If a home is unoccupied does the insurance rates go up? & Should the insurance company be notified ?
Question by sandras77 : If a home is unoccupied does the insurance rates go up? & Should the insurance company be notified ?
The house is going to be list for sale.
i will notify the agent..thanks for the advice
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Posted in 
Tags:
Yes to both questions……….
The insurance rate should not go up as you already paid for the yearly period. But you should notified to the insurance company.
notify your agent ASAP. It depends on the company and type of policy you currently have.
technically, yes , you should notify the company, but if you do, they will increase the rate- or worse- drop your coverage- because an un-ocuppied house is more dangerous to insure beacuse it is un-ocuppied and could be trashed by vandals or whatever– the thing i would do-on a practical basis is nothing- i have sold and bought 3 homes over the last 5 or 6 yrs- primary residences- due to job changes etc. and have told the companies nothing- because the realtor told me they could increase my rate, or worse they could cancel your coverage, since they dont want to insure an un-ocuppied home- this seems to be true- i did not want to find out the hard way- reagardless of what is legal or not- on their part or mine- AS A PRACTICAL MATTER- DO NOTHING- DO NOT TELL THE INS CO ANYTHING- JUST LIST THE HOUSE FOR SALE AND WHEN ITS SOLD- GO THROUGH YOUR CLOSING- TRUST ME- I AM AN ETHICAL PERSON- YET IN THIS CASE IF YOU CALL THE INS CO- YOU WILL JUST CREATE PROBLEMS FOR YOURSELF— I AM A RETIRED INDEPENDENT INSURANCE BROKER,& CFP, & CPA, & LUTCF- TRUST ME- I KNOW WHAT I SPEAK OF- TALK TO YOUR REALTOR TO DOUBLE CHECK IF YOU WANT TO- GOOD LUCK TO YOU !!!!!!!
the insurance rate would go up because you would need a different kind of policy. most homeowners policies will non renew or discontinue the policy should they find out the property is vacant. you can obtain a vacant home policy but they are very expensive. if the home is to sell in the near future, i would not advise my company. but if it will be vacant for an extended amount of time it would be best to inform the ins co. if there were to be a claim while the property was vacant and that was discovered during the claims investigation they may not honor the claim.