by Guest » Thu Dec 04, 2008 03:47 pm
Can I keep my Home Owners Insurance even if I'm not currently living in the home? I've been living in another city while looking for work, my insurance company said that since I had a change of address I am no longer owner occupant. How can I keep insurance on the property should I need to move back in?
Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 12:08 am Post Subject: vacant home insurance
I have vacated my home in North Carolina because I cannot continue mortgage payments..Is it mandatory for me to keep homeowners insurance until it sells or forcloses? I am a widow and a sr. citizen.
Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 08:04 pm Post Subject:
You should look in the terms and conditions section of your policy. Ask them about insuring it as a secondary policy and get a primary policy at the location which you moved. It will have to be with the same insurance carrier though. Or you can look at a vacant policy which is typically 3x more than HO3 policy.
Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 06:36 am Post Subject:
I have vacated my home in north carolina
Chances are there is a vacancy clause in your contract that relieves the insurer of some or all of the responsibility to pay a claim.
Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2010 04:31 pm Post Subject: vacant home
In Texas what could one expect a $100,000 home to add in premium for a vacancy clause? Just in general - I know you can't be specific - but I live next door to my sisters house which will be vacant when she moves soon while she is trying to sell it. We will maintain it and check on it.
Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 07:07 pm Post Subject: unoccupied home
Dad is in assisted living. We have been at the house almost everyday, getting it ready to sell. A friend in the insurance industry said for a home to be considered "occupied" he should come home a single night every 2 months. Is this accurate to the letter of the law if not the intent?
Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 08:35 pm Post Subject: Hazard insurance
We own a second home, it is just in my husbands name. We live in our joint home.
We have hazard insurance on the one in just his name. There was a fire today, bad. I looked at the insurance paperwork and it says that it's based on owner occupied.
While my husband does not live there, the house was occupied by our nephew, as we did not want to leave it vacant.
He does not pay rent, he is just a family member making sure nothing happens to it :(
It is not on the market, we were actually waiting for the marked to get a little bit better before selling.
What I need to know is, if we are still covered since even tho my husband doesn't live there, it's not vacant or a rental.
Should my husband say he lives there occasionally?
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 04:33 am Post Subject:
Since the dwelling was occupied, the vacancy issue is moot. But the "owner-occupied" status may be problematic.
Was it known to the insurance company as a second home? Does your husband spend any time there on a regular basis? If not, the proper coverage would have been a "dwelling" policy.
Did your husband obtain the insurance on his own or through an agent? If he used an agent, was the agent aware of the occupancy issue? If the agent was, and the coverage was applied for incorrectly, then your husband may have a claim against the agent's Errors & Omissions insurance if your husband's insurance company denies the claim.
File the claim with your husband's insurance company and answer their questions honestly and see what happens. The coverage may actually still apply, but only to the damage to the structure . . . any contents not your husband's would not be covered.
Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2011 11:27 pm Post Subject: Insurance
I have a homeowners policy and my grown kids occupy the residence. I actually live elsewhere in the city. Is my homeowners policy still valid. There is no rent.
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 04:59 am Post Subject:
Yes, it should still be valid.
Since, family members are residing in your house and not tenants, I don't think there should be any problem as long as premiums and regular maintenance of the house are taken care of.
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 06:01 pm Post Subject:
Unless these "family members" are IRS-qualified dependents, the answer is NO.
Although you retain insurable interest in the structure and fixtures, you do not want to "own" the LIABILITY for the negligent acts of the "tenants" you are passing off as "family members". And unless you have provided all of the furnishings, their clothing, and all their other personal property, you do not have insurable interest in any of that stuff, so your policy would not pay for the loss to any of it. To attempt to make a claim for that stuff as if it were yours is INSURANCE FRAUD, and that's usually worth about 5 years in prison.
You should have a "Broad Form" Dwelling Policy to cover your liability (for your negligent acts as the property owner) and the structure and fixtures (all risks that are not excluded are covered -- so you look at the list of exclusions to determine your exposure, and possibly choose to add riders to cover any of the important exclusions you see), your "tenants" need a renter's policy to cover their contents/personal property.
To continue to do this as you currently are is not the best situation for all persons involved.
Add your comment