British troops serving abroad have been forced to pay out hundreds of pounds more in home insurance premiums due to rules that penalise extended absences, the Mirror can reveal.
Insurance clauses hit deployed personnel
Common rules among major insurers mean that anyone who spends more than 30 to 60 consecutive days away from home each year must take out specialist unoccupied home insurance, which can cost significantly more. This clause has affected members of the armed forces on foreign deployments, including those training Ukrainian forces to resist the Russian invasion.
Labour MP Alistair Strathern told the Mirror he has met with some of Britain's biggest insurers, urging them to take action after hearing from serving troops who felt “let down” by their providers.
Insurers respond to pressure
Three major brands—Aviva, Hastings Direct, and Admiral—have since changed their policies to provide special allowances for armed forces members. However, Mr Strathern is calling on the entire industry to do more to honour those who serve.
Mr Strathern, whose Hitchin constituency includes MoD Chicksands and RAF Henlow, said: “This has affected people posted in Poland supporting Ukraine engagements. We spoke to people who had either had extra costs put on them at short notice before mobilisation or, even more stressfully, found that their insurer would cancel their policy because they would be away for too long.”
He added: “There have been instances where premiums have been over a hundred pounds because of the length of time abroad, sometimes even more due to needing new cover immediately after a previous policy was voided.”
Armed Forces Covenant concerns
Mr Strathern said some insurers’ refusal to make allowances for military personnel risked breaching the Armed Forces Covenant, a formal promise of fair treatment. Many leading insurers have signed the Covenant, but the MP stressed that commitment must be “more than just warm words.”
“The Armed Forces Covenant is based on the premise that signatories ensure members are not disadvantaged by their service. In an ideal world, businesses that have signalled they want to do right by service personnel would actually live up to it,” he said.
Describing mixed responses from insurers, he noted: “I have been really encouraged by some insurers who recognised this gap and fixed it. But it would be fair to say in other cases that was not always the case. One insurer initially said that due to cost and liability implications, they were not willing to offer cover to service personnel despite being Forces Covenant signatories.”
Royal British Legion calls for action
Hannah Pearce, Director of Campaigns, Policy and Research at the Royal British Legion, said inconsistencies among insurers and financial services are impacting the Armed Forces community. Some insurers accept family members checking on properties to reduce premiums, but this is not uniformly applied, disadvantaging those without nearby relatives.
Similar issues have been reported with car insurance and mobile phone contracts. Ms Pearce said: “Our Armed Forces sacrifice so much for their country and deserve to be treated with respect and fairness.”
Industry responses
The Mirror contacted nine leading home insurers. Several have waived additional fees for armed forces personnel posted overseas. Others, including Policy Expert, AXA, and NFU Mutual, maintain standard terms for unoccupied properties, with decisions made case by case. LV offers unoccupied cover on existing policies at no extra cost, while bespoke cases can be referred to specialist brokers.
A Policy Expert spokesperson said: “Policy Expert provides home insurance across a wide range of circumstances, including UK armed forces members. Our policies include standard terms reflecting risks of unoccupied properties, and we keep products under regular review.”
An NFU Mutual spokesperson said: “While there is not a specified different approach for armed forces personnel, we offer a personal, local service where members can discuss policy needs. We encourage customers to contact their local agent or our Mutual Direct team.”
An AXA spokesperson said: “AXA UK’s standard policies cover properties unoccupied for up to 30 consecutive days, with flexibility depending on circumstances. Where we cannot provide cover, we signpost to specialist insurers.”
A spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers said: “Insurers are committed to supporting the armed forces community. A number of home insurers have taken steps to offer flexibility for deployed personnel. Most policies set limits of 30-60 days due to higher risk. We encourage personnel expecting longer absences to speak with their insurer or a broker.”
The Armed Forces Covenant Duty is set to be strengthened in the Armed Forces Bill currently before parliament, placing a duty on government departments to consider the armed forces community in decisions about goods and services.
