Home Insurance while Away on the Road?

[VanForNow]

I own an apartment in NY City and would like to buy a van and hit the road,  leaving the apartment empty for much of the year. I might live in the apartment in the winter.

I have heard that some insurance companies will not issue homeowner's insurance for homes that remain vacant for long periods. Is this true, and are there any insurance companies that are friendly to folks in my situation?

 

[poncho62]

Here it is.....if we leave our house, we must have someone check it every 3 or 4 days. I get the neighbor to do it, or at least say that he has if something happens.

 

[VanKitten]

It is true.

If anything happens while you are gone...they will question how long you have been absent.

I never found a way around it. I just made certain of my emergency plans while I wasn't there.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

My homeowner's policy only offers 60% of the limits if my house is vacant for an extended period/vacant. So if I had 100,000 in coverage for the building, it would only pay a max of 60,000. However, if you have two homes and one is insured as a vacation home, as our family summer home is, it has full coverage. Go figure.

 

[TrainChaser]

"if you have two homes and one is insured as a vacation home, as our family summer home is, it has full coverage. Go figure."

So, insure your apartment/home as a vacation home?

But it would be interesting to ask an insurance company why the above is true, and see what they say... for laughs, anyway.

 

[Almost There]

"if you have two homes and one is insured as a vacation home, as our family summer home is, it has full coverage. Go figure."

So, insure your apartment/home as a vacation home?  

But it would be interesting to ask an insurance company why the above is true, and see what they say... for laughs, anyway.

The rating for vacation homes is much different than it is for principle dwelling insurance. They expect you not to be there at the vacation home much of the time and the premiums reflect that.

I'd suggest asking any other insurance company than the one you're insured with if you want to ask the question. After a really bad experience with asking questions of my own insurance company, I found that it's not the wisest thing to do if you want them to continue coverage!!

 

[moorejames]

At the risk of sounding like I know what I'm talking about.... 

There's a difference between vacant and unoccupied. You should read your policy and see if it has a "vacancy" exclusion/limitation or if it has a "vacant/unoccupied" exclusion/limitation. 

Vacant means it's empty. Nothing there. 

Unoccupied means there's all the "stuff" needed to run a household (generally means a bed, bedding, dishes, utensils) but YOU aren't there for an extended period of time. 

(However, if your home is "unoccupied" but you have made somewhere else your permanent mailing address, then you have probably kicked you house back into vacant status. )

While many insurance policies read similarly, many companies add their own exclusions, nearly every company interprets things their own way, state laws can vary significantly and insurance is regulated at the state level, so there's 50 different sets of rules out there for the way insurance works. 

Which is all a long-winded way of saying pretty much no one can tell you how YOUR policy is going to respond, except your agent and/or company. If they tell you something, get it in writing - because there's no guarantee that the claims dept sees things the same way. 

Secondary homes and vacant homes are rated at a MUCH higher cost per thousand of coverage, so it pays to have the home classified as a primary dwelling -- but if the claim is going to be denied - you haven't saved anything.