If I was away from my seasonal home for over 30 days and awa

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:47 am Post Subject:

You’d have to look first look at your policy to see if there is any language that controls this situation. Next, you need to examine how Florida Courts have interpreted this scenario. Unfortunately, without doing research, I’m very little help on the coverage aspect. What I will suggest is to consider the source of the fridge as a means of satisfying your damages. If the fridge was relatively new, you might be able to pursue the manufacturer, seller, or installer under a warranty or defect theory. If the damages are significant, you may wish to consult with an attorney on the coverage question as well as the product defect angle.

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 02:03 pm Post Subject: Typically

the 30 day vacancy clause relates to theft and vandalism and malicious mischief only. Check policy provisions to be sure. As I recall, it is under perils insured against or conditions

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 02:06 pm Post Subject: Also

leaking pipes are excluded under the 30 days for freeze only

Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2012 04:45 pm Post Subject:

Many homeowner and dwelling policies issued in Florida also contain "Special Provisions" that are endorsed to the policy and modify the base policy form. It is common to find language in the "Conditions" section section of the "Special Provisions form as follows that may impact the coverage available if the residence was vacant for 30 days:

Loss Settlement paragraph 3.b.(5) is deleted and
replaced by the following:
(5) If the dwelling where loss or damage
occurs has been vacant for more than
(30) consecutive days before the loss
or damage, we will:
(a) Not pay for any loss or damage
caused by any of the following
perils, even if they are Covered
Causes of Loss:
(i) Vandalism;
(ii) Sprinkler leakage, unless you
have protected the system
against freezing;
(iii) Dwelling glass breakage;
(iv) Water damage;
(v) Theft; or
(vi) Attempted theft.
(b) Reduce the amount we would
otherwise pay for a covered loss
by 15%.
Dwellings under construction are not
considered vacant.

Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2012 01:02 pm Post Subject:

Persons who own "vacation" property (or secondary residences) which are subject to extended periods of vacancy need to obtain coverage specific to that situation. Vacancy protection may be available, but it will come at an additional cost -- for reasons such as the one described in this post. If you were living in the property on a daily basis, you would probably discover the leak within minutes or hours, not after several days/weeks/months, and stop it from becoming worse (to the point of doing major damage to your property.

Many property owners, however, simply go online and purchase homeowner's insurance, sometime misrepresenting to the insurance company their actual occupancy situation. They never have a problem until a claim arises -- then everything is the fault of the insurance company.