When renewing vacant home insurance or vacant condo insurance, make sure you inform the mortgage company!

Clients than have purchased vacant home insurance should not wait until the "last minute" to renew the vacant homeowners insurance policy. The reasons have to do with the demands of the mortgage company.

In most cases, vacant home insurance can be renewed just a few days before the lapse date or termination date but we don't recommend this. Although there may be no lapse in coverage it can take a week or two for the client to receive the documentation paperwork like the declarations page for vacant home insurance.

If the client has a mortgage, it is up to the client to always be able to demonstrate to the mortgage company that good insurance exists on the property, vacant homeowners insurance or otherwise. It's within the right of the mortgage company to secure forced placement insurance coverage if they believe the client has been delinquent in their duty to always protect the house with good insurance coverage.

Mortgage Reporting for Vacant Home Insurance Policies

Clients that buy a vacant homeowners insurance policy with Vacant Home Insurance Now, or any other provider, need to understand their responsibilities with their mortgage company or bank. Whenever there is a change of insurance, and especially a move from regular homeowners insurance to vacant home insurance policy, the mortgage company needs to be informed by contract.

Clients should start by calling the insurance department of the mortgage company and simply informing a representative that vacant home insurance has been placed. Some may simply take the information over the phone, but most will require the insured to send in the new declarations page for vacant home insurance. There is no need to send the mortgage company the entire policy document, only the 2 or 3 page declarations page will be fine.

Unfortunately, most will not allow you to email this document, but most will accept a fax in lieu of mailing the hard copy.

Homeowners need to remember two important things:

1. That whenever there is a change in insurance they need to inform their mortgage company.
2. If the mortgage company feels, at any time for good reason, the vacant home is not property protected, they can take action to put insurance on themselves. This is called forced placement and this action is not desirable to insureds.

Make sure the mortgagee always has up to date declarations on the vacant home insurance to avoid problems and expense.