When someone dies and their home is left empty, the insurance on it usually stops fitting within weeks. Most home and landlord policies cut back or end cover once a property has been unoccupied for a set period, often 30 to 60 days. Probate, valuations and a sale can take far longer than that. Unoccupied property insurance for probate is cover arranged by the executors, or the family acting for the estate, that keeps the building insured, and the estate protected against liability claims, while the property sits empty between the death and its sale, transfer or letting.
This guide is for executors, administrators and family members who have been left responsible for an empty house or flat. It covers what to do with the existing policy in the first few days, how unoccupied cover differs from a normal home policy, the conditions you'll be asked to keep, who pays, and when to switch or stop the cover. It is not a general guide to void periods between tenancies; landlords with an empty rental should start with our void and unoccupied property page.
Already holding the deceased's policy documents or a renewal notice? Send them to us and we'll check what still applies and review the position against the insurers on our panel. Start with a quote review.
The short version for busy executors
Tell the existing insurer about the death straight away. Ask in writing whether cover continues, for how long, and on what conditions. Don't assume it does.
Note the date the property became empty. The unoccupancy clock in most policies starts then, not when probate is granted.
Expect the cover to narrow. Once a policy treats a home as unoccupied, escape of water, theft, malicious damage and accidental damage are often excluded or heavily restricted, leaving cover for a short list of events such as fire, lightning, explosion and aircraft.
Keep to the conditions. Regular inspections, water and heating managed for the season, and the property secured. Keep a written log.
Pay from the estate where you can. Personal representatives have a statutory power to insure estate property and pay the premiums out of estate funds.
Keep cover in place until completion of any sale, even after exchange, unless your conveyancer advises otherwise.
Who is responsible for insuring an inherited property?
The people who deal with an estate are its personal representatives. If there's a will, they're the executors named in it. If there isn't, they're administrators, usually the closest relatives, who apply for letters of administration. Government guidance sets out who can apply for probate.
Their basic duty, under section 25 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925, is to "collect and get in the real and personal estate of the deceased and administer it according to law". In plain terms, they have to look after what the person left until it reaches the people entitled to it. A house that burns down uninsured, or a burst pipe that ruins a property worth most of the estate, is the kind of loss beneficiaries ask questions about.
Insurance is specifically covered by statute. Section 19 of the Trustee Act 1925 (as substituted by the Trustee Act 2000) gives trustees the power to insure trust property "against risks of loss or damage due to any event" and to pay the premiums out of the trust funds. Section 35 of the Trustee Act 2000 applies the Act to personal representatives administering an estate, and Schedule 1 applies the statutory duty of care when the power to insure is used. That doesn't make an executor answerable for every loss to the property. It does mean the decision about insurance should be made with reasonable care, not left to chance.
Two situations sit outside the estate:
Jointly owned property held as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving owner, as the government's probate guidance explains. The survivor insures it in their own name; the executors don't.
Property held in a trust is dealt with by the trustees under the trust's terms.
If you're not sure how the property was owned, ask the solicitor or conveyancer dealing with the estate before you arrange cover.
The first two weeks: what to do with the existing policy
Most people's homes are insured on a standard home policy in the owner's name. When the owner dies, that policy doesn't simply carry on unchanged. Insurers handle it differently: some keep cover going for the estate until renewal on the same terms while the home is occupied by family, some apply their unoccupancy terms from the date of death, and some ask you to move to a specialist policy straight away. You need the answer in writing from this insurer.
Work through this list in the first fortnight:
Find the policy. Look for a schedule, renewal letter or bank direct debit. The insurer's name on a statement is enough to start.
Call or write to the insurer. Tell them the date of death, that you're the executor (or acting for the family), whether anyone is living in the property, and what's likely to happen next (sale, letting, a family member moving in).
Ask four questions. Does cover continue? From what date is the home treated as unoccupied? What cover remains once it is? What conditions apply, such as inspections or draining down?
Record the date the property became empty. If the person had been in hospital or a care home before they died, the property may already have been empty for weeks. Many policies count from when the home was last lived in, not from the date of death.
Secure the property. Change or account for keys, set the alarm if there is one, remove obvious valuables and important papers, and stop deliveries that build up on the doormat.
Deal with water and heating. In cold months, either keep the heating on at a low setting or turn the water off at the stopcock and drain the system. Check which your insurer requires.
Keep the bank and the insurer separate in your head. Some banks freeze accounts on death, so a direct debit for the premium may fail. Ask the insurer what happens if a payment is missed.
If the insurer says cover stops, or offers terms you can't meet, that's the point to arrange unoccupied property cover in the name of the estate.
How unoccupied cover differs from a normal home policy
Insurers treat an empty home as a different risk because problems go unnoticed. A slow leak that an occupant would spot in an hour can run for weeks. An empty house also attracts thieves, vandals and, occasionally, squatters. Unoccupied policies are written for that risk, and the cover is usually narrower than people expect.
Area | Typical standard home policy (occupied) | Typical unoccupied property cover |
|---|---|---|
Events covered | Broad list: fire, storm, flood, escape of water, theft, subsidence, malicious damage, often accidental damage as an option | Often restricted to fire, lightning, explosion, earthquake and aircraft. Wider cover may be available at extra cost and with stricter conditions |
Escape of water | Usually covered, subject to an excess | Often excluded, or covered only if the water is drained down or the heating is maintained and the property inspected |
Theft and malicious damage | Usually covered | Often excluded, or covered only where there is forcible entry and the security conditions are met |
Contents | Full household contents | Limited or no cover for contents left in an empty house, especially valuables |
Liability | Usually included for the home | Property owner's liability often included or available, and worth keeping |
Conditions | General duty to maintain the home | Specific: inspection frequency, water and heating, securing doors and windows, removing waste, reporting changes |
Term | Annual | Often available for shorter terms, or annual with the option to cancel when the property is sold |
The wording matters more than the label. Two policies both called "unoccupied property insurance" can differ on whether escape of water is covered, how often you have to inspect, and whether a sale in progress changes anything. Read the definition of "unoccupied" and the list of conditions before you buy.
Conditions you'll usually be asked to keep
Unoccupied cover comes with conditions, and a claim can fail if they weren't met. The common ones are:
Inspections. Someone visits the property regularly, inside and out, at the interval the policy sets. Weekly is common; some policies accept fortnightly. Keep a dated log of each visit and what you checked: doors and windows secure, no leaks, no signs of entry, post removed. Photos on your phone help.
Water. In winter, either the water is turned off at the mains and the system drained, or the heating is kept on at a minimum temperature. Some policies require draining regardless of the season.
Utilities. Gas and electricity left on only where needed (for an alarm or heating), with everything else switched off at the appliance.
Security. All external doors locked with the locks the policy specifies, windows secured, and keys held only by people you know.
Waste and combustibles. Rubbish, piles of post and garden waste removed, because they're a fire and arson risk.
Repairs. Damage made good promptly. A broken window left for a month is an open invitation and may breach the policy.
Changes. Tell the insurer if anything changes: works starting, someone moving in, the property going on the market, or a sale agreed.
If you live a long way away, these conditions are the hardest part. Ask a trusted neighbour or family member to do the visits, or use a local property inspection service, and agree how they'll record each visit. The log is your evidence if you ever need to claim.
Contents, valuables and clearing the house
Insurers are cautious about contents in an empty home. Many unoccupied policies cover contents only on restricted terms, or not at all, and almost none will cover jewellery, cash or collections left behind.
A practical order of work:
Remove valuables and papers first. Jewellery, cash, watches, important documents, laptops and phones. Store them securely and note where.
Get the probate valuation done. For inheritance tax and probate purposes you need to value the estate, including household contents. The government's probate steps explain what's needed. Photos of each room help with both the valuation and any later claim.
Decide what stays. Furniture left in place can make a home easier to sell or let, but it's at risk if the contents cover is narrow.
Clear what's going. A house clearance reduces the fire load and the theft risk. Keep receipts in the estate records.
If items are moved into storage, check whether the storage provider's cover is adequate or whether you need separate goods-in-storage cover. Don't assume the house policy follows the contents out of the door.
Liability: why an empty house still needs it
People forget that an empty building can still injure someone. A loose roof tile, a collapsing garden wall, a rotten step to the front door or a tree on the boundary can cause injury or damage to neighbours, visitors, a surveyor, an estate agent or a buyer on a viewing.
The person in control of premises owes duties under the Occupiers' Liability Acts. The 1957 Act covers lawful visitors. The 1984 Act extends a duty, in limited circumstances, to people who aren't visitors, including trespassers, where the occupier knows or has reasonable grounds to believe there's a danger and that someone may come near it. Executors managing an empty house can be the occupier for these purposes.
Property owner's liability cover pays compensation and legal costs if someone makes a claim. It's often included with unoccupied buildings cover or available as an add-on. Keep it, and keep it at a sensible limit. For how liability cover works more generally, see our public liability insurance guide.
Squatters and unauthorised occupation
In England and Wales, section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 makes it a criminal offence to live in a residential building as a trespasser, having entered as a trespasser, where the person knows or ought to know they're a trespasser. That gives the police a route to act. It doesn't cover the damage squatters can cause, and it doesn't apply to someone who stayed on after a lease or licence ended.
From an insurance point of view:
Damage by squatters may fall under malicious damage, which unoccupied policies often restrict.
A policy may require you to take reasonable steps to prevent entry, such as securing doors and windows and responding quickly to any sign of entry.
Someone the deceased allowed to live there (a carer, a relative, a lodger) isn't a squatter. If anyone was living with the person who died, take legal advice before treating the house as empty, and tell the insurer the property is occupied.
Council tax and how long the house stays empty
Council tax isn't insurance, but it shapes how long executors keep a property empty, and therefore how long unoccupied cover is needed.
In England, the government's council tax guidance on empty properties says that if you're selling a property on behalf of someone who has died, you don't pay council tax until after you get probate, as long as the property stays empty. After the grant, you may get an exemption for up to another 6 months if the property is still unoccupied and still in the name of the person who died. That reflects Class F of the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992.
Councils can also charge an empty homes premium once a home has been empty and substantially unfurnished for at least a year. Government guidance says you may not have to pay the premium for up to 12 months if you recently received a grant of probate or letters of administration for the property. Ask the council how these rules apply to your case.
The practical point: the six months after the grant is often when executors decide whether to sell, let or transfer. Plan your insurance around that decision, not just around the policy renewal date. The council tax rules are different in Scotland.
Five common situations, and the cover each needs
1. A parent's home, empty, to be sold after probate
This is the most common case. The home was lived in by the person who died; nobody lives there now; the family intends to sell once probate is granted.
Cover: unoccupied buildings cover in the name of the estate (often "the executors of the late [name]"), with property owner's liability. Contents cover only for what's left, if anything valuable is. Keep it going until completion.
2. An inherited buy-to-let with a tenant in place
If the person who died was a landlord, a tenancy doesn't end because the landlord dies. The tenant stays, rent is paid to the estate, and the landlord's obligations pass to the personal representatives. Gas safety duties under regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 still apply, as do the other landlord compliance requirements.
This property isn't unoccupied, so unoccupied cover is the wrong product. What's needed is a landlord policy in the name of the estate. Tell the deceased's landlord insurer about the death, check that cover continues for the personal representatives, and make sure the policy reflects the let as it actually is. Our landlord insurance UK guide covers what that policy should include, and our landlord safety certificates checklist covers the compliance side. If the tenant leaves and the property is then empty, that becomes a normal landlord void and our void and unoccupied page applies.
3. A property that needs work before it can be sold
Some inherited homes need clearing, rewiring, a new kitchen or roof repairs before they'll sell for a fair price. Building work on an empty property is a bigger change of risk than emptiness alone: trades on site, heat and power tools, and the building sometimes open to the weather.
Tell the insurer before any work starts. Many unoccupied policies limit or exclude cover during renovation, or set conditions about contractors and hot works. Check your contractors carry their own public liability insurance. If the plan is to renovate and then let rather than sell, our landlord renovation insurance guide covers that route.
4. A beneficiary moves in, or the estate lets the property
If a beneficiary moves in, the property is no longer unoccupied, and an ordinary home policy is usually the right cover. Tell the insurer, and make sure the policyholder named on it has an insurable interest. Before the property is formally transferred, the estate is still the owner, so ask how the insurer wants the policy set up.
If the executors decide to let the property while the estate is administered, they become the landlord and need landlord cover from the start of the tenancy. Check the will, any mortgage and the legal position first; the landlord rules are the same as for any first-time landlord. See renting out your home for the insurance side.
5. The property is transferred to a beneficiary rather than sold
Once the property is transferred into a beneficiary's name, it's theirs to insure. Arrange the new policy to start on the day the transfer takes effect, so there's no gap and no double cover for longer than necessary. The executors' policy can then be cancelled, and any refund goes back to the estate.
Selling: exchange, completion and when the cover can stop
Executors often ask whether they can cancel the cover once contracts have been exchanged. The answer depends on the contract.
Many residential sales use the Standard Conditions of Sale (fifth edition). Condition 5.1.1 says the property is at the risk of the buyer from the date of the contract, and the seller is under no obligation to the buyer to insure the property unless the contract says otherwise or a lease requires it. So under those conditions the buyer should insure from exchange.
That doesn't make the seller's cover pointless. If the buyer fails to complete, the property is still the estate's. Section 47 of the Law of Property Act 1925 also deals with insurance money that becomes payable on the seller's policy after the contract date, subject to the contract terms and the insurer's consent. Most executors keep their own cover going until completion, then cancel. Ask your conveyancer, and check whether your contract uses different conditions. Leasehold flats, where the freeholder insures the building, are covered in our leasehold flat guide.
Who pays the premium?
The estate. Section 19 of the Trustee Act 1925 lets personal representatives pay insurance premiums out of the estate's funds. In practice:
Before the grant, estate bank accounts may be frozen. A family member or executor often pays the first premium and is reimbursed from the estate later. Keep the receipt and a note of why it was paid.
After the grant, pay from the estate account.
Record it. Premiums, inspection costs, locksmiths and clearance costs all belong in the estate accounts that beneficiaries can ask to see.
Make sure the policyholder is described correctly. Insurers commonly accept the policy in the names of the executors on behalf of the estate. If you're a family member arranging cover before an executor is confirmed, say so on the proposal and update the policy once the position is clear.
What insurers will ask
Have these ready before you ask for terms:
The property address, type, age, construction and number of bedrooms.
The date the property became empty and the reason (death of the owner, estate pending probate).
Who you are and your role: executor, administrator, or family member acting before the grant.
What's expected to happen and roughly when: sale, letting, transfer, works.
Whether any contents remain, and whether any are of high value.
How the property is secured and how often it will be inspected, and by whom.
Whether the water is drained down or the heating left on.
Any previous claims, flooding or subsidence, and any planned works.
The rebuild cost rather than the market value, if you know it. For how rebuild cost works, see our landlord buildings insurance guide.
Answer accurately. A proposal that says the property is occupied when it isn't, or that leaves out planned works, can give the insurer grounds to refuse a claim or cancel the policy.
Mistakes we see executors make
Mistake | Why it matters | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
Assuming the deceased's policy carries on | Cover may have narrowed or stopped without anyone noticing | Get the insurer's position in writing in the first week |
Counting the empty period from probate | Most policies count from when the property was last lived in | Use the date the person moved out or died, whichever is earlier |
Leaving the heating off and the water on in winter | Frozen pipes are a classic empty-house claim, and often excluded if conditions weren't met | Follow the policy's water and heating condition exactly |
Skipping inspections or not recording them | A claim can fail if you can't show the inspections happened | Keep a dated log with photos |
Starting works without telling the insurer | Building work changes the risk and may suspend cover | Tell the insurer before any contractor starts |
Cancelling at exchange | If the sale falls through, the estate is uninsured | Keep cover to completion unless your conveyancer advises otherwise |
Leaving valuables in the house | Contents cover for empty homes is narrow | Remove them and record where they are |
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Probate rules are different in Scotland and in Northern Ireland, as government guidance notes. In Scotland the equivalent of probate is called confirmation. The insurance questions are much the same: who is responsible for the property, how long it will be empty, and whether the policy's conditions can be met. Council tax and squatting rules differ, so check locally. If the property is a rental in Scotland, our landlord insurance Scotland guide explains the Scottish letting rules.
FAQs
Does home insurance stop when the owner dies?
Not automatically, but it rarely carries on unchanged. Some insurers continue cover for the estate for a period, some apply unoccupancy terms from when the home was last lived in, and some require a new policy. Tell the insurer as soon as you can and get their answer in writing.
How long can a house be empty before insurance is affected?
It depends on the policy. Many home policies restrict cover once the property has been unoccupied for a set period, often 30 to 60 days. The definition of "unoccupied" also varies; some policies count a home as unoccupied if nobody has slept there for a number of consecutive nights.
Can executors insure a property before probate is granted?
Yes. Insurers commonly offer cover in the names of the executors, or of family members acting for the estate, before the grant. Tell the insurer your role and update the policy once the grant is issued.
Is unoccupied property insurance a legal requirement?
There's no general legal requirement to insure an empty home. But personal representatives have a duty to look after the estate, a statutory power to insure it, and a duty of care when deciding how. A mortgage lender or the terms of a lease may also require cover.
Can the cost of insurance be claimed back from the estate?
Yes. Premiums are an estate expense, and section 19 of the Trustee Act 1925 lets personal representatives pay them from estate funds. If you paid personally before the estate account was available, keep the receipt and reclaim it.
What if the property was already let when the owner died?
The tenancy continues and the estate becomes the landlord. That needs landlord insurance in the name of the estate, not unoccupied cover. See our landlord insurance UK guide.
Do I need to tell the insurer when the house goes on the market?
Usually, yes. Check the policy wording, but most unoccupied policies require you to report material changes, and viewings mean more people in the building. Make sure liability cover is in place before viewings start.
When can we cancel the policy?
When the estate no longer has an interest in the property: on completion of a sale, or on the day the property is transferred to a beneficiary who has their own cover in place. Ask about any refund for the unused period, which goes back to the estate.
Get the estate's cover reviewed
Send us the deceased's current policy or renewal notice, the date the property became empty, and what the executors plan to do with it. We'll check what the existing policy still covers, what conditions you're being asked to keep, and whether those conditions are realistic for you. Then we'll review the position against the insurers on our panel and explain the options. Start your quote review.
Meshed is a trading name of Mesh'd Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 1033248). We charge a flat 10% broker fee. This guide is general information for England and Wales unless stated otherwise. It isn't legal advice, and policy wordings vary between insurers.
Vincent Liu
Co-founder & CTO
