Insurance for a home left behind through OOM
If you go abroad for a longer period and keep your home in the Netherlands, the risk changes materially. An ordinary home policy is not written for that.
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- We compare the offerings of several insurers
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In brief
For homes left behind while the owner is living outside the Netherlands, Finass acts as a broker for OOM Verzekeringen, among others. That company comes into the picture as soon as there is a cross-border element: you live or work elsewhere but keep property here. We are not tied to it and compare several insurers objectively. The choice follows from what your situation requires. See also insurance when working abroad.
What sets it apart is absence. An ordinary buildings policy assumes an occupied home: someone notices a leak within a day, sees an open window and keeps the heating on. As soon as a house stands empty for months, each of those assumptions changes. Most policies therefore restrict cover after a stated period of non-occupation to fire, storm and lightning strike, with burglary, vandalism and water damage dropping out.
That is why, with a home left behind, the key question is not which perils you choose but what you arrange by way of supervision. Who has a key, how often is the house checked, is the heating left on a frost setting, have the water pipes been drained and is the post collected? Those answers determine whether an insurer accepts the home and on what conditions. More about cover and the basis of value is on the hub page about buildings insurance.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare buildings insurance (opstalverzekering).
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Get coveredWhy arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
What to look out for
Four points that determine whether cover remains in place during your absence.
Report the period of non-occupation in advance
A lengthy absence is a change in risk that you must report. The duty of disclosure at inception follows from Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code; if it emerges afterwards that the insurer would have set different requirements had it been correctly informed, Article 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code gives it scope to reduce or refuse payment. Also state the expected duration, because the conditions are written around that.
Frost, water and draining the system
A burst pipe in an unheated house does more damage in days than a fire does in hours. Insurers expect you to drain the system or keep the home frost-free. If you do not, freezing damage is treated as negligence and not paid. Record who checks this and when.
Letting or occupation by others
If you let family, a house-sitter or a tenant into the house, that is a different use from what you declared. Letting rooms, temporary letting and vacant property management each call for their own assessment. Without notification the insurer can rely on the changed circumstances. Where there is structural letting, a policy for a a let home the right route.
What drops out during vacancy
The following stay outside the cover as standard: theft and burglary damage without signs of forced entry, vandalism in an unoccupied home, and damage caused by deferred maintenance, damp and mould that arose during your absence. Gradual leakage that went unnoticed for months is also assessed as maintenance damage and not as a sudden event.
What does your premium depend on?
- Length of the unoccupied period: a few months counts differently from several years
- Supervision and management: periodic inspection by a manager or family
- Construction type and state of repair: old pipework and wiring increase the risk
- Security of the home: locks and fittings, alarm and lighting
- Whether or not occupied by others: house-sitting or letting changes the assessment
- Cover and excess chosen: limited perils or extended cover
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Occupied | Unoccupied for a long period |
|---|---|---|
| Fire caused by a short circuit in the consumer unit | Yes | Yes |
| A storm lifts roof tiles and rain comes into the loft | Yes | Provided that |
| A burglary in which the back door frame was forced open | Yes | No |
| A washing machine hose comes off and floods the ground floor | Yes | No |
| The boiler gives up after twenty years' service | No | No |
| Hail damages the solar panels on your roof | Yes | Provided that |
From which day your home counts as unoccupied and which events then remain is described differently by each company.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
When does my home count as unoccupied?
That is set out in the policy conditions and differs by company. Usually it concerns a continuous period in which nobody actually lives and sleeps there. A holiday of a few weeks does not fall under it. A posting of a year does. If you are unsure, assume the strictest reading and report the absence. That costs nothing and prevents a rejection.
May I let the house while I am abroad?
Only with the insurer's permission, and often that of your mortgage lender too. Letting changes the use and therefore the underwriting: the home is occupied by someone else, with a different damage pattern and a different division of liability. Without notification you risk a claim during the letting period not being paid.
Are my contents still covered while I am away?
Often only to a limited extent. In an unoccupied home the theft cover usually lapses, even where there are signs of forced entry, and lower limits apply to valuables. Take valuable items with you or store them elsewhere. What you leave behind in the house is best limited to things whose loss you can bear.
Am I still liable for my house from abroad?
Yes. The liability under Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code rests on the possessor of the structure, wherever they are. If a roof tile blows onto a passer-by's car, you are liable, even without fault. So check whether your liability insurance continues during a lengthy stay abroad; many private policies have a time limit for that.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare buildings insurance (opstalverzekering)The main page
- Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering) for an unoccupied homeVacancy, change in the risk, limited cover
- De Vereende's buildings insurance (opstalverzekering)Unusual risks, vacancy, clauses
- Solar panels and your buildings insurance (opstalverzekering)Duty to report, roof fires, loss of output
- Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering) for a second homeStanding empty, frost, declaring
- Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering) for unoccupied premisesLimited cover, reporting, supervision
- Insuring a business lock-up through OOM VerzekeringenLetting, unknown use ·. A row of units