Vacant Home Insurance
A home that nobody lives in is a very different insurance conversation from a home that does. Standard homeowners policies are built around an occupied dwelling, and almost every one of them includes a vacancy clause that quietly limits — or eliminates — coverage once the house has been empty for too long. Kelly Insurance Group writes vacant home insurance nationwide for estates in probate, properties on the market, rentals between tenants, mid-renovation homes, and seasonal places that sit closed up for months at a time.
The Vacancy Clause In Numbers
Sourced figures that frame why vacant home insurance is treated as its own specialty class. Every number on this page is tied to an identified primary source.
Why A Vacant Home Is Not Just A Quieter Homeowners Policy
A home with no people in it does not get safer — it gets riskier. Small problems become big ones because nobody is there to catch them, and the policy that worked when someone lived there starts running out of room.
Two things change when a home empties out. First, nothing gets caught early. A pinhole leak in a supply line behind a vanity becomes a ceiling collapse in the unit below. A small electrical fault that an occupant would have smelled and called about becomes a fire. A back-door deadbolt that didn't latch becomes a squatter. Insurance carriers know this, which is why every standard homeowners form includes a vacancy clause.
Second, the policy starts excluding things the owner assumes are still covered. Under the ISO HO 00 03 Special Form — the most common homeowners form in the country — vandalism and malicious mischief is excluded outright once the dwelling has been vacant for more than 60 consecutive days immediately before a loss. Earlier editions used 30 days. On the commercial property side, the ISO forms apply a 15% reduction to most covered losses and remove an entire list of perils once a building is vacant beyond the threshold and falls below the 31% occupancy test.
The other thing most owners don't know: the vacancy clock does not reset at policy renewal. The court in Pappas Enterprises, Inc. v. Commerce & Industry Insurance Co. (Mass. 1996) ruled the 60-day clock runs continuously. So a house that quietly went vacant in March is past the threshold long before the renewal in October.
Interactive Vacancy Clock — Drag The Slider
Move the slider — or click a marker — to see what happens to coverage on the ISO HO 00 03 homeowners form as a house sits empty. The same kind of timeline applies on the commercial property side, with different exclusions and a 15% loss-payment reduction once the threshold is crossed.
DAY 0 — STILL OCCUPIED
ISO HO 00 03 — STANDARD STATEThe house is still being lived in — or just about to be left. All of the perils on the standard homeowners form are in force without modification. This is the baseline before the vacancy clause starts to apply.
The Distinction That Decides Claims — Vacant vs. Unoccupied
In insurance language, these two words mean different things. Mixing them up is one of the more common reasons a property claim ends up in dispute.
Empty Of People & Contents
A dwelling is generally considered vacant when both the residents and their personal property have been removed. No furniture in the rooms, no clothes in the closets, nobody coming and going. The home is, in plain language, empty.
People Out, Contents Stay
A dwelling is generally considered unoccupied when the residents are absent for an extended period but the home is still furnished and intended to be lived in. Snowbirds, extended travel, military deployment, or seasonal homes often fall into this category.
Why Is The Home Vacant? Pick The Scenario
Vacant home insurance isn't a single product — the right structure depends on why the home is empty and for how long. Pick the situation that fits, and the panel on the right will load the considerations Kelly Insurance Group typically works through for that scenario.
ESTATE & PROBATE — A HOME IN TRANSITION
When the owner of a home passes away, the property often sits unoccupied for months while the estate works through probate, contents are sorted, and the heirs decide whether to sell, rent, or move in. The deceased owner's policy is rarely the right answer once the dwelling is no longer their primary residence.
Coverage Lines On A Vacant Home Submission
Every account is shaped by the specific reason the home is empty, but most submissions touch the same set of coverage lines. The conversation is about which ones, at what limits, and with what endorsements.
Dwelling Property
Coverage on the structure itself — the building, attached structures, and the systems inside it. Limits typically set at replacement cost or a stated amount.
Other Structures
Detached garages, sheds, fences, pools, and other improvements on the property that are not part of the main dwelling.
Personal Property
Reviewed where contents remain — staged furniture, appliances, tools left during renovation, or items still in the home during probate.
Liability
Premises liability for injuries to anyone lawfully on the property — and a real consideration for trespassers, especially child trespassers, on vacant land.
Vandalism & Theft
The two perils most commonly stripped out by the vacancy clause — and the two most likely to actually happen on an empty home.
Water & Freezing
Specifically reviewed where heat is being maintained, where water has been shut off, and where pipes have been drained for a seasonal property.
Builders Risk Overlap
When the property is mid-renovation, the line between vacant home insurance and a builders risk policy matters — and the right structure depends on the scope of work.
Specialty Endorsements
Caretaker visit schedules, alarm and monitoring credits, and protective safeguard endorsements are common parts of the placement conversation.
Why Customers Work With Kelly Insurance Group
Kelly Insurance Group has spent more than a century placing specialty commercial and personal-lines insurance for accounts that don't fit the standard market — and a vacant property is one of the clearer examples. Our team walks through the specific reason the home is empty, how long it's expected to stay that way, and what protective measures are in place, rather than handing back a generic homeowners quote.
Most customers are also provided access to our custom client portal, where certificates of insurance — for property managers, mortgage lenders, HOA records, or municipal vacant-property registries — can often be generated at any time. Read about the team and the agency's history at the links below.
What Helps A Vacant Home Submission Move Quickly
The clearer the picture of the property and the reason it's empty, the smoother the underwriting review. The following details tend to come up first.
Start The Conversation With Our Team
If you have a property that is, or is about to be, empty for an extended stretch, this is the conversation Kelly Insurance Group is built for. Use the form to send the basic property profile, or reach the team directly through any of the buttons below.
Related Coverages & Resources
Pages from the Kelly Insurance Group site that often connect to a vacant home conversation.
Vacant Home Insurance FAQs
Common questions homeowners, estates, investors, and renovators ask Kelly Insurance Group about vacant property coverage.
What is vacant home insurance?
Vacant home insurance is a property policy designed for a residential structure that is no longer being lived in. It is separate from a standard homeowners policy because standard homeowners forms include a vacancy clause that limits or excludes coverage once a home has been vacant for a specified number of consecutive days — typically 60 days under the ISO HO 00 03 Special Form.
What is the 60-day vacancy clause?
Under the ISO HO 00 03 homeowners form, coverage for vandalism and malicious mischief is excluded once the dwelling has been vacant for more than 60 consecutive days immediately before the loss. Earlier editions of the form used 30 days. The 60-day clock runs continuously and, per the Massachusetts case Pappas Enterprises, Inc. v. Commerce & Industry Insurance Co. (1996), does not reset at policy renewal.
What is the difference between vacant and unoccupied?
Vacant generally means the dwelling is empty of both people and personal property — no furniture, no belongings, no resident. Unoccupied generally means no people are present but the home is still furnished and intended to be lived in, such as a snowbird's home over the winter. The two terms are commonly treated as distinct under property policies.
Does my standard homeowners policy stop covering my house automatically?
Not automatically, but the vacancy clause starts limiting specific perils once the threshold in your policy is crossed — usually 60 days under current ISO homeowners forms. Vandalism is the most common peril to be excluded, but carriers can also exclude or limit theft, water damage, glass breakage, sprinkler leakage, and freezing if heat is not maintained or the water supply is not shut off.
What is the commercial vacancy clause?
On the commercial property side, the ISO forms generally classify a building as vacant when less than 31% of its total square feet is rented to a lessee or sub-lessee, or is used by the building owner, for customary operations. Once the building is vacant beyond the threshold (typically 60 days), six perils are excluded — vandalism, sprinkler leakage, building glass breakage, water damage, theft, and attempted theft — and other covered losses are reduced by 15%.
When does a vacant home policy make sense?
Vacant home insurance typically applies when a property will be empty for an extended period — for example, during estate settlement, while on the market for sale, during a renovation between occupants, between tenants on a rental property, after inheriting a home, or for a seasonal property left empty for months at a time.
What about a home that's being renovated?
Renovations introduce a second question — whether vacant home insurance is enough or whether a builders risk policy belongs in the conversation. The answer depends on the scope of work, the duration, and the value of materials and labor at the property. The two structures are not interchangeable, and our team works through the right placement based on what's actually being done.
Can I just leave the lights on and call it occupied?
No. Carriers and the courts generally look at the actual use of the property — whether someone is living there, whether contents are present, whether utilities are functioning, and whether the property is being treated as a residence. Lights on a timer and lawn service do not make a vacant home occupied.
What about liability if someone is hurt on the property?
Liability is a real consideration on vacant property. Children, neighbors, contractors, real estate showings, and even trespassers can result in injury claims. The Insurance Information Institute notes liability exposure continues even when no one lives at the property, which is one reason a dedicated vacant home policy with liability coverage is part of the conversation.
Does the vacancy clock reset when my policy renews?
No. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held in Pappas Enterprises, Inc. v. Commerce & Industry Insurance Co. (1996) that the 60-day vacancy clock runs continuously and does not restart at policy renewal. Vacancy days from the prior term carry forward.
Can Kelly Insurance Group customers generate certificates?
Yes. Most customers are provided access to our custom client portal where standard certificates of insurance can be generated at any time — useful for mortgage lenders, HOA records, property managers, and municipal vacant property registries. Special wording requests are handled by the service team.
How does a vacant property owner start the process?
Start by clearly describing the property and the situation — why it is empty, how long that's expected to continue, what construction type, what protective measures are in place, and whether any work is in progress. From there our team can structure the right placement around the actual circumstances of the home.
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