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Vacant Building Insurance
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While people frequent their homes during all hours of the day, most buildings or rented spaces are often uninhabited or vacant. That doesn’t mean that hazards and damages can’t occur.
Business locations and stores have closing and off-hours where they don’t see customers, and the buildings remain empty. If these commercial establishments generally have less than 35% of their given occupation, they are not covered by standard commercial insurance. At the same time, a family could have a vacation home that they only use during certain times of the year. Buildings or projects undergoing remodeling also qualify as vacant buildings.
It’s essential to have and, at the very least, consider vacant building insurance since damages tend to be more severe with vacant properties.
Insurance Navy is ready to help make affordable and cheap vacant building insurance accessible and easily understood.
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Why do vacant properties need good Vacant building insurance coverage?
Why do vacant properties need good Vacant building insurance coverage?
You would think having few people on any given property is nowhere near an insurance risk. However, damages and hazards are known to be harsher regarding vacant buildings. It would make sense for a thief or vandal to target an empty building rather than a full one.
Property owners must consider the usual risks associated with a physical location and more if it’s vacant for a considerable period. Vacant buildings are subject to the following risks:
- Criminal damage resulting from a break-in or vandalism
- Damage stemming from climate and other weather conditions
- Damage caused by negligence or lack of care
- Infrastructure damage like gas leaks or pipe bursts
- Flooding caused by an interior leak and not a storm
- Damage to property and assets kept within due to criminal activity
- Stolen or lost property from within the vacant building
- Damage during remodeling or renovations
- Damage resulting from a sewage backup
These are just some things that vacant building insurance coverage can protect your property from.
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How much does Vacant building insurance cost?
Compared to standard property insurance for homes and businesses, vacant buildings or property insurance tends to cost more. They’re riskier to insure because the damages take longer to process and even find because no one was present. The recovery effort also takes much more. Thieves tend to target empty buildings rather than ones they know there are people in.
Several factors can determine the cost of any given vacant building insurance coverage. As usual, with insurance coverage, finding an average is challenging because everyone tends to pay a different amount. Vacant building premiums can depend on the city and state it’s located in, the security systems and measures, and how long the vacancy period will be.
For reference, Illinois’s average homeowners' insurance premium is about $1,262 annually, while a vacant home premium would be about $1,893 annually.
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Types of Vacant Building Insurance Coverage
As is the case for nearly every case of insurance coverage, just one type of insurance won’t do the job. Vacant building insurance is no exception, so it’s essential to consider the obvious and less apparent damages when putting together an insurance policy. The foremost coverages for such properties are far more than helpful on the policy in question.
Commercial vacant property insurance
Businesses tend to be less occupied than homes during extended hours when they are closed. This can especially be the case for companies that operate seasonally. This can also be the case if they are more than 30% unoccupied for up to two months.
When a commercial location is empty, the chances of a break-in, theft, or vandalism increase, and the damages can be much worse since no one is watching. It pays to have a sound security system and good commercial vacant property insurance to back it up should it fail.
This insurance coverage can be added to a business owner’s insurance policy rather than bought alone. This is the case for every type of vacant building insurance. Businesses like ski resorts, fishing camps, and golf courses that operate seasonally often need more customers. A company can also have a specific location that they occasionally use that goes unoccupied for a while and could benefit from vacant property insurance.
Vacant home insurance
Everyone takes some time away from home, whether for business or pleasure. A home is considered vacant when it remains unoccupied for more than two months or 60 days. Vacant home insurance will become necessary during that time since regular homeowners' insurance has no coverage.
This is especially the case for families or individuals with vacation homes. Snowbirds who fly South for the winter tend to spend months away from their homes. A house can also be vacated due to renovations or repairs.
Again, criminal and weather-related damages and any damage caused by negligence are insured. Vacant home insurance can be added to a homeowners' policy for residential and vacation homes.
Vacant building insurance
For homes, apartments, and residential buildings that are vacant by the owners or renters for at least two months, sometimes one, they would need vacant building insurance. Vacant building insurance is a broad term used interchangeably with the insurance coverage above.
Suppose you expect someone or people on your vacant property to perform brief maintenance visits. In that case, vacant building insurance may offer additional coverage like liability insurance should they be injured while doing so. One notable catch about vacant building coverage is that it can’t be canceled and must remain active for the initially set period, whether or not it’s cut short.
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Additional types of Vacant building insurance coverage
While on the topic of additional and optional vacant building coverage, there is specific insurance coverage that businesses or homeowners ought to consider more particular damages and risks.
These coverages cover damages that even vacant building insurance won’t cover.
Removal of debris coverage
If damage from a fierce storm or gross negligence causes a roof cave-in, the repairs and replacements may be insured, but what about the clean-up effort that will take some time? Removal or debris coverage comes to the rescue here. This may be worth insurance coverage if the vacant building is in an area often subject to inclement weather.
Flood Insurance
Overall, insurance could be better when it comes to flood damage. To be insured, the flood damage must result from interior flooding rather than exterior damage caused by a storm.
Flood insurance is made for flood damage caused by hurricanes, rainfall, and tsunamis. Homeowners and vacation homeowners of property in the Southern United States subject to such conditions, like Florida and Louisiana, should consider this coverage.
Builder’s risk insurance
Suppose a home or business is vacated due to remodeling or repairs. In that case, builder’s risk insurance may be handy should they be injured on the job. This may or may not be the right coverage for you, depending on the renovations being done. It may also be a good idea for businesses to take on this coverage if their office or store undergoes a major remodel.
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Vacant building insurance from Insurance Navy
Insurance Navy already helps hundreds of homeowners and businesses with our low-cost property insurance. Why should the savings end simply because they will be away from home or the business is vacating for some time?
We proudly strive to set a new, cheap standard for every type of insurance, including vacant building insurance. Ask about adding vacant building insurance to your homeowners' or business owners' policy today and continue saving big on premiums.
If you have yet to become a policyholder with us, take the first steps with a free online Vacant property insurance quote and see what low-cost rates and discounts you may qualify for.