If your property stands empty for any length of time — usually taken as two months — you must tell your insurance company about it.
The reason for this is that an empty house is a security risk and they need to assess their risk profile.
In fact, if it is going to stand empty for a month I would tell them.
It is very important for your home to be insured.
Insurance means taking out a policy to cover you in case your home is damaged by an act of God, such as wind, rain, floods and lightning or from a break-in or damage by an outside force like a motor vehicle.
The insurance will also cover you in the case of a fire.
In return for the insurance company undertaking to cover your property, you have to pay an annual or monthly premium or payment.
In a sectional title scheme this insurance is taken out by the body corporate and forms part of the levy.
A few important things to remember: insurance on your home is not a maintenance policy.
It will not cover maintenance or replacement of worn-out items due to age.
It only covers unexpected damage as described above.
Some policies will cover your geyser, with or without an excess amount — which you have to pay when you make a claim — but it will not cover maintenance items.
If a roof leaks during normal rain, the claim will not be paid because the leak is as a result of normal everyday rain that should be protected by your normal roof.
It can only be caused by a missing or moved tile, old perished sealant, a cracked tile, old roof washer seals or the like – all maintenance items.
But if your roof leaks because of a big storm that is a different story and it will be covered.
So, insurance will not cover damp, burst pipes or blocked drain flooding.
You need to look after your home and keep it well maintained.
Remember you need to do everything reasonable to protect your property, which is why you must install and switch on an alarm system when you are not at home.
If you don’t have an alarm system at your home, insurance will not pay for any break-ins.
That applies both to the building insurance and your personal goods insurance.
- Mike Spencer is the founder and owner of Platinum Global. He is also a professional associated property valuer and consultant.