The unoccupancy clause, or how to be insured without really being insured

A household insurance policy is read in two parts. The general conditions, long, standardised, that nobody reads. And the particular conditions, short, specific to your policy, that almost nobody reads either.

It is in the second that you will find the clause which, one day, will decide your settlement.

I. What the clause says

Its wording varies, but its architecture is constant. It first defines a period of continuous unoccupancy beyond which the regime changes. Depending on the policy, that threshold commonly sits between thirty and ninety consecutive days, sometimes expressed as a number of days per year.

It then sets out what happens beyond that: reduction or suspension of certain cover — theft first of all — an increased excess, or cover made conditional on precautions.

Those precautions are fairly consistent from one insurer to another:

• Closing the main water supply.
• Draining the installations during frost, or maintaining frost-protection heating.
• Closing openings and activating protective devices.
• Periodic visits, sometimes at a specified frequency.
• Regular servicing of equipment, with the corresponding certificates.

The crucial point is this: these obligations fall on the insured, and in a dispute it is for them, in practice, to demonstrate compliance.

II. The five things to check in your policy

1. The unoccupancy threshold. Look for the number of days. It is almost always written somewhere. Check whether it is a continuous period or an annual total — the difference is decisive for a house used intermittently.

2. Which cover is affected. Not all of it in the same way. Theft is most often restricted, water damage frequently conditional, storm cover generally maintained. Have it clarified cover by cover.

3. The precautions required. Ask for the exact list in writing. Some are surprising: a few policies require all shutters to be closed, others an alarm linked to a monitoring centre above a certain contents value.

4. How visits are defined. Some policies require "regular" visits without saying more, others set a frequency. In either case, get your insurer to confirm in writing what they consider sufficient.

5. The contents sum insured. Villas around the Bay often hold furniture and sometimes artwork well above standard limits. An under-insured contents figure triggers proportional reduction, which cuts settlement on everything, not only on what exceeds the limit.

III. What actually happens after a claim

The loss adjuster appointed by the insurer looks for two things: the cause of the damage, and whether any failure by the insured contributed to making it worse.

On a second home they will always ask: how long had the house been unoccupied, was the water off, was the heating providing frost protection, when was the last visit, was the equipment involved serviced.

You will answer as you wish. What will count is what you can produce.

Three documents change the conversation entirely: dated visit reports, servicing certificates for the equipment — boiler, chimney, pool — and the property's maintenance record. That last point is developed in The maintenance record: a family house's invisible asset.

IV. What can be negotiated

Contrary to a common belief, the unoccupancy clause is not immovable.

Extending the threshold is often obtainable in exchange for enhanced measures: a monitored alarm, leak sensors with automatic shut-off, documented visits by a provider.

Recognition of a monitoring arrangement is increasingly common. Several insurers will relax conditions where the owner can evidence a supervision contract with periodic reports. It is an argument to make explicitly, with the supporting documents.

The excess can be increased in exchange for broader cover, which is often rational on a valuable property: you insure against serious loss, not against inconvenience.

New-for-old settlement on buildings and contents is worth asking for. The premium difference is modest; the settlement difference is not.

V. The annual habit

Once a year, reread the particular conditions. It takes twenty minutes.

Check that the contents sum still matches reality, that works carried out have been declared — an extension, a pool, a converted outbuilding all change the risk — that the declared occupancy is accurate, and that your emergency contact details are current.

A policy describing a house that no longer exists is a fragile policy. And that fragility never reveals itself at a convenient moment.