Insuring an Empty Home Once Someone Moves Into Care

Once someone moves into a care home, their house doesn't stop needing looking after, and most standard home insurance policies weren't built for a home that's suddenly empty.

Why standard insurance can be a problem

Most standard buildings and contents insurance policies include a clause limiting cover once a property is left unoccupied beyond a set number of consecutive days, commonly somewhere in the 30-to-60-day range, though this varies by insurer and policy. Left unchecked, this can mean cover for things like burst pipes, escape of water, theft, or vandalism is reduced or excluded at exactly the point it's needed. There's no single legal rule here, it's whatever your specific policy wording says, so it's genuinely worth checking rather than assuming.

What to actually do

Contact the existing insurer as soon as the move is confirmed, or even just looking likely, don't wait, and don't assume the policy will just carry on as normal.
Ask specifically: "Does my policy have an unoccupied property clause, and what triggers it?"
If the standard policy won't cover it, specialist unoccupied property insurance exists for exactly this situation, it typically costs more than standard cover, but far less than an uninsured loss.
Simple practical steps insurers often expect: someone checking the property regularly (sometimes every 14 to 30 days, recorded), the water stopcock turned off if the property will be empty over winter, and post not visibly piling up.

If the home is being sold

This links directly to the period between moving into care and a sale completing. If a family home is being sold as part of funding care, our guide on selling the family home covers that wider process, this unoccupied period often sits right in the middle of it.

Where this fits with care funding

Age UK's Factsheet 38, Property and paying for residential care, covers this directly as part of the wider financial picture, including that a local authority can require adequate insurance to be maintained on a property if it's being used as security for deferred payment of care costs. If care funding involves the property at all, this is worth reading alongside our own guide to who pays for care.

A word from The Care Compass

This is one of those practical things nobody warns you about until it's urgent. It's easy for it to fall through the cracks entirely when there's so much else happening, but a quick call to the existing insurer, made early, is genuinely one of the simplest things on this list to get right.

This article is for general guidance only and does not constitute financial or insurance advice. Always confirm the specifics of your own policy directly with your insurer.

Common Questions

Does my home insurance still cover an empty property?

Not necessarily. Most standard buildings and contents policies restrict cover once a property has been left unoccupied for a set number of consecutive days, commonly 30, sometimes up to 60, depending on the insurer. Cover for things like escape of water, theft, or malicious damage is often reduced or excluded once that limit is passed.

What should I do first?

Contact the existing insurer as soon as the move is confirmed, or looking likely, and ask directly: does my policy have an unoccupied property clause, and what triggers it? Don't wait, and don't assume cover just continues as normal.

What if standard cover won't work?

Specialist unoccupied property insurance exists for exactly this situation. It typically costs more than a standard policy, but far less than an uninsured loss would.

What do insurers usually expect from an unoccupied property?

Common conditions include someone checking the property regularly, the water stopcock turned off if it will be empty over winter, and post not visibly piling up. Requirements vary by insurer and policy, so it's worth checking the specifics.

You don’t have to navigate it alone.