Vacant Apartment Insurance New York

What you don't hear about very often is how hard the real estate market is hitting New York City and vacant apartments are on the rise. With the housing crisis, you generally here about San Jose, Miami, or Detroit where some homes are down 40%. However, New York City has a major problem as well.

What most people call a condo, many in New York own "apartments." However, these homeowners have the same issues as the rest of the country when it comes to vacant home insurance. Vacant apartment insurance, a product carried by vacant home insurance now (.com), is absolutely necessary for any New York apartment that is empty or unoccupied for over 60 to 90 days. With some insurers, vacant apartment insurance may be necessary after just 30 days.

When we speak to clients in New York that, after understanding what they needed to do, put vacant apartment insurance on the owned property, here were the biggest misconceptions:

1. Vacant apartment insurance was unnecessary if anyone went by the property to check on it every few days (false).
2. Vacant apartment insurance is not needed if you go and stay in the property a few times a month (false).
3. You may not need vacant property insurance if the New York apartment is fully furnished and is being shown by a realtor. (false).

When we say (false above) we are saying this is generally true in most situations with most insurance companies. No "regular home insurer" in New York offers a vacant apartment insurance product so going to a specialty market like Lloyd's of London is necessary.

Vacant Commercial Building Insurance from Vacant Home Insurance Now (.com)

Vacant Home Insurance Now has teamed up with Pennock Insurance, Inc. of Chadds Ford PA to bring a high quality vacant commercial building insurance product to the markets we serve as licensed producers.

A vacant home insurance product cannot be used to provide coverage to a vacant commercial building or empty warehouse. A special product needs to be employed for commercial purposes. Vacant factories and warehouses not only need dwelling protection, they need a lot of quality liability insurance in case of lawsuit where the owners are found negligent.

Vacant Home Insurance Now would like to inform customers that they can come to VHIN with all of the following vacant insurance needs:

1. vacant warehouse insurance
2. vacant commercial building insurance
3. vacant factory insurance
4. vacant commercial land (liability only)

Of course, our focus will still be strong insurance for vacant residential dwellings employing all risk and replacement cost coverage.

Lloyd's of London for Vacant Home Insurance and Vacant Building Insurance

Getting a Lloyd's of London quote for vacant home insurance. The fact is, most Americans think that Lloyd's of London is an insurance company. This is untrue. Lloyd's of London is an insurance market made up of over 60 "syndicates." For our purposes, these syndicates can be thought of as it's own insurance company each taking all or part of various risks presented to the market.

Lloyd's of London syndicates do provide vacant home insurance and vacant building insurance in the United States. Local P&C agents have to access a surplus lines wholesaler in order to get vacant home insurance quotes from the Lloyd's market.

Vacant building insurance is also a specialty of several syndicates in the Lloyd's market. The most common vacant building insurance is carried on old or abandoned wherehouses where the liabiliy component of the vacant building insurance is more essential than the property or dwelling protection.

Finally, if you get two Lloyd's quotes on vacant building insurance, do not assume they are the same thing, just because they both came from Lloyd's of London. Chances are they are completley different vacant building insurance quotes.

Vacant Home Insurance for Resort Communities

Your author just returned from a resort community in Flordia, where there were over 200 homes on a remote island accessible only by boat. There was a tremendous amount of confusion regarding vacant home insurance and landlord tenant insurance on the island, and most homes were not permanently occupied. Here are the most common problems we discovered for these "second homes."

1. Not knowing vacant home insurance was needed for many of the homes that were empty more than 3 months a year.


2. At times, the homes were covered as second homes or vacation homes by the insurance company of the primary dwelling, but at times the homes were rented out thus violating the policy.


3. Some of the homes that did carry vacant lot insurance, were also rented out from time to time and most vacant home insurance policies do not also act as landlord policies.


4. Vacant home insurance was needed because the owner lived in a State (or country) where the insurance company carrying the primary homeowners insurance was not licensed in Florida and thus could not pick up the second home as an extension.


5. Having vacant homeowners insurance in place that did not provide the proper wind protection needed in Florida. Flood protection does not need to be provided in a vacant home insurance policy and can purchased through the federal government program.

Anyone that maintains a second home in Florida, or any other resort community outside of their home state should make sure they do their research to see what type of policy will be needed, and if the home will be rented for income, making sure the vacant home insurance policy will allow for renters when not empty.

Expatriates Don't See the Vacant Home Insurance Risk

After working with expatriates for over 15 years, we have released the results of what can be called an informal survey on vacant home insurance for expatriates living outside of the U.S. for 1 to 5 years. Here is what was found.

1. About 92% of expatriates believe they can remain with their existing homeowners insurance company while they are living overseas, even if the home is empty, and don't see the need for a vacant home insurance policy. (The facts: these 92% are exposed)


2. 60% believe, if they had a claim on a vacant home in the U.S. while they were on overseas work assignment, and there was an uncovered claim, their employer would pay for at least some of the claim. (The facts, this is a false assumption and employers can't pay personal claims).


3. About 60% do find out they need vacant home insurance at renewal time when they inform their homeowners insurance company they are abroad. (The facts: Most of these people realize they have been uncovered for many months and need a vacant homeowners insurance policy).


4. 80% believe if they, or a family member lives in the house for over a few weeks a year, or comes back to the U.S. from time to time, they don't have a problem with the existing insurance company (The facts: this is a false assumption)


5. 95% believe they can have a friend or "other relative" live in the house and they don't have to make changes to their homeowners insurance policy. (The facts: even if you have a cousin living in the house or house-sitting, you need to make a change to the existing insurance policy. A cousin is not in the nuclear family.


6. 98% of expatriates say their employer does not bring the vacant home insurance risk to their attention before the expat assignment.

Instant Vacant Home Insurance Quote Estimates

Vacant Home Insurance Now (.com) a website that is used to put those in need of vacant home insurance together with an agent and insurance company that specializes in providing vacant home insurance, announced today that they will be able to provide a quick quote estimate if visitors to the website will complete the new contact form.

The new contact form takes about 3 minutes to fill out, and asks a lot more questions, but if visitors complete the full contact form, they will be able to get a price estimate that should be accurate to within 5% to 10%. To get an exact quote depends on their State, the exact situation, and the results of a 12 to 15 minute phone interview where details on the vacant home are collected (including an assessment of the vacant home value) and put into a computer program.

However, getting a quote estimate that will be 90% or greater in accuracy on the vacant home, by just spending 3 minutes inputting information into an online form is probably unmatched in the industry. It will give people an idea of what is covered and how much it will cost because they will need to budget properly. Vacant building insurance is more expensive than regular homeowners insurance, there is just no way around it. People should be prepared to spend 3 times to 5 times as much on vacant home insurance as they did on "regular insurance" when they were living in the house.

Even providers in the market that offer very limited policies with limited coverage are still at least 3 times as expensive and the coverage these plans offer is extremely reduced. We suggest spending a bit more to secure full coverage. Anything less is self insuring your vacant home.

The estimates do not mean that underwriters will eventually approve and offer coverage. Of course, the home needs to qualify for insurance and that is why this is called an estimate and not a quote.

Hurricanes no problem to homeowners and vacant homeowners market in 2009 so far

So far in 2009, there have been no major hurricanes that have touched the U.S. mainland which is a relief for the homeowners insurance companies and the companies that provide vacant home insurance.

Last year, hurricanes were also light but the previous three years saw a tremendous amount of hurricane activity and homeowners and vacant homeowners insurance rates soared in Florida and the coastal regions of Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Many regions in Florida require three separate policies. One policy for wind damage which could come from a hurricane. One for flood damage from heavy rain or a hurricane. The third is a basic homeowners insurance policy which normally excludes flood and has a limited wind benefit in Florida.

If a home in a coastal region or in the State of Florida becomes empty or unoccupied for longer than 60 days it will need a special vacant homeowners insurance policy. There are not many insurance companies that provide vacant home insurance in Florida or in any of these coastal regions. If one seeks quotes, make sure you know what perils the plan covers for, and of course see if wind is a covered peril or an exclusion. If you are lucky enough to find an all-risk vacant homeowners insurance policy make sure wind is not listed as an exclusion because all-risk policies do not have a list of what is covered and only the exclusions need to be examined.

5 Part Video Series Vacant Home Insurance 101

Vacant Home Insurance Now, the premier website on the net providing information on the need for vacant homeowners insurance and vacant townhouse insurance, is providing a 5 part video series that can be found on U-Tube by searching "vacant home insurance."





This series covers the need for the insurance if a home becomes empty for just 60 days, and why the regular homeowners insurance companies do not provide the coverage. There is a section on the bad advice that is pervasive throughout the market, given by friends, family, real estate agents, and even insurance agents. Advice like, "if you sleep in the house for just one night a week, you can keep your regular homeowners policy and you don't need vacant home insurance." We dispel these sort of myths.






Finally, the series talks about key coverage features when shopping for empty home insurance, and points out there is a big difference in the offering of various companies on a State by State basis. In other words, there is little to no standardization in this market and buyers need to closely examine the quotes they are getting to assure themselves they will buy quality.

1. Understanding Vacant Home Insurance
2. Vacant Home Insurance vs. Homeowners Insurance
3. Getting The Wrong Vacant Home Insurance Advice
4. Vacant Home Insurance Coverage Features
5. Additional Vacant Home Insurance Coverage Features

Clients blindsided by the need for vacant home insurance!

We have been writing vacant homes for a long time. 90% of the clients that contact Vacant Home Insurance Now are completely blindsided by the fact that their homeowners insurer does not provide coverage for a home that they consider empty, vacant, or unoccupied. This is happening so much we felt we had to spread the word and write about it.

If the above is true, and we now have the credible sample size to prove that it's true, there are tens of thousands of homes out there that may have no coverage due to vacancy but the owner believes the house is fully covered. However, if there was a claim the insurance company would not provide coverage because the house is empty or not occupied.

What all of this means is, the top companies do not inform their clients that they need special homeowners insurance coverage if the house is not being lived in. Most clients find out "by accident" when they call in for another reason, like to report an address change and they are being kind enough to report to the insurance company that "they have moved."

All insurance companies today communicate with their clients in several of the following ways:

1. email


2. website


3. online or paper newsletter


4. mail (privacy statements and deliver of policy riders)

Wouldn't it be easy enough to note: "As a reminder to all our policyholders we would like to remind them that we do not cover vacant homes, and this situation needs to be reported to us immediately."

Why don't the top 10 largest home insurers inform their clients they don't cover vacant homes, and they will quickly be terminated if they find themselves in this situation. This will be the topic of our next post.

California Wildfires Shut Down Vacant Home Insurance Marketplace

Several Insurance Underwriters are no longer taking certain risks in California due to the ongoing wildfire situation, and this includes some insurance companies that offer commercial insurance and vacant home insurance.

Clients may not be aware that underwriters of vacant home insurance can issue directives to managing general agents to no longer take risks in certain States effectively shutting off the state until the risk situation passes.

The most common example where an entire State is essentially "turned off" for vacant homeowners insurance in Florida, when there is a depression brewing or named storm in the Atlantic or the Gulf that has better than a 50/50 chance of hitting the State. Because the destruction can be so massive they will essentially "turn of the State." This is what has happened recently with Southern California because of the wildfires.

Of course, all current and existing policyholders have good insurance and claim payment is not in jeopardy. It's those that need new insurance policies or even those coming up for renewal that potentially could have a problem. If you are a client in need of vacant homeowners insurance in the Southern California area today, you may find you will have to go without insurance until the crisis passes.

Competition in the Vacant Home Insurance Market?

Many people call us and ask, why are there only a few insurance companies in my State that will offer vacant homeowners insurance? There are over 10 insurance companies that want to sell me regular homeowners insurance when I am living in the home, but when the home goes vacant or empty, I only have 2 or perhaps 3 choices in my State. Some States may not have even three choices.

The first reason is, none of the large "major" homeowners insurance companies offer a vacant home insurance product. The big guys just don't want to be in the business. The next logical question we get from customers is, why don't they offer a product? The main reason, and at least the reason they want you to believe, is there is too much additional risk in vacant home insurance and it requires special underwriting. We do agree a carrier takes on additional risk when they are asked to insure a house that is empty or vacant and needs vacant home insurance.

Vacant home insurance Now offers a very high quality vacant home insurance program. VHIN used to offer what much of the market now offers, a lower level of insurance for vacant home insurance, however we have found the premium to be very close between a high quality insurance program and a low quality program. The result: it just is not worth it to offer reduced and "watered down" coverage when high quality programs are available for perhaps just $100 more per year.

Are there big differences in insurance coverage, absolutely! All risk coverage is far superior over named perils which may only offer insurance coverage if 1 of a select few named perils occur. Offer a reduced and limited coverage can just lead to denied claims and unhappy clients.

Vacant Townhouse Insurance not The Same Process As Insuring an Empty Condo

Vacant Home Insurance now, in addition to providing vacant homeowners insurance to single family homes also provides vacant townhouse insurance and vacant condo insurance.

Unlike an empty or unoccupied condominium that needs special insurance coverage, a townhouse that is not being lived in needs much more coverage when writing vacant town-home insurance. If you are, by legal definition, living in a condo there is a master association policy that covers the part of the structure that the condo owns, typically the roof, grounds, and outside walls. When securing vacant condo insurance it's usually only necessary to insure the walls in.

Although someone that lives in a townhouse also pays dues into an association, there is no master insurance policy that covers any part of the persons townhouse (in most cases). The owner is responsible for insuring 100% of the dwelling up until the legal barrier where the other townhouse starts next door. Unlike a condo, providing vacant townhouse insurance means the dwelling will need to be insured for an amount that will be very close to the sale price unless there is extraordinary value in the real estate location.

When you need to insure a condo, the sale price can be hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the amount you need to insure for.

Winterizing a Vacant Home

Vacant Home Insurance Now provides free information and advice for homeowners that have a vacant or empty home, and need to purchase vacant homeowners insurance. When someone places vacant homeowners insurance, certain things need to be done for the policy to remain in effect and not be cancelled. The empty house needs to be maintained to a certain standard of care. Let's examine winterizing an empty home.

Winterizing is essential for a vacant or empty home. Frozen pipes is one of the top 3 causes of homeowners insurance claims for a vacant or unoccupied home. In the Mid-West, or North-East a homeowner has two choices:

1. All the pipes can be drained of all and any water, and this would allow the heat in the house to be turned off or turned very low to save on energy. Pipes can freeze in a home even if the heat is set to 60 degrees or higher depending on the outside air temperature, how close the pipe is to the outside air, and how much insulation is on the pipe and in the wall between the pipe and the outside air. In most cases we recommend some heat be left on in the house. Having the inside air in a house below freezing is not a good idea and can weather and destroy more than just the pipes.


2. One can leave water in the pipes but keep the heat above 60 degrees to be safe. A frozen pipe with a pipe burst can destroy a home if the damage is left untreated and water on in the house turns to mold and mildew. If the heat in left one, someone should come to inspect the empty house once every week or so.

The owner of a vacant home insurance policy has the responsibility of making sure the house is property winterized, or if the insurance company can prove a reasonable degree of care was not achieved, the vacant home insurance company can deny the claim.

How to Value a Condo for Vacant Condo Insurance

When one seeks quotes in the market for vacant home insurance, one of the most important things is getting the value of insurance right. The value a vacant home needs to be insured for is not the sale price, but rather the rebuild or reconstruction cost assuming there is a total loss.

This can be very difficult when valuing a condominium. A "condo" is a condo by definition because the homeowners or condo association owns at least part of the dwelling. For example, it's common for the homeowner to own from "the studs inward" meaning the condo association owns the walls, roof, support beams, trees, shrubs, etc.

When the owner of a condo finds himself needing vacant condo insurance, the best formula to estimate the value of what the condominium needs to be insured for would be the following:

Cost of the flooring, electrical, plumping, kitchen cabinets, kitchen counter, bathrooms, lighting "fixtures," appliances, and drywall (with all labor costs) = insured value.

For most condos that sell for $150,000 the rebuild or reconstruction cost will be at least $60,000 and may be much higher, however the number should be well below the rebuild cost of a single family home.

Vacant Home Insurance or Builders Risk Insurance? What to buy

There seems to be a lot of confusion from customers about when they need to purchase a vacant homeowners insurance policy vs. when they need to buy a builders risk insurance policy or contractors policy.

Most insurance companies that insure vacant or unoccupied homes have what we call "residential" products. If the work on the home during the period of vacancy is going to be minor or cosmetic such as putting in new hardwood, painting, or redoing a few bathrooms, then most vacant home insurance polices will apply.

However, if the work or renovations that are going to be done during the vacancy time are going to be extensive, a builders risk or contractors policy will almost always be needed. What is the basic definition of extensive renovations:

1. Where any work is being done on the roof


2. Window replacement throughout the house


3. Extensive plumbing or electrical work


4. Removal of load bearing walls


5. Other major renovations

You do not want to be holding a residential vacant home insurance policy, have a large claim, and have the adjuster tell you they are denying your $50,000 claim because you had taken out the wrong policy or misrepresented the situation to the insurance company!

Real Estate Agents Not Doing Favors for Clients Re Vacant Homeowners Insurance

A recent but informal survey of real estate agents by Vacant Home Insurance Now finds that real estate agents are not doing their clients any favors when it comes to making suggestions about vacant home insurance. Over 90% of home owners do not understand that they cannot keep their home insured with their existing homeowners insurance company if the house becomes empty. The problem is, more than 60% of the Realtors we polled feel the same way and are not recommending vacant home insurance solutions.

In fact, the advice of many real estate agents have actually been very detrimental to the clients best interests and we have found these kinds of suggestions:

1. "Just keep a few items in the house and in front of the windows so it appears that someone is living in the house."


2. "Just have someone stop by the house every few days so it can stay insured."


3. "Put a light on a timer so it always seems like someone is home."


4. "Don't tell the insurance company you are not living in the home, because if you do they will cancel you."

All of this is potentially catastrophic advice. If a home is empty or unoccupied it needs a vacant home insurance policy.. period. There is no way to game the system or get around this. The advice real estate agents give their clients needs to be, "if your home will be empty for longer than 60 days you should immediately look into vacant home insurance quotes because this is the only way the house can remain covered, can we cannot sell the house without good insurance."

Is Vandalism Included In Your Vacant Home Insurance Quote

At Vacant Home Insurance Now, we want to remind anyone shopping for a vacant homeowners insurance quote to always make sure it includes vandalism. First, many vacant home insurance quotes are limited named perils coverage and vandalism is not even on the list of covered items.

In most cases, vandalism and malicious mischief can be added to the policy, but in most cases it is not standard. Vandalism and malicious mischief is the # 1 cause of insurance claims on empty homes that are not occupied. We provide an "all risk" insurance solution for vacant homeowners insurance so with our programs, one does not need to ask if vandalism is on the list because it's always covered.

However, 99% of the market if you are seeking other quotes, is limited named perils (like fire, wind, hail, lightning, smoke, aircraft, etc) and vandalism may or may not be on the list. If you are willing to take the risk of going with a limited policy, we do recommend you pay the extra premium and get vandalism added back into the policy.

Why this is so important, is vandalism can lead to larger claims that will not be covered without vandalism protection. If kids throw a rock through the window, and that night the area receives a downpour of rain, the $20,000 of damage that could follow to the hardwood and drywall will not be covered because the broken window was the cause (assuming this person did not add vandalims and did not choose an all risk insurance solution!)

Vacancy Clause after a Death of a Loved One

Vacant Home Insurance Now would like to remind everyone that after the death of a loved one, each insurance company will have a different extension of benefits clause for a vacant home.

In some instances, a few homeowners insurance companies will insure a vacant home, and essentially provide vacant home insurance for up to a full year. In most situations, this "run out" period may far more limited and may only be 30 or 60 days. The most important thing to remember when dealing with an unoccupied home is not to leave anything to chance, and to contact the insurance company as soon as possible and report the circumstances to them.

Ask them if they offer vacant home insurance. Most will not. Ask if they have an extension of benefits provision for a vacant home after a death in the family. Some insurance companies will not immediately terminate the insurance in this instance. However, in all instances get the extension of benefits in writing and do not trust anyone that tells you the home is still covered even though the house is empty. Always collect this documentation and proof of coverage.

Chinese Drywall Causing Vacant Homes

Homeowners that have the now infamous Chinese Drywall exposure problem will need vacant homeowners insurance while they are not living in the house, and while the situation is fixed. However, securing vacant home insurance for this situation is not easy, and many carriers will not provide vacant home insurance quotes for homeowners in this situation.

There have been problems reported with certain Chinese drywall shipped into the United States. It is said to emit some sort of gas or odor that can cause health problems for the owner of the home. It all started after hurricane Katrina where, because of the extent of the damage, there was a drywall shortage in the U.S. and drywall had to be shipped over from China. It's unclear if the problem has totally been corrected, and if existing drywall coming from China could contain the same toxic element. The main symptom is a sulfur-like smell and certain respiratory problems that cannot be explained.

People who experience this problem may be forced out of their house, thus they will need vacant homeowners insurance. However, carriers that supply vacant home insurance are fearful of the Chinese drywall problem and many will not provide vacant home insurance coverage.

Also if extensive renovations are anticipated, like ripping out all of the drywall to replace it, many vacant home insurance carriers will not provide coverage, and a builders risk, or contractors policy will be needed.

Vacant Homeowners Insurance Quotes: 3 Problems

When people have a home on the market for sale that becomes vacant or empty, and requires vacant home insurance, they soon find they are being cancelled by their existing homeowners insurance company. When they seek quotes on the market for vacant homeowners insurance there are three potential problems and pitfall that they need to be keenly aware of to avoid major problems down the road.

The first is, what is the name of the insurance company providing the vacant home insurance quote? It's amazing, but people get vacant homeowners insurance quotes and the agent may not even present the insurance company that is backing the quote! Our rule, if you don't recognize the company or cannot find the insurer easily or the Internet, it may not be the strongest quote so look elsewhere.

The second item is, what are you insured for? People get vacant house insurance quotes and they assume they are getting the same level of coverage as when the house was occupied. Instead of all risk coverage for the empty house, they end up with named perils coverage and only 8 perils covered for! Again, this is not readily apparent when one ask for the quote in many circumstances. Always ask what you are insured for and get the list of named perils. (for example, fire, smoke, lightning, wind, etc).

The last pitfall is the perils of vandalism. Vandalism if the # 1 cause for claims in a house that is vacant or unoccupied. All vacant dwelling insurance quotes should come with vandalism. Unfortunately, many do not unless the applicant asks specifically for this coverage and the coverage is added back in for an additional fee.

All-risk coverage from a quality company, and one that includes vandalism is available from vacanthomeinsurancenow.com

Vacant Home Policy or Builders Risk Policy

Many people purchase a home with the idea they will not be living in the home for 3 to 6 months why they renovate the house. After the renovation they will either sell or live in the house themselves. Most of these people understand they will need some sort of vacant home insurance policy during this time, but what kind of policy do they really need?

It really depends on the extent of the renovations. Many vacant homeowners insurance policies will not take the risk if there are major renovations or more than just cosmetic changes being made. A builders risk or contractors policy may be needed instead of a vacant home insurance policy if the following major renovations are being made. However, each insurance company that provides insurance to empty homes acts a bit differently so check with your insurer. You may not be able to secure vacant homeowners insurance if you are doing the following:

1. putting on a new roof
2. taking down walls
3. putting on an addition
4. redoing plumbing
5. redoing the electric system
6. installing central air conditioning
7. building a new kitchen or bathroom

Of course, painting, laying hardwood, and other cosmetic type repairs and improvement should not affect your ability to get a vacant homeowners insurance policy.

The Major Insurance Companies and Vacant Home Insurance

At VHIN, we are often asked the same question. Why don't the big insurance companies insure vacant homes and provide vacant homeowners insurance? It is clear that they are not in the vacant home business, and we will assume they have their reasons, but this question is more puzzling. Why don't they let their customers know that they do not cover vacant houses?

At VHIN, we estimate that 90% of people that call us did not understand the vacant home issue. They did not understand their existing homeowners insurance company did not cover a home that is not being lived in. They tend to find out by accident at renewal time, or when they call the insurance company looking to raise their deductible to save money for example.

In other words they tell the insurance company that home is empty by accident, and then are promptly cancelled and the insurance policy is terminated.

Almost all insurance companies send a newsletter to their clients covering various topics. Why they don't tell customers on the front page "we don't provide vacant homeowners insurance" we don't know but at VHIN, we will continue to spread the word and educate the public on this important issue.

Vacant Home Insurance for Parent Entering Assisted Living

With the baby boom generation hitting it's stride with most in their mid 60's, many will begin entering assisted living facilities and nursing homes over the next 5 to 10 years. When the children decide dad is better off in assisted living, one thing they almost never consider is vacant home insurance while they decide what to do with the house.

In almost all cases, the home is not sold quickly and vacant homeowners insurance is needed. In addition, it's their parents house and most will not want to sell quickly due to sentimental value, or with the hope that one day they can return to their home.

What happens is the home sits empty or vacant for 3 to 6 months, and the existing homeowners insurance company is not informed the home is vacant. Most of these people will completely lose coverage without even knowing it.

Children taking care of homes f0r aging parents need to understand the vacant home insurance issue and how it affects them in order to avert a disaster.

Insure for Full Rebuild Cost on Vacant House

When a house becomes vacant or empty and vacant homeowners insurance is needed, one of the most important things to remember is the home needs to be insured for the true rebuild and reconstruction cost.

Often, even after someone understands the need for vacant home insurance, they ask to be insured just for the amount they owe on a loan, or if they are selling, they want to insure for a low value in order to keep their premium payment lower because the cost of vacant home insurance is much more than regular homeowners insurance.

This practice is dangerous. First, any reputable insurance company needs to insure a vacant home for the full rebuild cost assuming there is a total loss. Most people don't realize if this is not done, there can be severe penalties at claim time if an insurance claim is filed on a vacant house.

Any company willing to insure you for less than the true rebuild cost using like or the same materials should be avoided.

Vacant Condominium, Careful Not to Overinsure

The biggest challenge when someone has an empty or vacant condo that they need to insure, other than the fact that people do not know the terms of their existing homeowners insurance company regarding vacant homes, is getting the value right.

Every respectable insurance agent and company that insures vacant properties needs to insure for the full replacement cost. This can be very difficult when insuring a condo. It depends on who owns what. Are the walls and ceiling owned by the resident or the condominium association? The answer is "it depends."

One should always have a conversation with their condo association to see exactly what the condo association policy covers and what the owner needs to cover. When the owner is living in the condo this is not as important because insurance premiums are low. For vacant homeowners insurance this is more important because premiums for vacant home insurance for condos are more expensive, and driven by value.

Also, if one under insures a vacant condominium, there can be big problems with the insurance company if one needs to file a claim.

Note to Estate Executors, Do Not Forget the Vacant Home Insurance

Vacant Home Insurance Now is reporting that a much larger portion of inquiries and recent requests have to do with insuring the home of a deceased relative. This is very important information for anyone that could be in that position someday.

Family members acting as executors of an estate need to understand the responsibilities they have with a vacant home, and most do not understand if the house sits empty for over 30 to 60 days, the "existing" homeowners insurance policy may begin to reduce or totally eliminate coverage. One of the first thing executors should do is investigate vacant homeowners insurance, and communicate the fact that the home is empty or vacant to the existing homeowners insurance company.

They will soon get a termination notice from the insurance company, but that is actually a good thing! How can this be? An estate executor that is holding a termination notice that says the insurance will be cancelled in 30 days due to a vacant building, at least knows coverage is in place for 30 days on the vacant property and has time to secure vacant homeowners insurance.

People that let months go buy or simply "hide the fact" from the insurance company are probably in for a rude awakening if there is a claim on the vacant home. Being an executor is a difficult and stressful time. What a catastrophe when the executor has to report to other family members that there has been a homeowners claim, and they failed to properly protect the interests of the family through vacant home insurance

Why a Seasonal or Rental is Not a Vacant Home

Isn't a seasonal property or a beach property a vacant home, and why do some homes need vacant home insurance coverage and this is not required on vacation homes or homes rented out?

First, the word is just beginning to spread that if you have a house that is empty or unoccupied for over 60 days, chances are you are losing or have lost insurance through your regular homeowners insurance company and you need to put vacant home insurance or vacant homeowners insurance coverage on the home. Those that don't realize this are risking much.

However, someone that owns a property on the ocean, say at the New Jersey Shore, may watch it sit empty for 10 months a year, and these properties do not need a vacant home insurance policy in most cases. Investment properties that are rented for part of the year can be covered under standard landlord/tenant dwelling policies. Insurance companies do not see these properties for rent as the same risk as a vacant home. Properties that are for rent are kept up well, and may often get visitors from owners, realtors, cleaning people etc.

A "second home" also may sit empty for 10 months a year, yet rarely requires a vacant homeowners insurance policy either. In fact, in most cases, the same company that provides homeowners insurance on the primary home will also extend "all risk" insurance to a seasonal or second home. We admit, this is a bit of a paradox. One home is empty or vacant and only expensive vacant homeowners solutions can be offered. Another home sits unoccupied in Scottsdale AZ as a second home and there are no problems securing good coverage at a lesser price. We will continue examining this one.

Vacant Home Insurance Quotes | Make Sure you Know the Named Perils

Most vacant home policies available in most States are not the same level of insurance coverage that the homeowner had while living in the house. Most people do not realize that the coverage can be drastically reduced with a Vacant Home Insurance policy. Don't assume anything and always have a complete understanding of what is covered.

Most insurers that write vacant homeowners insurance policies write what is called "Dwelling Policies." This means that they offer coverage for a list of 8 or 9 "perils" for example fire, windstorm, hail, explosion, etc. The problem is, if what caused the damage to the home is not on this list, there is no coverage at all.

This is the opposite of the type of homeowners insurance that most people have while living in the home which is mostly "all risk coverage" that covers everything but what is specifically excluded.

When you get a vacant home insurance quote, make sure you understand what perils it covers and make sure vandalism is on the list. Vandalism is normally not covered under most policies unless specifically written in for additional premium.

Working Overseas, Don't Forget the Vacant Home

When my employer sent me overseas for 5 months to finish the programming on a big computer project I had a lot on my mind. I had to be on the project site in 7 days. I had just renewed my homeowners insurance policy with the leading insurer and didn't think there was any problem whatsoever. I was just going for 5 months and my mother will come by once a week or so to look in on the place.

Well my mother did just that but after a few weeks here visits went to once every two weeks. A hailstorm that was very local to our town blew out the picture window in the living room. The house was soaking wet for almost 10 days and mold was growing by then. When I filed the homeowners claim I was given a check for $4,000 but the total damage was over $30,000 because of the mold and how long everything was wet.

I was told I needed to secure vacant homeowners insurance even if I was only going to be away for just 2 months. No one told me I needed vacant home insurance. I was stuck paying the difference out of pocket. The impression I got from the homeowners insurance company was that I was lucky to get even the $4,000 because I had not imformed them the house was going to be empty or vacant.

Vacant Home; Don't Trust Your Agent to Get It Right

Too many people have been burned by trusting their insurance agent when they have a vacant home or vacant property. Sometimes the insurance agent does not even know the terms of the vacant homeowners insurance policy he or she recommends and just get's it wrong, telling the client that they do not need to secure special vacant home insurance coverage.

However there are times, and we hope this is the rare exception, where an insurance agent will tell a client that it's OK to leave the home empty or vacant with the existing policy because the agent knows the insurance company he or she represents does not offer a vacant homeowers insurance policy and they would lose the business and thus their renewal commission.

Whether mistakes are legitimate or on purpose does not matter. We always recommend that the insured get something in writing from the agent stateing that they understand the house will be vacant for a period of time and the insurance will continue without lapse. When asked to put it in writing, the chance for error goes down by a factor of 10.

Vacant Homeowners Insurace Refund

Hi, one of the big things you want to look at when you go out and purchase a special vacant home insurance policy or vacant dwelling policy, is to make sure you understand the refund provision. For example, if you have moved out of your home and buy coverage for 90 days, and then unexpectedly, the home sells in 20 days, how much will the carrier refund back to you? This can vary among carriers.

One carrier advertises you only need to buy 1 day of coverage, but all will have minimum premium amounts that cannot be refunded.

Most companies do a nice job returning "unearned premium" but this is a provision you should understand before you do business with a specialty insurance company that provides insurance for vacant homes and vacant buildings.

Mark

Vacant Home Insurace: Be Careful What you are Buying

A big difference in the quality of policies is the difference between a policy that pays on a actual cash value basis "ACV" and one that pays on a replacement cost basis. ACV is defined as replacement cost at the time of loss minus physical depreciation. Replacement cost is the amount it would cost to replace the property at the prices in effect on the date of losss. Depreciation is the cost of wear and tear on the property.

A policy that pays on a replacement cost basis will replace damaged property wtih like kind and quality without taking into account depreciation, and is therefor superior.

A policy may also call for losses to be paid on a functional replacement cost basis. Functional replacement cost is just an alternative form of valuation of property that is used in some insurance policies. It is used when the original insured property can be replaced with a functionally equivalent property, but not physically idential, at a lower cost. This is a step up from ACV but not as good as a full replacement cost policy.

Most vacant homeowners (or vacant dwelling) policies are ACV and the buyer must be wary.

Get Everything In Writing from your Insurance Company

Hi, this is just a quick note to everyone, going back to what you learned in your first business class in high school. Trust no one and always get it in writing. When it comes to special situations you may be in regarding homeowners insurance, in many cases your agent will not know the answer and even people on the customer service line at the insurance company may not understand the issue fully.

When we left our home in Flowertown PA for 3 months to spend time with my wife's sister in Phoenix Arizona, we actually did inquire with our agent about the insurance coverage while the home was empty and vacant.

We were told everything would be fine, and basically to "have a nice trip." I had to fly back home after we found out some kids had broken into the house and ransacked the liquor cabinet. The damage they caused was only about $10,000 (it could have been much worse).

We were told by the insurance company that there would be no coverage at all because the home was being considered vacant and we did not put special coverage on the home call vacant home owners coverage. They told us they do not provide vandalism coverage on empty or unoccupied homes.

Next time, we will get everything we need in writing.

This was taken from an email sent to one of our employees;

We want everyone out there to know that property management services are not a substitute for the proper insurance coverage or a vacant homeowners insurance policy. When our employer moved us to The Woodlands Texas last Spring, we had a very hard time selling our home in Boca Raton, FL.

The company offered to buy the home for about $40,000 less than what we thought we could get, so we chose to retain the risk ourselves, and take the additional time to sell the property. The company provided Property Management Services through Prudential Relocation, their moving and relocation company. From what everyone told us, property management services is all we would need and these included a landscaping company company coming by the property every Tuesday to cut the lawn, clean up leaves, etc.

We never even thought about insurance. On day 108 of the house being empty we had a very violent tropical storm blew threw (we had been living in Texas) and a small section of the roof was blown off. Rain soaked much of the 3rd bedroom.

The problem was, no one here knew about it. The rain was not taken care of and quickly turned into a $60,000 mold and mildew claim. To make a long story short, the insurance company was willing to pay $10,000 but would not pay the balance of the claim because the house was unoccupied. Let me tell you, property management services on your home for sale does not mean you do not need a vacant home insurance policy.

Don't let your kid's neighbor housesit without the proper insurance

Two years ago, my husband's job took him on a temporary assignment of 5 months to Prague to finish up a large computer project for the Czech government. Of course it was the opportunity of a lifetime to go with him and I figured a way to take leave from my job (...no loss if they fired me anyway) to join him in this amazing city, which was untouched by the destruction left behind in WWII.

Siteseeing aside, we asked the 20 year old son of a neighbor to "housesit" while we were away. What's the worst that can happen, spilled beer? We felt better withsome living in the house and we could avoid that expensive vacant home insurance, or so we thought. Because we had someone to stay in the house we had no idea we would not rely on our current homeowners insurance policy which was paid up until the end of the year.

While we were away (in the 4th month) a large tulip poplar tree fell on the house during a windstorm. Jason acted quickly to get the hole repaired using the credit card we had left him, but I had to fly home to see to the contractor arrangments etc. The claim we submitted to the insurance company for over $40,000 was totally denied because they told us we did not have the right insurance on the house. We had needed to write a special policy why we were away called a landlord tenant policy (also called a tenant boarder policy).

As you can guess, we had no idea we needed to do this and didn't even think to call our agent. It was a total disater and all the extra money my husband made by taking the overseas assignment quickly was eaten up in this massive repair.

Bait & Switch Vacant Home Insurance

When we leave our home in Radnor Pennsylvania for the winter to spend 4 or 5 months in Scottsdale Arizona, we typically can find someone to "sit" in the house while we are away. Last winter we found no one, and spoke to our agent about how to insure the home.

We were advised that we were in luck, and our regular homeowners insurance company would be able to insure our vacant home at an additional premium. In February of that year, we had a major claim when vandals broke into the house, stole some items, but even worth left about $20,000 of damage in the house.

When we filed the claim with our insurance we were in for a big shock. We had assumed the coverage was pretty much the same because it was the same insurance company. We quickly learned we had no coverage for this incident because the new policy was a reduced level of coverage. Our agent told us "you just can't get the same level of coverage when a home is not being occupied" and this is what people live with. Basically.. we had no other choice?

However, no one explained the coverage was to such a lesser degree. Our advise, when you put on a vacant dwelling insurance policy make sure you know exactly what you are buying.

Parent in Nursing Home Don't forget the Vacant Home Insurance

When we recently put mom and pop into the Menonite Home in Lancaster PA, the house in East Petersburg was sitting empty for several months while we decided what to do with it and while we were selling the furniture and giving other items away to family and charity.

A friend who is a real estate agent informed us that the home was probably without insurance coverage because it had been sitting empty for so long. We called our agent, and to our horror the house would have been totally exposed if there was a total loss because the house was no longer being lived in.

We acted quickly and had to find another carrier that would take the vacant homeowners insurance risk but we had no idea that the house was sitting without any insurance coverage because we knew the policy was paid in full for the year. A major claim like a fire would have cost us almost $350,000.

Lesson learned.