![]() How much personal property must be left in a dwelling in order for it to be considered unoccupied and not vacant ?Ī sofa, loveseat and a couple of chairs? For a home to be determined as unoccupied, there must be sufficient items left in the house such as cooking utensils, functioning appliances like a microwave oven, toaster, refrigerator and basic furniture. That means, if $10,000 of damage occurs, the policy would pay only $8,500 (less policy deductible). Standard commercial property policies remove coverage for vandalism, sprinkler leakage, water damage, theft, or attempted theft when a building is vacant for more than 60 days.Īnother aspect of commercial property insurance policies is that for a peril that causes a covered loss to a vacant property, payment is reduced by 15 percent. A building is considered vacant unless at least 31 percent of its total square footage is occupied and the operations conducted must be in accordance with building use. This is where things can get a little more complicated. Coverage for standard perils such as fire and wind remain intact. Therefore, in a homeowners policy, vacancy exclusions will remove coverage for vandalism, building glass breakage, water damage, theft or attempted theft if the damage occurs within 30 or 60 days (depending on your policy) of the home being vacant. Stated another way, vacancy can also be defined as “substantially empty of personal property necessary to sustain normal occupancy.” The term unoccupied means that the property has been left in a state where the property still contains all items and possessions as if the owners were to return at any time. In general, case law defines the term vacant as “completely empty” – meaning a lack of both people and personal property. Vacant properties have a greater chance of vandalism, undiscovered damage, and theft and can adversely affect property insurance claims. So, determining whether a property is vacant or merely unoccupied is important when a claim arises. Policies contain vacancy exclusions but not unoccupancy exclusions. Insurance policies do not often provide clear definitions for vacant or unoccupied properties. ![]() ![]() The two terms “vacant” and “unoccupied” might appear to be synonymous, even interchangeable in general conversation, but they are distinctly different when it comes to property insurance coverage. ![]()
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