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Insure Vacant Property

“Vacant Property” - Is your Investment Really Insured?

Think you are OK Because you are Insured?

With today’s trying economic times there are more and more businesses closing their doors and vacating their premises. For a property owner the loss of tenants not only impacts your revenue stream but it can have a significant impact on your insurance coverage. As a property owner you should know that provisions in your policy address “vacant” building conditions and there are specific losses that may not be covered in the event of a loss and other losses may be paid but at a reduced amount due to “vacant” conditions.

Time is not on your Side

As a property owner the issue is time. Most insurance policies consider the property “vacant” after 60 consecutive days where the property has 70% or more of its square footage not rented or it is “unoccupied” and not being used to conduct customary operations that it is designed for.

What to Look for in a Policy

In most policies when the property is considered “vacant” there is no coverage for six causes of loss which can be summed up into two categories. These are:
• Water-related Damage
• People Perils such as vandalism
• Theft
• Attempted theft
• Glass breakage.

Other causes of loss such as Fire may be covered, but any payment that would otherwise have been made is reduced by 15%. So for example, a fire in a building that has been vacant for more than 60 days would result in a payment of only 85% of the loss sustained instead of the 100% if the building had been occupied. This could result in significant out of pocket expenses to be paid by you the owner. For a $1,000,000 building this would result in a $150,000 of unbudgeted expense that comes right off your bottom line.

How to Protect your Investment

You can protect your investment by finding specially tailored policies which are designed for vacant properties. These policies are intended to provide full coverage in the event of a loss and can be purchased on a short term period as needed. Most are available as 3 month policies but many times coverage can be extended up to a year. These are financially strong carriers that understand the issues of vacancy and have built the coverage’s to meet the needs.

If you would like more information on vacant property insurance coverage we would be glad to assist you at LBi Services. We are a full service independent insurance agency licensed in 50 states. We specialize in the coverage needs of property owners and helping them to insure vacant property. Our goal is to help you protect your investment.

We can provide you a free no obligation insurance quote in just hours.

Contact David Judge at David.Judge@lawsonblevins.com Or by calling 214-717-2192.