Personal Insurance Blog

There are many scenarios in which a home becomes vacant for more than just a weekend or week or two vacation. I speak to people all the time who believe that their vacant home is fully covered under the existing policy, not knowing that in reality, the vacant home most likely has severely limited coverage. The most common examples of this are:

• Family has purchased and moved into a new home.  The old home is now vacant and for sale.
• An elderly parent has moved into a nursing home permanently, leaving the house behind for the adult children to decide what to do with it.  It sits vacant.
• A couple moves abroad for 6+ months for a job opportunity, leaving their home in Massachusetts vacant.  One of their parents checks on the house once a week. 

The worse time to discover that the home is not covered by the existing policy is during a claim. And the “fine print” details in the homeowners policy language has an exclusion for

…”Vandalism and malicious mischief, and any ensuing loss caused by any intentional and wrongful act committed in the course of the vandalism or malicious mischief, if the dwelling has been vacant for more than 60 consecutive days immediately before the loss. 

There are similar exclusions for glass and other specific limitations.  The point is, the coverage isn’t what consumers might expect.

If your home is going to be vacant for any period of time over 30-60 days (varies by insurance company and policies used), a specialized Vacant Dwelling Policy can be put into place.   A Vacant Dwelling Policy differs from a standard homeowners policy in that it covers “Named Perils” instead of “Open-Perils” like a homeowners policy.  See our Open vs. Named Perils for details. 

The Vacant Dwelling Policy will not have the bells & whistles that a standard homeowners policy has.  The main parts of a Vacant Dwelling Policy are:

• Dwelling Coverage will provide a specified amount of money to rebuild the house if it is ever destroyed by a named peril (fire, wind, explosion, riot, aircraft, vehicle, smoke, theft, vandalism). 
• Personal Liability will provide protection for chosen amounts: most common are $500,000 or $1M if you are named a defendant in a lawsuit from an event occurring at the vacant dwelling. 

Do not get caught with the incorrect insurance policy.  Speak with an independent insurance agent today to determine the proper insurance for you. Learn more about homeowners insurance here.