Simply put, distressed risks in property insurance are properties that are outside of the norm and therefore presenting more risk and financial exposure to an insurer in the event of a claim. The horror of the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy back in 2017 was a terrible and horrific example of this – alongside for example lots of severe UK floods in recent years – meaning that distressed risks are more expensive and harder to insure today than ever before.

Strictly speaking no, but vacant properties do come with their own insurance challenges. Insurers generally see vacant properties – especially vacant commercial properties that have been unoccupied for more than 30 days – as higher risk because no-one is around day-to-day for maintenance, upkeep and to act as a deterrent to crime. PHP Insurance have access to vacant property underwriters and also employ our own risk management services to ensure a multitude of factors are considered.