CLAIM DENIED: VACANCY

You've packed the car, notified the post office to forward your mail. You even remembered to tell the paperboy to stop delivering your newspaper until you return. You're leaving for Florida next week.

Did you forget anything? Turn off the heat and drain the water pipes? Make sure you tell a friend to come by once a week to check on the property. You could have a nasty surprise when you return if not.

"unless otherwise provided in writing, we shall NOT pay for loss while a described building is vacant, whether intended for occupancy by owner or tenant, beyond a period of 60 consecutive days for residential purposes"

That's policy language from a typical Massachusetts home owners policy.

Now if your house is not vacant but is just unoccupied, that's different. An unoccupied dwelling is furnished. Someone could walk in the front door and start living there right away. However, if you pack your belongings into a moving truck and take it all south, then the home might be considered vacant.

Vacant = Empty. Insurance companies do not like vacant buildings because bad things can happen. Vandalism is the most common claim. Vacancy is the most common reason for claim denial.

It's important to remember that an insurance company could try to deny your claim if it can be determined that there is a vacancy issue.

This same issue is common when a person who already owns a home, buys another one and moves in. If the first home is empty, then the vacancy issue can be a problem as well.

Before you have any problems please contact us at www.jmdins.com We can review your existing policy together and see if we can do better.

Thank you!!