Most homeowner's insurance policies cover the dwelling where you, the homeowner, reside. Renter's insurance provides similar coverage for renters. What happens if you are not in residence?
Consider the following situations:
• You go through settlement on your new home and spend a couple of weeks stripping wallpaper, painting, recarpeting, and making repairs and updates before you officially move in. Even though you are spending all your waking hours working on your new place, you are residing elsewhere.
• You move into the home of your dreams and are waiting for your previous house to sell. Even though you have insurance on both places, you are no longer living at your former address.
• Your home is damaged by fire, flood, storm, or vandalism and you move to temporary quarters during the remodeling. Even though you check on the progress of the repairs daily, you are not in residence.
• You are involved in an accident that requires hospitalization followed by treatment in a rehabilitation facility. Even though you intend to return home as quickly as possible, your home is considered vacant.
• The same is true when you receive work orders that require a temporary relocation or deployment. Even though you will return, you no longer reside at your home address.
• Your family home is unoccupied due to death or divorce, or it may have temporary occupants due to a change in circumstances. Again, you no longer reside there.
Because of a higher risk of vandalism, unreported fires, undetected water damage, and other problems that go unnoticed in unoccupied homes, courts and insurance claims adjusters may take the position that a homeowner's policy only applies if the homeowner is in residence at the time of the claim. Intention to return or to take up residence in the near future is not good enough. Check with your Realtor or your insurance agent about vacancy insurance coverage for the times when you will not be in residence.
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