some inexpensive one from a charity shop etc.
• Arrange for someone who will maintain the outside of your vacant property if it is not in a building. You can get the snow shoveled off, or even the weeds removed.

 These steps will help you secure your house when it is not occupied. These will also offer you a better chance of getting insurance with a discounted premium.

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Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Things-You-Should-Know-About-Vacant-Property-Insurance-in-the-UK&id=2925480

Sometimes a property can become vacant or empty and generally its ordinary insurance in the UK does not cover that period. For such periods one must purchase a empty property insurance.

The reasons why the property gets vacant may vary. The property might be in a process of building and developing in order to sell it for profit, the owners might be moving to another house and selling the old one, occupants may be temporarily out of the house because of renovation or extension works or the property might be bought as a holiday or a vacation home. All these reasons determine periods of different length in which the property stays empty.

Generally UK insurance companies offer insurance policies for such vacant properties that are located in the UK. Offering policies for properties located abroad is much more difficult as these types of insurances are often connected with an initial inspection of the property’s conditions. Insurance for empty properties located outside of the UK is easier to get from the respective country office of an international insurance company or a local insurance company in the country where the property is located.

Empty properties often require special insurance arrangements. Usually these are properties that will be vacant for some time and then become inhabited again. For this amount of time is needed the special insurance for unoccupied properties. The main difference with ordinary property insurance is within the cover clauses. For the cover to be effective and valid in the case of a vacant property usually some actions are required from the owner.

These might be preliminary actions such as in case of a prolonged vacancy to insure that the property is well protected, locked and the gas, electricity or water is securely stopped, and subsequent actions such as arranging with someone, possibly a neighbor, to keep an eye on the property on a regular basis (every one or two weeks).

The most common case of a vacant property is a rental house that is changing its tenants. The landlord should then arrange a vacant property insurance for that period to be sure any risk that might occur is covered. The usual period for such insurances is between 30 and 60 days and they could be prolonged if the period of vacancy extends.

One should ask for any taxes or fees for such continuation of the policy or if it could be transferred to a policy of an occupied house when the property gets habited. Some companies offer automatic continuations while others don’t.

Their fees for that if any, also may vary.
The owners should also pay attention to what risks are covered for the vacant properties and not chose the policy solely based on price. It is a common practice the insurances for properties that are currently under development or being built not to cover the content of the properties as in the most cases such buildings do not have anything inside them. The owner should arrange a special agreement if there is something inside the property that he or she wants to be covered. .

Great deals on unoccupied property insurance quotes from Active Insurance Agents. Providing cover for both residential and commercial empty buildings.

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Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Unoccupied-Property-Should-Be-Insured-Too&id=2925312

Unoccupied property insurance in the UK is definitely very different from the standard home or building insurance policy. It is a non-standard type of insurance as the UK companies that make such insurances take into an account various circumstances. Often people might get surprised when they find that their ordinary home insurance policy does not cover the situation when the property has no occupant.

One of the first questions that arise in the process of getting an insurance policy for such type of property is for how long the property is supposed to be unoccupied. This depends mostly on the reason why the property is considered unoccupied.

Such reasons might be: the building might be empty because it is in a probate, the owner renovates it in order to sell it, there might be some construction works that expand the house, the house is prepared for tenants or the property is bought as a vacation or holiday home.

The majority of these reasons require a cover for a short period (no more than 30 days) and this is the most wanted type of unoccupied home insurance in UK. After that period the insurance usually could be transformed into a normal building insurance if the house gets occupied.

The cover for unoccupied properties in the UK also differs from company to company and depends on the conditions of the property, its intended purpose and period of vacancy. For a shorter period some of the policies require the house to be heated, for longer periods the policies might impose various actions to be done by the owner of the property for the cover to be active. Such actions might include finding a way to observe the property every one or two weeks (like asking a neighbour to take a look at the house), stopping electricity in the house, making regular drainages of the water, etc.

Insuring the unoccupied property is vital if the landlord or the owner wants to be sure any accidents that might happen during the period of vacancy will be covered. The usual insurance might not cover the period in which the house is unoccupied or the covered risks might be drastically lower in amount than the owner expects. These types of insurances are often tailored to the specified building and involve on site inspection .

If the property is in a stage of building or developing the policy usually does not has the content covered as such properties does not have any content inside. There are also two types of cover – the basic and the extended cover and the later might include risks like accidental or malicious damage.

If the property is being renovated for one to qualify for the extended cover, the extension or renovation works usually have to be done by a qualified contractor and not by the owner alone.

All these are things one has to have in mind when obtaining unoccupied property in the UK or the occupied property suddenly becomes vacant due to any reason. The most important is that the policy for an occupied property most probably won’t cover the period when the building is empty. For such times a separate insurance for an unoccupied property should be purchased. And when the vacant period ends what is important is if there are any taxes or fees to convert the policy to one of occupied property insurance.

Active Insurance are the leaders in providing low cost unoccupied property insurance solutions. Short term and annual policies available.

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Most unoccupied property insurance cover is only available if your vacant property has adequate security in place.  Securing an unoccupied house is crucial. There are measures that you can implement to limit or avoid your property being vandalised or from squatters taking over. By investing in good standard locks for all external doors and accessible windows is paramount in securing your buildings.

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If you own a property that is currently empty and no one has lived at the premises for thirty or more days then you will most likely require an unoccupied property insurance as most home insurance providers do provide cover for premises that have been vacant for 30 or more days. Always check with your current house insurance company to see if they still will provide cover as some insurers offer full cover for up to 90 days on unoccupied properties.

http://activeinsurancecompany.co.uk/empty-houses-need-unoccupied-property-insurance/

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