Home Home insurance for unoccupied house

Globalist

Registered User
Messages
19
Hello
Just wondering if anyone knows how to get home insurance on your property in Ireland when no one is living in it? FBD have said they have no product for this scenario, unless it is regarded as a holiday home. But they won’t regard it as such unless you have a principal home which you reside in, in Ireland, which is insured by them also.

The property I want to insure will be unoccupied until such time as I relocate to Ireland.
 
When I was in this position, I just used regular home insurance. The terms were that the house could not be unoccupied for more than 30 days.I arranged a friend to visit the house every so often.
 
We used Kidd Insurance. I think they have since changed the company name but you should still find them with Google.
 
When I was in this position, I just used regular home insurance. The terms were that the house could not be unoccupied for more than 30 days.I arranged a friend to visit the house every so often.
You won’t get regular home insurance in Globalist’s case.

He / she have said the house is unoccupied until such time as they relocate to Ireland.

The house being unoccupied and not living in Ireland are both very material facts which are rightly being declared.
 
The property I want to insure will be unoccupied until such time as I relocate to Ireland.

The rental market is tight pretty much everywhere in Ireland, red hot in urban areas.

At a below-market rent you will be able to get a tenant of your choosing.

This will ensure the house is occupied and you will also get insurance.

Granted, the tenant will build up rights over time. But once you are coming home to occupy the house yourself you are fully within your rights to terminate the tenancy with adequate notice.
 
Thanks. I don’t want to rent it out. I want to use it for my family when we visit Ireland and gradually decorate it to our standards with no pressures.

Several people offline have said I adopt cremegg’s stance and just get regular home insurance and have my mother or someone else who’s willing stay there at least once per month.

Would that be viable?
 
Last edited:
Would that be viable?

Yes, once you don’t ever have to make a claim.

If you do ever have to make a substantial claim the insurers will look a bit further at your proposal form, and will not pay out when it is discovered that you withheld two material facts, you live abroad and the house is unoccupied.
 
There must be a product on the market.

There are plenty of English and French people with holiday homes in west Cork, and no other address in Ireland.
 
You could declare it as a holiday home but you would need to be making regular visits to the house. If it is unoccupied for more than 30 days at a time then most insurance companies won't quote.
 
I know it's an old thread but just to note ... most insurance policies have an additional condition that it cannot be occupied for a total number of days in the policy year so just having somebody stay over every 30th day may not be sufficient. Always check the terms and conditions and divulge all material facts when insuring.
 
Back
Top