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:
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
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:
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.
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