Rolling the dice with your home…

Lots of people who have homes that are unoccupied, whether because of a move or some other reason are choosing to roll the dice as far as insurance goes. I always advise clients with empty houses to check with their insurance agent about vacant home coverage, but few do. The sad truth is that is anything happens to the home and they make a claim, the claim will likely be denied. Most insurance companies have provisions right in the policy that cover occupancy of the home and most do not cover unoccupied homes.

There is good reason for those insurance company policies concerning vacant homes, since so many vacant homes are vandalized these days or suffer damage from improper winterization during the cold months. I suppose you can’t blame the insurance companies for wanting the house to be occupied. But you can blame the homeowners who abandon the homes to the vagrancy's of the times. It’s likely not a big concern of someone who has been foreclosed, since they are unlikely to still be paying on the policy anyway. But what of the job transferee or the retiree who has moved on? Those folks are talking a big gamble if they don’t get honest with their insurance companies and get a vacant home rider or policy.

Now I have to be honest here, these vacant home policies are more expensive than just your normal policy, so maybe that’s why so many homeowners avoid them. But think about it. Let’s say that you’ve moved on to your new job, leaving behind your empty house that is on the market. What if a pipe bursts and your basement floods and sits there for a couple of days before anyone notices water streaming out of the basement windows. Or, what if someone comes to look at your house with a Realtor and falls down your basement stairwell and hurts himself or herself. Or, what if the timer that you left with the lights on it to fool people about the house being empty shorts out and starts a fire that causes major damage. In all cases, you have a major financial problem on your hands and the insurance company will be quickly washing it’s hands of any responsibility, as soon as they find out that the house was unoccupied and that you had not notified them and made provisions for extra coverage.

Welcome the real world of insurance, my friend. You do not get coverage if you don’t pay for it and vacant house coverage is separate and distinct and at an extra cost from your normal homeowners policy. Don’t believe me. Call your homeowners policy company and ask them. There’s a good likelihood that they’ll tell you that they don’t even cover vacant homes and that your empty home is in fact bare of coverage already. Then ask yourself if you are willing to gamble with the largest single asset that you own. If you need more information on the special vacant home policies that some companies offer call your insurance agent; or, in Michigan call my Milford Team teammate Eric Chase at 734-662-0172 or email him at