As a real estate investor, you tend to deal with vacancies quite often. Whether you’re in between tenants or waiting to make renovations, there can be periods of weeks or months when the home is completely unoccupied. Vacant homes tend to be at greater risk than those that are occupied especially when considering vandalism and intruders.
What many investors don’t realize is that 30 or 60 days after a house is vacant, a normal homeowners or landlord policy will no longer cover the home. An intruder can slip and fall in your backyard and sue you for his/her injuries. To prevent something that outrageous from happening, every investor needs to have a vacant home policy.
A vacant home policy can offer several different types of coverage, including:
Named Peril Coverage: The “perils” such as fire and lightning that are specifically named in your policy.
Vandalism and Malicious Mischief Coverage: This covers you in the event that your home is vandalized or has been maliciously damaged while it was vacant.
Liability Coverage: Liability coverage protects you if someone is injured on the vacant premises and you are found legally responsible.
Agreed Loss Settlement: If the property is completely destroyed by a covered loss, you will receive the full amount of insurance for your home, minus any deductibles.
Actual Cash Value: If the property is partially damaged by a covered loss, the cost to replace or repair the damaged property will be covered.
As a landlord, you can purchase a vacancy endorsement (from some companies), or you can invest in a separate policy.
AZ Insurance Team 600 E Baseline Rd Ste B-3 (480) 535-570