House Insurance for long holidays

[anotherDavid]

Like many on this forum we take long holidays that exceed the standard 60 days offered by most house insurance policies.
Our policy with a major company covers us (for more than 60 days) with certain conditions attached and extra excess.
We have just gone through the annual performance of receiving inflated premiums and negotiating it down but that is not made easier due to the difficulty in finding any alternative companies willing to cover us
.
On a comparison website putting in a period over 60 days (in the unoccupancy field) reduced the scores of companies there down to 3 and on closer examination of the policies selected, these didn't seem to cover it either or had such exclusions as to make them pointless. I have rung one or two others to check on their terms and conditions only to get point blank refusals (to cover) or offers to speak to their underwriters and get back (none have done in time).
This is a particularly boring subject but very important for peace of mind.
What are the other travellers here doing about it?
David

 

[emmerson]

David, we had this problem, but are fortunate to have my son living only a mile away. With the agreememnt of the insurance company, son and daughter in law spend a weekend every month in our house.They also call daily to feed the cat and collect the post.This latter is satisfactory evidence that the place is not deserted. This appears to satisfy the occupancy rule.

 

[anotherDavid]

My company has specified
A responsible person to inspect the property one a week, which is being done anyway to deal with the post.
Water and gas off
Heating on at certain times of the year
Windows doors locked and alarm on (we do that anyway)
Extra £100 excess

 

[RayS]

Know the problem well. Have a look at the Caravan Club home insurance policy. The cover offered may depend on your post code but for rural livers like us it's a good deal - 90 days standard and more available for the asking, so far without additional premium. They need specified locks, regular inspection by a friend or neighbour and it probably helps to have a monitored alarm system.
Previously with Saga but only 60 days standard and extra at a considerable premium.
You need to be a CC member to get their home cover and may not be able to get a quote without giving a membership number.
I believe C&CC also offer quite a good deal but unfortunately they declined to quote based on subsidence damage - not to the main house but to a single brick wall garage some 25m from the main house - actually not subsidence at all but tree root damage from neighbours garden - but in their book it was subsidence so that was that.

 

[anotherDavid]

Know the problem well. Have a look at the Caravan Club home insurance policy. The cover offered may depend on your post code but for rural livers like us it's a good deal - 90 days standard and more available for the asking, so far without additional premium. They need specified locks, regular inspection by a friend or neighbour and it probably helps to have a monitored alarm system.
Previously with Saga but only 60 days standard and extra at a considerable premium.
You need to be a CC member to get their home cover and may not be able to get a quote without giving a membership number.
I believe C&CC also offer quite a good deal but unfortunately they declined to quote based on subsidence damage - not to the main house but to a single brick wall garage some 25m from the main house - actually not subsidence at all but tree root damage from neighbours garden - but in their book it was subsidence so that was that.

Thanks for that it is also interesting to hear about the CC@C attitude to claims. I had a considerable claim at another address that was due to a brocken drain causing structural damage. Prudential with whom I still insure behaved very well and classed that as an escape of water thus only carrying a £50 excess instead of the £1000 for subsidence. Price is all very well but finding out if they want to pay up is much harder.

 

[emmitdb]

Greetings,
In addition to the suggestions offered already, may I suggest an further idea that will prevent an Insurance Co. suggesting that the premises were unoccupied.
My Sisiter in Law lives just up the road and regularly visits our house whilst we are away.
In addition to removing the mail from behind the door, she makes a phone call or two. This in turn is recorded with our telephone supplier and gives incontravertable proof that the premises were occupied.