Aviva Household Insurance No Longer Offers 90 Day Cover

[marchie]

We were told just before our aborted Autumn 2021 Trip to Spain for Winter Sun, that we could either pay an additional premium of some £30 to extend the 60 days Unoccupancy Cover to 90 days; OR, if the Trip overlapped our Renewal Date, we would not need to bother, because the Renewal Premium reset the 60 days limit, effectively giving up to 120 days cover

Enquired last night by email if the 'rollover' of 60 days cover was still available, or whether I would need to pay for the extension to 90 days. Email reply this morning:

QUOTE STARTS 'I'm afraid, we no longer offer cover for when your property is unoccupied for more than 60 days in a row.

After the 60 days of unoccupancy the following exclusions will come into force.

The exclusions that come into force after 60 days, are as follows:
Theft or attempted theft

• Malicious people or vandals
• Escape of water from water tanks, pipes, equipment, or fixed heating systems
• Water freezing in tanks, equipment, or pipes (Buildings only)
• Heating fuel leaking from a fixed heating system
• Contents in the garden (Contents only)
• Accidental Damage to fixed glass and sanitary fittings (Only if Accidental Damage -Buildings is selected)
• Contents Tenants Liability (if applicable)

For a property to be considered 'lived in' you must be carrying out of normal, everyday activities there - these would include regular cooking, eating, bathing, cleaning, and sleeping at the property. Staying in the property for one night within the 60-day period does not constitute 'lived in' and does not therefore negate the policy exclusions.

If you decide to go ahead with your trip for more than 60 days, kindly let us know. QUOTE ENDS

So no relative or trusted neighbour checking the property to continue Cover, including the occasional 'sleepover' routine, and expecting the neighbours to do the cleaning ... That statement puts our existing cover at risk [embarrassing when you have remove the dust from the outside of the hoover before using it]

I've seen posts in other Forums where the new 'normal' is 60 days absence maximum per trip, including some 'badged' policies [IIRC, including John Lewis & possibly M&S], so back to the drawing board!

Steve

 

[Sharon the Cat]

Ours is only 30 days, but luckily for us we live in a lovely spot, only 49 metres from a pub. My brother's partner is always happy to get a free holiday, and always stays for as long as she can.

 

[wildebus]

would having a pet still in the house count as occupancy?
get a fish tank and have someone come in once a week to put a feeder block in

 

[Trigger]

CCC gives me 180 days unaccupancy few terms check once a week water off winter time or heating left on

 

[marchie]

would having a pet still in the house count as occupancy?
get a fish tank and have someone come in once a week to put a feeder block in

No, David, unfortunately! The problem is that Aviva is the insurer behind so many of the 'badged' policies [CAMH].

Steve

 

[marchie]

Update: Admiral Insurance Platinum Home Insurance Policy gives up to 120 Days Unoccupancy Cover, subject to Winter Heating [think Froststat Settings will suffice; I'll check when I switch Cover, but I would leave the Thermostat set at 10 degrees rather than the auto 7 degrees setting because 10 degrees stops the 'chilled air' effect from building up]; and subject to a weekly neighbour check to remove accumulated mail and quick check for signs of break in, water leaks etc.

Two confusing items that will need clarifying before I make the switchfrom Aviva; The Admiral Platinum Policy website says up to 120 days cover, but the 'What's Covered/What's Not Covered' Industry standard paperwork only refers to 60 days Unoccupancy Cover [which is the cover ;evel for the Basic Home Insurance policy]. I have telephoned Admiral 3 times now and have been assured verbally that Platinum cover is 120 days unoccupancy, but all 3 Agents have then emailed the 60 days Paperork!]; and the first Agent I spoke to quoted £557 annual premium [expensive, but cheaper than breaking Spain Winter Trip into 2 journeys that would add 3200 miles driving/diesel/ferry fares, so about £800 saving on diesel for a 2nd trip]. The 3rd Agent I spoke to said my declaration that I could manage with about 110 days unoccupancy [90 days Schengen Zone Travel Insurance limitation plus 20 days to get to and from Spain] had confused the system and the 'standard' 120 days Platinum Cover reduced the Premium to £337 and his emailed paperwork confirmed that price! The Platinum Policy also includes Legal Expenses Cover [which we will may well need in dealing with the new upstairs neighbours ...], whereas Aviva will not allow Legal Expenses cover to be allowed mid-term, and we would have to pay £29 to add it at renewal. So the Admiral policy, with much better cover to suit our needs/plans will cost £337, compared to £262 for Aviva and a delay of 3 months before I can add Legal Expenses cover

Some clarifications to be obtained before I cancel Aviva, but we're 98% sure to switch to Admiral

Steve

 

[marchie]

The proposed switch to Admiral did not proceed because the quote system requires the purchase of the basic policy and then you have to apply for the upgrade to Platinum by answering further questions to determeine eligibility [which is why the paperwork refers to 60 days cover!]

Asked AIB for a quote for 90 or 120 days cover for buildings and contents cover, but they have struggled to come up with anything. They phoned this morning, just about 1 week after the initial enquiry, to say that they can get 180 day unoccupancy cover but the premium would be around £1150, and with numerous restrictions on cover! They didn't go into details, but I suspect the quote came from a Littlehampton Insurance Broker that specialises in Unoccupancy Cover for people selling their property after going into Nursing Homes. I had a quote from them last year at around £1100 but the Cover Limits were 1/2 what Occupied Cover gave, the excesses doubled and the heating had to be maintained at 16 Celsius round the clock [our frost stat kicks in at 7 degrees but we normally leave it set at 10 degrees to remove the damp/chilly feeling

2 x 60 days trips looks to be the best option under the Aviva Policy at present

Steve

 

[Winks]

We have been with Admiral for about seven years. We did have a claim for structural settlement about twelve years ago and many companies will still not touch the proposal.

The platinum thing came in handy when our heating failed a couple of years ago. They just payed out, without fuss, for a fixed price repair from Vaillant.

In light of your recent problems with house insurance I’m sure you’ll be on it like a bonnit.

Cheers

H

 

[marchie]

We have been with Admiral for about seven years. We did have a claim for structural settlement about twelve years ago and many companies will still not touch the proposal.

The platinum thing came in handy when our heating failed a couple of years ago. They just payed out, without fuss, for a fixed price repair from Vaillant.

In light of your recent problems with house insurance I’m sure you’ll be on it like a bonnit.

Cheers

H

The first Agent at Admiral [based in Canada!], that I talked to, phoned yesterday to try to resolve matters, after I had tried [and failed] to get a quote online, and then having to speak to an Agent in India who had quite limited English, and couldn't understand the difference between an English Listed Building and a Scottish equivalent ... Brodie, the Canadian Agent, said he had been able to enter my details onto his system and Platinum Cover would be available and would extend to 120 days unoccupied. He did email the quote to me [but the email went walkabout in cyberspace], so he volunteered to email again, email to another address I use, and call back to check in 30 minutes or so. He said I would also be able to retrieve the new [now 3rd!] quote online to confirm that the 120 days unoccupancy was included

Well, about 45 minutes later, 5 emails arrived, timed less than 10 minutes apart! All had the Platinum Policy designation, but all had the Unoccupancy Cover remaining at 60 days! I tried to retrieve the quote online but Admiral's awful system could not find it, and had no trace of me because I wasn't a policyholder! Well, if I cannot retrieve and accept my quote, how can I become a customer [I had registered an account but that has also evaporated into cyberspace because Admiral cannot find that, either!]. Another worrying aspect was the Platinum Price Quote of some £377 for Buildings and Contents. When I tried an Admiral Platinum quote from the Comparison Website that pays Judy Dench to advertise it, the Basic Policy was £1089; the Gold £1149; and the Platinum £1299 ...

Gave up and tried the C&CC who are phone only contact, which would give me a chance to clarify that my Claim was due to the upstairs Flat Owner's idiocy in leaving the property with a defective boiler, causing the flood when his pipes burst! 'Sorry, sir, we have no Quotations Staff working tonight' [over 2 hours before closing time!]. 'Staff shortages, partly due to COVID, I'll get someone to call you on Monday, because they don't work weekends'

Volume 32 of the continuing insurance saga [Saga wanted £1149 for 60 day unoccupancy ...] should be posted here by Wednesday of next week, if I have any staff working through the COVID resurgence ....

Steve

 

[Winks]

Disappointing then. I have to say, the phone service from Admiral has been admiralable (see what I did there?).

Just as well you are an expert at dealing with the twisting twasterds innit?

Cheers

H

 

[marchie]

Disappointing then. I have to say, the phone service from Admiral has been admiralable (see what I did there?).

Just as well you are an expert at dealing with the twisting twasterds innit?

Cheers

H

We'll give it another go on Monday, H. The AXA Schengen Multi Trip Health Policy limits Cover to 90 Days within EU, so a Household Policy with 120 Days Unoccupancy Cover would have been perfect, allowing a travel period to/from the Ferry on top of 90 days. But, a 90 Days Unoccupancy Household Policy would work, just trims the European element to 84 days maximum ... All a wee bit frustrating, given Elaine's Irish Passport and the consequent frreedom from 90/180 Days EU Travel, but a First World problem, and pretty low on the current list of Global problems ...

Steve