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.