I noticed in my house insurance policy under ‘notification of changes’ the following statement “changes to the occupancy of the property e.g. lodgers staying at the property”. I informed them I had two holidays booked, with (THS) house sitters staying at the property whilst I was away. I was charged an extra £16 to cover the two periods. I expect it would have been more if I had contents insurance as well as building insurance.
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So the insurers would prefer that your house be empty instead of someone being there making sure it doesn’t flood, etc?
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If it floods and you’re not left the property for more than 60 days you’re OK…
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Well yeah, but if a sitter was there with Fido and Cuddles it wouldn’t have flooded at all and the insurance company wouldn’t be paying out a £50,000 claim.
It makes no sense to me.
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I thought you would only have to make changes to your insurance if you rented the house out. If you have family visiting do you make changes to the occupancy then!
I didn’t realise home insurance only covered the home if the occupants permanently lived/registered at that address.
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If you have a standard or premium membership then you will have insurance included
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This can vary greatly depending on what country you live in, and what insurance company you use.
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Tbh the sitter isnt a lodger. Its just like having a guest/friend staying.
I think the insurance company is charging for any amnendment here.
Interesting though.
@Wavingfish Every insurance policy (and likely country) would have different timeframes for occupancy requirements. I live in Canada and must have someone check my home every seven days (but not necessary live there) for my policy to remain valid.
I’m curious to know whether, had you said they were invited guests, whether you would have been charged the additional coverage. 
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And my insurance (Canadian) says I can leave my house empty for 30 days. More proof of the different between companies.
@Kelownagurl @Snowbird exactly the same when we had a home in Canada … that’s why we had sitters every time we left the country, sometimes for 6 months.
Insurance products vary widely from company to company let alone country to country.
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The only difference being they don’t pay money to stay, but I think the insurance company is picking up on the fact they are not friends or family.
I don’t think that would have changed anything, it was because they are not friends or family.
I did see one HO listing on THS where the sitters had to be DBS checked due to a clause in their house insurance.
To be honest I would be very surprised if that was the real reason - that sounds to me something a home host would say as they felt they needed to give a reason for wanting to see a DBS.
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As @Angela_L and @Snowbird says : it depends on the country and on the assurance policy : In France it’s usual that floading is not covered by insurance if you haven’t been in your house for… 3 days ! 3 days is nothing !
… In France it is very often that you are not properly covered by your insurance because there is always a reason why you are out of the boxes (written in tiny tiny letters at the very bottom of the contract you signed ages ago ! 
)
A post was merged into an existing topic: A conversation about insurance
Bit of a thread resurrection
I have just joined THS, I am in UK. My home insurer (AA) flat refuses to provide cover if house sitters are used, and wanted me to take out a new policy at £1000 a year.
Not sure what to do except cancel the policy and go elsewhere.
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Have you looked at other insurance companies policies yet? If its just AA I’d walk
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Hi @phil_C as @Sarah22 suggests have you searched other providers? Insurance policies and practices differ widely from provider to provider, location and country to country. In Canada we would have been penalized for leaving the property unoccupied, there were no conditions attached to caretakers.
In the end I couldn’t get anywhere with AA. I cancelled the policy and took out a new one.
It cost me 50% more because they load the quote if you exit another policy early.
c’est la vie