Vacant Home Insurance, Do You Need It?
If you have moved into a new home or have inherited a house, you may have a property standing vacant. You may be wondering if you need insurance for it and how much it costs.
Owning an unoccupied or vacant home opens you to all sorts of costly problems. A vacant house tends to be a target for vandals, burglars and thieves, vagabonds and transients, criminals and juvenile delinquents in addition to deterioration that occurs because no one lives there.
Insuring a vacant house is expensive. The soundest advice is to not leave a house vacant in the first place. If you can't or don't want to sell the home, finding a renter can save you a lot of money.
Getting vacant house insurance is expensive because you are leaving your house unprotected. Insurance companies don’t care much about these kind of odds. Most insurance companies will give you a short grace period but after that they might very well cancel the home insurance policy. Insurance companies may balk at insuring a vacant house unless you can assure them that you are checking on the home periodically. They will want to know how long you plan to leave it vacant, and if someone is checking on it regularly.
Why is your house vacant and for how long? Can't find a renter or don't want to deal with being a landlord? Hiring a landscape service and a house sitter might be less costly in the long run than the insurance premiums on an empty house. The object is how to make your vacant house look habited and a lot will depend on how long it will be vacant, if the property is located near where you are living, if your have a caretaker, if someone is checking on it daily or even if you have a security system installed.
So, you are caught between a rock and a hard place. What are you going to do?
First of all, is your house vacant or unoccupied? What’s the difference? A vacant home is empty of furnishings and fixtures and not inhabited by anyone. An unoccupied home is not inhabited but it still partially or totally furnished. A small difference you say, but still different rules apply when it comes to talking to insurance agents.
Basically, if you own a home that is now vacant you will want to protect against vandals, burglars and other damages. A security system that is connected to a local security service is a good idea or at the very least secure doors and windows with deadbolt and window locks. You can give your house a lived in look with light timers and caretakers to do lawn work and pick up papers and mail. Smoke detectors, fire alarms and sprinklers to give a lived in persona are looked on favorably also. Do some comparison shopping with at least three different companies. You can usually get a better deal if you purchase your vacant home insurance from the same company that you currently do business with. They will recommend raising your deductible to an amount that you can afford but will give you a break.