Did you know that leaving your home unattended, even for just a few days, can impact your home insurance coverage? Or that coverage can change depending on the season? Reviewing the terms and exclusions set out in your home insurance policy can save you from an unexpected insurance denial.
Home insurance policies can vary significantly between different providers. While each policy may differ on the specific conditions that must be met to retain full insurance coverage, all insurance policies will define and provide some kind of exclusion for vacancy and “freezing”. The limits of what may or may not be covered during a period of vacancy and freezing may surprise you.
For example, most policies will not cover damage caused by a pipe bursting during “heating” season if the house was unattended for as few as four days without someone entering the property daily to ensure the heat was on. For many people who go on extended vacations during the December holiday season, this means they are potentially limiting the coverage provided by their home insurance and may be left footing the bill for costly repairs.
Additionally, many home insurance policies will stop covering damage caused by vandalism, malicious acts, glass breakage, or water damage if the home is found to be “vacant” even if that vacancy is less than 30 days and even if the home owner has an approved vacancy permit from their insurer. Generally, after 30 days of vacancy all coverage under most policies will stop.
Vacancy is most often defined as “the circumstances where regardless of the presence of furnishings: a) all occupants have moved out with no intention of returning and no new occupant has taken up residence; or b) in the case of a newly constructed dwelling, no occupant has yet taken up residence.”
The above definition can cause serious problems in situations where there is a gap between moving into a new home, and selling the old one – something that occurs frequently when someone needs to move cities for work, or during the dissolution of a marriage and the liquidation of marital assets. Another situation which can unexpectedly run afoul of a vacancy clause is when a home owner vacates the property for staging and viewings. Even if a realtor or the owner attends the property on most days, if the owner is technically not intending to return because the house is being sold, they will have potentially voided coverage for several types of damage during the first month, and then voided all coverage for all damage after 30 days because the property will meet the technical definition of “vacant.”
It is best practice to carefully review all of your insurance policies so that you fully understand your coverage, but if you find yourself wrongly denied after damage has occurred, contact us at Lamont Law for a free consultation. Our team of experienced legal professionals will help protect your interests and rights when fighting an insurance company for fair compensation under your policy.