What is vacant home insurance?

If you leave your home unoccupied for a particular amount of time, you run the chance of your homeowners insurance company voiding your coverage. Due to this it’s important to know what is considered a vacant home and how you can protect yourself from risk.

What is considered a vacant home in homeowners insurance?

What is considered a vacant home will vary from home insurance company to home insurance company and from state to state. There are a couple very basic factors that apply to most;

1) The amount of time the home is left unoccupied should apply to most home insurance companies. Typically these times frames are anywhere from 30 to 60 days. 

2) If you remove your personal property from your home, it could be determined that your home is not used as a residence, which in turn may make your home considered vacant. 

The moment your home is considered vacant, many homeowners insurance companies will lower coverage, deny you coverage or even go as far as to cancel your home insurance policy. When your home is unattended, it becomes more of a risk. Someone at home monitoring any potential damages or possible vandalism & theft, makes you less risky to cover.

Additional reasons a home can be considered vacant by your home insurance company 

• If you move into a new home and your previous home is left empty and unattended while it is still on the market.
• You may have purchased a new home and have not moved into it yet.
• If you inherited a home and leave it empty and unattended until you sell it, there is a good chance it is considered vacant.
• Your home is going through renovations.
• If the home is in foreclosure, it may be considered vacant.

What’s vacant home insurance?

Vacant home insurance is designed to protect you if you need to leave your home empty and unattended. This type of home insurance is very useful when your standard homeowners insurance policy will not provide coverage.

An example of when vacant home insurance may be useful is if you move cross country and need to leave the home vacant for multiple months as you wait to sell your home. If you were to have your home vandalized or possessions stolen within the home while you’re away, there is a very good chance you may not be covered under your standard homeowners insurance policy.

Possible ways to get coverage

As mentioned previously, each homeowners insurance company has their own rules and regulations they go by. In addition, from state to state you may see differences as well. Depending on who your homeowners insurance company is, you may get coverage with the following;

• Home insurance endorsement. Some insurers will sell an endorsement that modifies the base home insurance policy to cover vacant time.
• Special insurance. Some companies offer special coverage for vacant homes.
• Policy surcharge. Once a home is deemed vacant, some insurance companies will adjust your policy to account for the vacancy by applying a surcharge.

If you plan to leave your home vacant for more than 30 days, it may be a good idea to contact your homeowners insurance company to go over the options you have available. There is always the chance your home insurance company can make adjustments to your policy so that you’re covered while you’re away. 

There are instances when an unoccupied home may not require extended coverage. If you split time between different states for work, your home insurance company may view this less of a risk than a completely vacant home. 

If you have additional questions regarding home insurance or just want to look into getting coverage for your home, give us a call! Our agents are experts when it comes to home insurance and they’re nice people! Call us today, we’re looking forward to hearing from you 916 313 6100