Is vacant apartment insurance even a thing?
January 3, 2016 7:06 AM Subscribe
Does anyone offer short term coverage for vacant apartments (in Indiana if it matters)?
My sister has an apartment (which she rents that is inside a multi-unit apartment building) that will be sitting vacant for 3 months. Her current coverage will only continue to cover the place for about 1 more week. She has been trying to find coverage that will continue for the remainder of the 3 months, but so far she has only found vacant home insurance or renters insurance that does not cover vacant properties. After trying every major company and a ton of smaller ones we're both at a loss. Is there a such thing as vacant apartment insurance? Is there a vacant home insurance that will instead cover a single rented unit?
The apt is entirely vacant (no furniture or people). The unit is in a decent area and the landlord is aware of her absence. The insurance is mostly to make her feel less stressed out during what is already a very stressful time for her. The plan is to give the keys to the apartment manager for the duration of her absence, however I can take the keys to check in on the place once a month if that will improve her chances of finding insurance. She and I are both in central Indiana.
My sister has an apartment (which she rents that is inside a multi-unit apartment building) that will be sitting vacant for 3 months. Her current coverage will only continue to cover the place for about 1 more week. She has been trying to find coverage that will continue for the remainder of the 3 months, but so far she has only found vacant home insurance or renters insurance that does not cover vacant properties. After trying every major company and a ton of smaller ones we're both at a loss. Is there a such thing as vacant apartment insurance? Is there a vacant home insurance that will instead cover a single rented unit?
The apt is entirely vacant (no furniture or people). The unit is in a decent area and the landlord is aware of her absence. The insurance is mostly to make her feel less stressed out during what is already a very stressful time for her. The plan is to give the keys to the apartment manager for the duration of her absence, however I can take the keys to check in on the place once a month if that will improve her chances of finding insurance. She and I are both in central Indiana.
Response by poster: She rents the unit.
Her current policy covers things like vandalism and broken windows, so it's not 100% just the contents of the apartment.
posted by Krop Tor at 7:30 AM on January 3, 2016
Her current policy covers things like vandalism and broken windows, so it's not 100% just the contents of the apartment.
posted by Krop Tor at 7:30 AM on January 3, 2016
Yeah, insurance is unnecessary. Renter's insurance only covers personal property. The landlord has a separate policy covering the building. If there's no property in the unit, there nothing to insure.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:55 AM on January 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by kevinbelt at 7:55 AM on January 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
I'm unclear from your post what she is seeking to cover outside of her landlords policy (which covers the building), if her renters insurance already covers her belongings and personal liability.
Things like broken windows and vandalism, assuming no fault of her own, typically would fall under the landlords responsibility.
If there's nothing in the apartment, I'm unclear why you would need a renters policy or what any other insurance would be covering in her absence.
posted by Karaage at 7:57 AM on January 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
Things like broken windows and vandalism, assuming no fault of her own, typically would fall under the landlords responsibility.
If there's nothing in the apartment, I'm unclear why you would need a renters policy or what any other insurance would be covering in her absence.
posted by Karaage at 7:57 AM on January 3, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'm pretty sure the vandalism, broken window, etc. coverage is part of the liability part of her renters policy - so if she or a guest were to break something, her insurance would pay the landlord.
The LL (with his or her insurance policy) is on the hook for damage that comes from outside the unit, so, from this standpoint, as long as she doesn't have any of her stuff there (or doesn't care about getting paid if stuff she does leave gets damaged or stolen), she might as well let her policy lapse and start up again when she's back.
BUT - if she has a car or something else insured with the same company, she might be getting a multi-policy discount that she would lose out on. In many cases, this discount could be more than the cost of the renter's policy, so that's worth a call to her agent to find out.
posted by altcountryman at 11:19 AM on January 3, 2016
The LL (with his or her insurance policy) is on the hook for damage that comes from outside the unit, so, from this standpoint, as long as she doesn't have any of her stuff there (or doesn't care about getting paid if stuff she does leave gets damaged or stolen), she might as well let her policy lapse and start up again when she's back.
BUT - if she has a car or something else insured with the same company, she might be getting a multi-policy discount that she would lose out on. In many cases, this discount could be more than the cost of the renter's policy, so that's worth a call to her agent to find out.
posted by altcountryman at 11:19 AM on January 3, 2016
Best answer: She might want to let the LL know. Vacant property insurance is indeed different. I don't know if the LL could get a vacancy rider, but when our rental property wasn't ready to rent, we had to get a special kind of property insurance.
posted by slidell at 2:12 PM on January 3, 2016
posted by slidell at 2:12 PM on January 3, 2016
Why is her current policy ending? Have they told her they will not cover the place while she's not there (if so, they suck - my renters insurance specifically told me this was not an issue when I went on a long trip) or is it just the end of the annual policy and she doesn't want to pay for a full extra year? (if so, easier to pay month by month to continue the policy and then cancel).
posted by the agents of KAOS at 7:05 PM on January 3, 2016
posted by the agents of KAOS at 7:05 PM on January 3, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
if she is simply leaving her stuff there and going away this is PRECISELY renters insurance and they don't need to know anything about her being there or not.
posted by chasles at 7:18 AM on January 3, 2016 [2 favorites]