What You Should Know About Having A Vacant Home

Insurance Blog

If you are moving to a new house and have not yet sold your current home, you may want to consider renting it out instead of leaving it vacant. Not only would this help you generate some income, but it will also help you avoid paying high rates for your home insurance. Home insurance rates can be high on vacant homes. Here are a few things to know about this.

Why vacant homes cost more for home insurance

When a house has people living in it, an insurance company will view the home as less risky compared to when a home has no one in it. Vacant homes are attractive to bugs, rodents, and burglars. Anyone or anything could get inside the home and cause damage to it, and anytime this happens, the insurance company might receive a homeowner's claim. Insurance companies often call vacant homes "attractive nuisances."

The risk levels for claims are much higher on vacant homes, and insurance companies compensate for this by raising the premiums for homes that are vacant.

What insurance companies consider a vacant home

Some insurance companies consider a home vacant if the home is empty and the owners have no intention of moving back in. Others consider a home vacant if no one lives there for a certain amount of time. This time frame is usually around 30 to 60 days. You will need to know how your insurance company defines vacant so that you know what you should do to make sure the property is covered.

What you will need to do

When your home becomes vacant, you will need to notify your insurance company as soon as you can. If you don't and something happens to your home, the company might reject your claim if they know that the damage took place while the home was vacant.

When you notify the insurance company of this, there are two outcomes they may have. The first is that they may cancel your policy. Some insurance companies will not provide coverage on vacant homes. The other outcome is that they will agree to insure it, but they will create a new policy to compensate for the fact that the house will be empty.

Insuring a vacant house may not be inexpensive, but it is necessary. Without insurance, you will have no protection on the house. If you need insurance for a vacant house you have, contact a home insurance company like Reinhardt's Insurance Agency today.

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26 June 2017

Preparing for the Future

Ten years ago, I married my best friend in a beautiful, intimate ceremony. My husband and I have been nearly inseparable and we’ve enjoyed this special time in our lives where it has been just the two of us. However, we’re finally ready to have a baby. Because I only work part-time, my husband is the primary financial provider in the family. If something ever happened to him, I wouldn’t be able to instantly support myself and a child. Because my husband worries about an uncertain future, he is considering purchasing a larger life insurance policy. On this blog, I hope you will discover the best types of life insurance policies for young parents to invest in. Enjoy!