How long can a house sit empty before my policy stops covering it?

Most homeowners and landlord policies suspend key coverages after 30 or 60 consecutive days of vacancy. The exact number is written into your policy under the vacancy or unoccupancy provision. After that point vandalism, malicious mischief, glass breakage and water damage from plumbing are typically excluded, and theft often is too.

Is vacant different from unoccupied?

Yes, and the difference matters. Unoccupied usually means nobody is living there but the furniture and belongings are still in place — a second home in the off season. Vacant means both the people and the contents are gone. Vacant is the stricter category and triggers the exclusions faster.

The house is being renovated. Is that vacant or builder’s risk?

If the work is structural or the building is gutted, it is usually builder’s risk (course of construction), which also covers materials on site. Cosmetic work on an otherwise intact house is usually vacant dwelling. Describe the work when you request the quote and Continental will place it correctly — the wrong product is a denied claim.

I inherited a house and it is in probate. What do I need?

Vacant dwelling coverage in the name of the estate, plus liability — an empty house with an unlocked shed and a neighbourhood of children is a liability exposure whether or not anyone is living there. Bring the estate paperwork; the named insured has to match who actually holds title.

Vacant property

Your policy stops covering an empty house after 30 days

Not the whole policy — the parts that matter for an empty house. Vandalism, water damage, glass, often theft. The policy stays in force and quietly stops responding.

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What the vacancy clause actually says

Look for the heading Vacancy or Special Provisions in your policy. The wording varies by carrier but the shape is always the same: after a stated number of consecutive days — usually 30, sometimes 60 — of the dwelling being vacant, the carrier will not pay for loss caused by vandalism or malicious mischief, breakage of glass, water damage from plumbing, heating or air conditioning, and in many forms theft or attempted theft. Some carriers also reduce the payout on any other covered loss by 15%.

Those are not edge-case perils. They are the entire list of what happens to empty houses in Jackson, Vicksburg and the Coast: a broken window, copper stripped out of the walls, a supply line that froze in January with the heat off.

The clock runs on consecutive days of vacancy, not on when you told the carrier. Telling them is what gets you the right product; not telling them does not stop the clock.

When this comes up

None of these are unusual. All of them are uncovered by day 31.

Listed and empty

You moved out to show it better. Day 31 is when the policy changes its mind.

Between tenants

A turn that ran long — a landlord policy has the same vacancy clause a homeowners policy does.

Inherited or in probate

Nobody has lived there for months and the named insured on the old policy may no longer exist.

Mid-renovation

Gutted, no power, contractors coming and going. Often builder’s risk rather than vacant.

Bought and not moved in

Closed early, moving in later. A new homeowners policy on an empty house has the same gap.

Held for the market

A lot or a house you are sitting on. Twelve-month vacant terms exist for exactly this.

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What a vacant policy looks like

It is assembled rather than bought off a shelf. Fire and lightning are the base. Then you choose: wind and hail, vandalism and malicious mischief, theft of building materials, water damage, liability. Terms run three, six or twelve months and are usually written through surplus lines, which means the premium is not filed with the state and two carriers can quote very differently for the same building.

Photographs matter more here than on any other kind of submission. An underwriter looking at an empty building wants to see that it is secured: doors and windows intact, no visible damage, utilities on or deliberately winterised, the yard maintained. A file with those photographs gets quoted. One without them gets an inspection ordered, which takes two weeks.

Bedford Realty sends Continental Brokers Inc. the photographs with the submission, so that step usually does not happen.

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Questions

How long can a house sit empty before my policy stops covering it?: Most homeowners and landlord policies suspend key coverages after 30 or 60 consecutive days of vacancy. The exact number is written into your policy under the vacancy or unoccupancy provision. After that point vandalism, malicious mischief, glass breakage and water damage from plumbing are typically excluded, and theft often is too.
Is vacant different from unoccupied?: Yes, and the difference matters. Unoccupied usually means nobody is living there but the furniture and belongings are still in place — a second home in the off season. Vacant means both the people and the contents are gone. Vacant is the stricter category and triggers the exclusions faster.
What does a vacant dwelling policy cover?: It is built peril by peril rather than sold as a package: fire and lightning as standard, then wind and hail, vandalism and malicious mischief, theft of building materials, water damage and liability as choices. Terms of three, six and twelve months are normal, and many are written through surplus lines carriers.
The house is being renovated. Is that vacant or builder’s risk?: If the work is structural or the building is gutted, it is usually builder’s risk (course of construction), which also covers materials on site. Cosmetic work on an otherwise intact house is usually vacant dwelling. Describe the work when you request the quote and Continental will place it correctly — the wrong product is a denied claim.
I inherited a house and it is in probate. What do I need?: Vacant dwelling coverage in the name of the estate, plus liability — an empty house with an unlocked shed and a neighbourhood of children is a liability exposure whether or not anyone is living there. Bring the estate paperwork; the named insured has to match who actually holds title.

Vacant commercial building? Commercial coverage is here.

Get the empty house covered properly

Tell Continental Brokers Inc. how long it has been empty and what happens to it next. Six minutes, photographs included.

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What Mississippi actually requires

Insurance products are offered and placed by Continental Brokers Inc., an independent insurance agency. Bedford Realty, LLC is not an insurance agency, does not sell insurance, and receives no commission on policies placed. Coverage is subject to underwriting approval, policy terms, conditions and exclusions.

Disclosures

Licensing. Bedford Realty, LLC is a real estate brokerage licensed by the Mississippi Real Estate Commission. It is not licensed as an insurance producer and does not solicit, negotiate or sell insurance. Continental Brokers Inc. is an independent insurance agency and is solely responsible for the placement of any coverage, for the accuracy of any quote, and for the advice it gives. Questions about a policy, a premium or a claim should go to Continental Brokers Inc. on (866) 386-4136.

Your information. What you enter on this site is sent to Continental Brokers Inc. only after you authorise it, and only for the purpose of obtaining quotes. Photographs are stored encrypted, scanned for malware, and shared with the agency through links that expire. We do not sell your information, and we do not share it with anyone other than Continental Brokers Inc. and the carriers they approach on your behalf. To have a submission deleted, email collier@bedfordrealty.net.

Coverage described anywhere on this site is a general summary, not a policy. Actual terms, limits, conditions and exclusions are set by the policy a carrier issues. Nothing here binds coverage.