Seen through an insurance lens, moving house comes down to three questions: from when should cover be live on the new home, what happens to the old policy, and who's responsible for damage on the way between the two addresses. None of it is complicated - but all three are simple only if you settle them before the boxes get packed, not after.
- Cover on the new home should be live from the day you take possession - when you buy a property, the seller's policy doesn't "carry over": you need your own.
- When you sell, the old policy typically ends through loss of insurable interest; if you keep the property, updating it is the right move instead.
- Breakage or damage during the move itself typically isn't home insurance's territory - the removal firm's liability is a separate question.
The new home: from when?
Here too, the watershed moment is taking possession: from the day the keys change hands, the new home's risk is yours, so cover should start by then at the latest - it's worth arranging the policy a few days ahead, timing the start of cover for handover day. A common misconception when buying is that "the flat's already insured": the seller's policy protected their own interest, and it typically ends with the sale - as the buyer, you need your own policy. Our new-build article covers the timing of handover for a new-build home; with a mortgage, the bank typically requires the policy document before disbursing the loan - here, the loan agreement is what governs.
What happens to the old policy
If you sell your old home, the insurable interest ends - that's loss of interest: the policy ends with the change of ownership, and you settle up with the insurer; what you need to do is notify them of the sale (an exception under the Hungarian Civil Code (Ptk.): if the buyer already had possession of the home on another legal basis - for example as a tenant - the cover passes to them, and either party may cancel it within 30 days). If you keep the property - say, you let it out, or the family carries on using it - the right move isn't to cancel, it's to update it: a new use, new details. Either way, the principle is the same: the old address shouldn't end up either without cover or needlessly double-insured. And moving from a rental into your own home, your tenant policy can simply be converted to fit the new situation - we cover that in our tenant articles.
Between the two addresses: overlap and transport
During a move, contents effectively live at two addresses for a while - how cover follows that depends on the policy: some products cover both addresses for a transitional period, elsewhere the timing of notification is what matters. It's worth asking this in advance, not finding out after the fact. Breakage, scratches or a drop during transport, though, typically aren't home insurance's territory: with a professional removal firm, it can be the company's liability - ask about their liability cover - with your own packing, prevention is what's left. Carry high-value or fragile items separately, in your own hands. For claims on the overlap days, documentation helps: a photo of the cleared-out old flat and the arrived boxes heads off plenty of questions.
A moving-house checklist, seen through insurance
The sequence that works: 1) get a quote for the new address before you sign the policy; 2) time the start of cover for the day you take possession; 3) sort out the old policy - notify loss of interest, or update it; 4) a fresh home inventory - moving day is an ideal opportunity for it; 5) fine-tune the cover based on the new home's details.
The online calculator runs the numbers for the new address in minutes - we'll talk through the rest, so that in moving week you really do just need to deal with the boxes.
A question about your own home? Run the numbers in minutes with the online calculator (in Hungarian), or book a free 20-minute consultation →
