Risk & Business Magazine Nesbit Agencies Fall 2019 | Page 14

VACANT HOME INSURNACE
BY: WAYNE NESBIT
NESBIT AGENCIES
BY: WAYNE NESBIT,
NESBIT AGENCIES
Protecting The Unoccupied:
Vacant Home Insurance
F
or every home that is occupied,
there is often a home that is left
unoccupied. Whether that is
a vacation home, a cabin used
seasonally, or even properties
left temporarily unoccupied as part of a
move or sale, these homes have many of
the same property risks that occupied
dwellings do, but they also carry their
own special set of considerations which
owners should be aware of.
The solution to these problems is
unoccupied and vacant home insurance,
specialty products designed to provide
protection (financially speaking) from
the loss of or damage to an uninhabited
home. Vacant homes pose a larger risk
to insurance companies than occupied
homes, whose claims are likely to be
reported faster and whose potential
issues (flooding, fire, damage, etc.) will be
dealt with sooner.
When might you need this type of
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insurance? Well, generally speaking,
if you have a property that will be
unoccupied for more than 30 days or so,
you probably want to have it. Here are
some common scenarios:
• Vacation homes that are only utilized
a few times throughout the year
• Newly purchased homes that you
won’t occupy for a month or more
•
•
•
• Rental properties without tenants
Property remodeling or renovations
Long-term travel
Long-term hospitalization
There are, of course, other situations
in which this type of insurance would
be useful, but these scenarios are the
most common. One important thing
to keep in mind is that homeowners’
insurance generally will not cover claims
made on unoccupied properties. This is
primarily due to those increased risks
mentioned above. Those risks have led to
unoccupied homes being excluded from
standard policies, which has resulted in
the need for special insurance.
It is vital that you speak with a
professional to determine what
considerations you may need to take
into account before leaving your home
unattended. Further, there are often
some restrictions on these policies about
the amount of time that the dwellings
can be left unattended.
Are you sure you have the adequate
protections in place? If not, it’s time to
find out. For more information, contact
Wayne Nesbit at 952-746-4312. +
Wayne Nesbit is a producer at Nesbit Agencies
and works with a wide variety of clients on their
insurance programs, including assisted living
facilities, property management companies, and
restaurants. He can be reached at wnesbit@
nesbitagencies.com or 952-746-4312