Home Insurance whilst on a long voyage

[Elephant1151]

We are going Around South America in January 2020 - 78 nights.  Having recently renewed our home insurance our provider Admiral want an additional premium  as we are only covered up to 60 days absence. The additional premium is almost 50% of the  cost of the original insurance and we will have a home sitter (son) at least 2 nights per week.  We took a similar trip in 2018 but as our son was between homes - ours and his own -  we were covered when he stayed a few nights per week at our place.

 

Could anyone recommend an insurer who will cover long trips as we plan to do a world cruise next time?

 

 

 

[Alanxx]

My contents insurance is with Sun Life and allows 90 days away...…….As we live in an apartment I am afraid I do not have building insurance but it is probably worth asking them

[Bell Boy]

I use Stay Sure,  I've just renewed the policy and paid an additional  'one off £100 premium'  for my trip ( 2020 78 days)

Give them a call, they are very accommodating. They explained that the two options are 50 days or 100 days. When I need to renew next year it will be for the usual 40 days away from the property.  

[majortom10]

I have just renewed my annual multi policy and they state the following on their website for single trip policies-Cover for a single trip of up to 366 days if you're under 65 years of age, or 90 days if you're between 65 and 79 years old, or 31 days if you're aged 80 or over.

If you want to purchase an annual multi trip policy they can insure you for up to 90 days per trip.

[Mickb]

If you are over 50 - Saga only charged us an extra £20  for an extra 20 days over our 60 day allowance.

[babs135]

Are you saying that if you want to do a World cruise which could be in the region of 110+ days and you're a senior citizen you won't be able to get cover? As I would anticipate that the majority of people doing a long cruise would be more towards the older age scale surely this cannot be right 

[Elephant1151]

I am obliged  for your responses.  It is Home and Contents Insurance I was discussing.  

 

Thanks to this forum we have Annual Travel Insurance with the Forces Pension Service to cover our 78 night cruise.  For a World Cruise cover is also available for an additional premium.

 

I intend to contact the Financial Ombudsmenr Office for clarification as we shall have a part time house sitter so the house will not be unoccupied for more than a few days at a time.

[Bell Boy]

14 hours ago, Bell Boy said:

I use Stay Sure,  I've just renewed the policy and paid an additional  'one off £100 premium'  for my trip ( 2020 78 days)

Give them a call, they are very accommodating. They explained that the two options are 50 days or 100 days. When I need to renew next year it will be for the usual 40 days away from the property.  

Oops ! correction to my post above :

I use NFU Mutual for property .

[North West Newbie]

12 hours ago, Elephant1151 said:

I am obliged  for your responses.  It is Home and Contents Insurance I was discussing.  

 

Thanks to this forum we have Annual Travel Insurance with the Forces Pension Service to cover our 78 night cruise.  For a World Cruise cover is also available for an additional premium.

 

I intend to contact the Financial Ombudsmenr Office for clarification as we shall have a part time house sitter so the house will not be unoccupied for more than a few days at a time.

 

I would check your T&C’s to ascertain what your insurance company defines as “unoccupied”. I am aware of some policies that require staying in and sleeping overnight for at least 3 nights in a row every week for the property to be considered occupied.

[navybankerteacher]

I know in the US homeowners insurance is deemed ineffective if the residence is unoccupied for a prolonged length of time - which varies by state.    A small occurrence can cause massive damage if left untended for any significant length of time - the fact that OP could get ANY coverage at ANY reasonsble cost strikes me as unusual.

[Windsurfboy]

Your residence will not be unoccupied for more than 60 days if your son stays overnight as described.  Your ordinary insurance is valid. Someone misinformed you. Ring your insurance company again.

[North West Newbie]

46 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Your residence will not be unoccupied for more than 60 days if your son stays overnight as described.  Your ordinary insurance is valid. Someone misinformed you. Ring your insurance company again.

 

That all depends on whether the OP son's overnight stays are consecutive. If they are not, it would appear from an extract of Admiral's T&C's that the property would be considered to be unoccupied:-

 

Unoccupied   When your home has not been lived in, by you or any member of your family longer than the ‘Days unoccupied limit’ on your policy documents. By lived in, we mean staying in and sleeping overnight for at least 5 nights in a row every month or 2 nights in a row every week. If you exceed the number of days shown on your policy documents we consider your home to be unoccupied from the first day.

[navybankerteacher]

On 9/15/2019 at 4:05 PM, babs135 said:

Are you saying that if you want to do a World cruise which could be in the region of 110+ days and you're a senior citizen you won't be able to get cover? As I would anticipate that the majority of people doing a long cruise would be more towards the older age scale surely this cannot be right 

Are senior citizens in the UK entitled to different insurance rules than the general public?

[Elephant1151]

It is nothing to do with age.  It is the interpretation Admiral place on 'unoccupied'  and 'family member'.  I have spoken to the Financial Ombudsman and again to Admiral - a more senior member of staff - they are going back to the underwriters for clarification as we will in effect have a house sitter for 3 consecutive nights per week.

 

I have no objection to paying an extra premium if we were leaving the house unattended but we are not.  I will report back when I have further information as it is something that may affect anyone going on an extended holiday.

[babs135]

1 hour ago, navybankerteacher said:

Are senior citizens in the UK entitled to different insurance rules than the general public?

I was actually talking about travel insurance not house/building insurance.  But to answer your question, yes to some extent once you reach a certain age finding suitable insurance can be very difficult and expensive.  Like a lot of people we used to get our travel insurance throuygh our bank but they have a cut off point for accepting people of 75 or some banks will go up to the age of 80.  After this point you find you are loaded, even if your health, circumstances haven't changed.  Or as we found out they make it clear they don't really want to insure you;  DH had a mini stroke a few years ago which completely resolved but when it came time to renew our insurance the bank suddenly decided they wouldn't cover him for any of his other previously reported complaints, ie diabetes!  We had to go elsewhere and pay a hefty premium.

We joke that now we are retired and can afford to go on holiday any time we want to we can't, and why, because we can't afford the insurance!  I don't know how it works in America, but here in the UK the minute you say you want to travel to the States (and for some odd reason the Caribbean) the premium goes up, add on the fact that you are cruising and the price goes up again.

It's a minefield out there but with due diligence (and a lot of patience) there is insurance out there for everyone and I would urge everyone, even the young, not to even contemplate for a second travelling without insurance.  We had to cancel a holiday recently and our insurance company paid out within 4 weeks of putting in the claim.

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, babs135 said:

I was actually talking about travel insurance not house/building insurance.  But to answer your question, yes to some extent once you reach a certain age finding suitable insurance can be very difficult and expensive.  Like a lot of people we used to get our travel insurance throuygh our bank but they have a cut off point for accepting people of 75 or some banks will go up to the age of 80.  After this point you find you are loaded, even if your health, circumstances haven't changed.  Or as we found out they make it clear they don't really want to insure you;  DH had a mini stroke a few years ago which completely resolved but when it came time to renew our insurance the bank suddenly decided they wouldn't cover him for any of his other previously reported complaints, ie diabetes!  We had to go elsewhere and pay a hefty premium.

We joke that now we are retired and can afford to go on holiday any time we want to we can't, and why, because we can't afford the insurance!  I don't know how it works in America, but here in the UK the minute you say you want to travel to the States (and for some odd reason the Caribbean) the premium goes up, add on the fact that you are cruising and the price goes up again.

It's a minefield out there but with due diligence (and a lot of patience) there is insurance out there for everyone and I would urge everyone, even the young, not to even contemplate for a second travelling without insurance.  We had to cancel a holiday recently and our insurance company paid out within 4 weeks of putting in the claim.

Yes, travel insurance premiums spike up as you age, but at least you can still get it here. We had to cancel a February cruise at the last minute in 2018 due to severe bronchitis - total insurance recovery except for rail fare to cruise port - but we were given credit towards future train trip.

 

Of course it makes sense - the risk of claim is greater as we age, so you can’t blame the carriers to nick us .

Edited September 17, 2019 by navybankerteacher
Missed point

[Elephant1151]

We heard back earlier today.  Admiral accepts we are covered without paying an additional premium as the house will not be unoccupied as our son will be here 3 nights per week.  Their T&C's needed clarification as a family member was someone residing at the property (ie living there), as our son has his own home he does not live with us.  I believe having consulted with the Financial Ombudsman also assisted in their decision.