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.