Insurance when moving home
Find out what insurance cover you need when moving to a new house and if it’ll be covered by your home insurance.
The cover you need for a property move
Some home insurance policies cover house moves, so your possessions will be covered as they're transported from one house to another.
Key points
- Your possessions might be covered as standard when they’re in transit, or in storage, but it might be an optional extra - so check your policy
- You're likely to have to use professional movers to be covered. DIY moves can invalidate your insurance
- Valuables, jewellery and documents may not be covered
- You're responsible for your new home when you exchange contracts, so make sure you have insurance cover in place
Out of 357 contents insurance policies on Defaqto, 75% cover possessions during removal as standard, so long as you use a professional moving company to transport them.[2]
If you’re moving valuables or breakables, they’re only insured if they’re packed professionally.
Transporting belongings yourself won’t be covered. Jewellery, watches and important documents are often excluded from this cover too.
If you’re going to keep some belongings in storage for a while, you might not be insured for storage as standard, so you’d need to buy it as a policy add-on.
Ask your insurer to find out if it’s restricted to a certain number of days.
What your home moving cover should include
Some home insurance policies cover ‘goods in transit’ - it will either be included as standard, or an optional extra.
It should cover your possessions for damage and loss while they’re being moved by a professional company.
If you hire an independent van driver to help you with your house move, check what insurance they have.
Once your possessions are loaded into the van, they’re at risk of damage and theft, so make sure they’re protected with the right insurance.
Here’s a quick checklist for moving your contents safely while covered by your insurance:
- Your contents should be packed and transported by a professional removals company
- Your contents cover on the move might only last a few days, so you might need to get a separate policy for belongings in storage
- Particularly valuable items might require a standalone policy too, depending on your cover limits
- Once you’re in your new home, your insurance provider will need to re-evaluate your cover
If you’re not sure whether your policy covers you for moving to a new house, or what the limits are, get in touch with your insurer to find out.
You take responsibility for your new property when you exchange contracts, not on the day of completion or when you move in
Buildings and contents insurance for your current and new addresses
If you already have a home insurance policy, contact your insurer to find out if you can transfer the cover to your new address from the date you exchange contracts, while still keeping your old house covered until completion.
You could have legal and financial responsibility for either or both properties during this period, so if your current insurer can't do that, take out a new policy for the new address and cancel the policy on your old house only once the sale completes.
You’ll need the address and postcode of the property, its market value, and the value of your belongings and home contents that need to be insured.
You can buy buildings and contents insurance as separate policies, or as combined cover.
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[2] Last checked 16 December 2021