Gulf and Atlantic Coast Rated Higher for Vacant Home Insurance

The rates for vacant homeowners insurance have been relatively stable for years but the cost to insure an empty or vacant house in Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia is now about 15% higher than providing vacant home insurance in Ohio, Arkansas, or Oklahoma for example.

It appears the "hurricane underwriting" that hit those regions several years ago has now affected the vacant homeowners insurance market as well.

When insuring an empty home with vacant home insurance, other States where the cost is above average (and this can depend on the insurer) is lead by California and can include Maine, Oregon and Washington State.

Insurance agents are advised to let clients know that if they are in these States, they may be paying more for vacant home insurance. This is somewhat of a problem because vacant homeowners insurance and vacant building insurance is at least 3 times as expensive a regular home insurance anyway.

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."