Insuring a vacant home is easy, if you have the right policy

Many insurance companies don’t like to cover a vacant home because it is more likely to suffer certain kinds of damage, such as a break-in by kids or vagrants, or damage that grows to a large scale, for example a water leak that goes undetected for weeks.

When a home becomes vacant, a standard homeowners policy may give the carrier the right to cancel mid-term, lower coverage levels, or even deny a claim.

What you need is a policy that is specifically written for the risks of a vacant property. It applies to these common circumstances:

• You own rental property and are between tenants
• You’ve moved for a new job but your house is unsold
• A property is undergoing renovations
• As executor, you are selling a house to close an estate

For a short-term vacancy, add the Vacancy Permission endorsement

If you have a rental property or seasonal home insured in one of American Modern’s programs, or a home that is vacant and for sale, the Vacancy Permission endorsement modifies the DP-1 [?]
DP-1
DP stands for Dwelling Property, a class of coverage for housing insurance created by the Insurance Standards Organization. The number is a designation for one of several standard DP packages. DP-1 offers named peril coverage for owner, rental, seasonal, and vacant occupancy classes. or DP-3 [?]
DP-3
DP stands for Dwelling Property, a class of coverage for housing insurance created by the Insurance Standards Organization.The number is a designation for one of several standard DP packages.
DP-3 offers comprehensive coverage for rental and seasonal occupancy classes.The coverage is similar to a standard homeowners policy. policy to accommodate a temporary vacancy.

Without this option, to maintain coverage you need to cancel the original policy, purchase a vacant policy, then go back to a regular policy when the vacancy ends. The Vacancy Permission endorsement eliminates that hassle.

Keep in mind that the property must meet the qualifications for the DP-1 or DP-3 program in which it is insured.

What's included?

Named peril protection

Your policy covers those causes of loss listed by name in your policy documents (fire, lighting, wind, hail, explosion, and others). It covers the essentials, but not everything. This kind of coverage is sometimes referred to as "basic form" coverage.

Actual cash value loss settlement

For a total or partial loss, we settle at the actual cash value (ACV) of the loss, which takes depreciation into account when settling your claim. If you want a bit more coverage, in many states we offer upgrades to full repair cost coverage.

Term

We write 3-, 6- and 12-month policy terms. That gives you flexibility.

Pro-rated cancellation

When your house sells, or someone moves in, you can cancel the policy and get a refund for the balance of the policy term.

Expand the coverage for your vacant property with these options

Premises liability

This coverage protects the landlord’s liability if an injury occurs to someone while on the premises. It does not cover the actions of the landlord when away from the property, or the renter’s actions.

Personal property

If you as a landlord equip the property with furnishings, appliances, linens and the like, our landlord policy lets you add coverage for these kinds of personal property.

Limited burglary

You are covered for theft of personal items, plus permanently attached items such as a heat pump, appliances or even copper piping if a forced entry leaves signs of visible damage.

Vandalism

If there is no theft, just physical damage or defacement, the loss is considered to be vandalism, and is covered by this provision.

Builder's risk

During a renovation, add coverage for the value of improvements, alterations or repairs.

Option 1 – start EZPay to automate your payments

Many customers want the convenience of monthly automated bill payments. With EZPay, a withdrawal is made from a bank account you specify, or charged to your credit card. We let you pick the date of the month for the payment (1 to 28). Once EZPay begins, we will stop mailing invoices.

Option 2 – pay after we send you a bill

You either can pay in full at the time you start or renew the policy, or in many states we offer a 4-Pay plan – a 25 percent down payment on your policy followed by three installments. The 3- and 6-month policy terms for vacant insurance do not qualify for the 4-Pay plan. A service fee applies to each installment. Pay by personal check, credit card, or bank account transfer.

Some states place limits on the payment plan schedules we can offer or the service fee. To confirm, check with your agent or call Customer Care at 800-543-2644.