Insurance for Vacant Building

Coverages Available For Vacant Building

• Property values up to: (excluding wind and hail coverage)
  • $3,000,000 in protection classes 1-8
  • $1,000,000 in protection classes 9-10
  • $1,000,000 in coastal zones
• General liability up to $1,000,000 occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate

Optional Coverage For Vacant Building

• Excess general liability up to $5,000,000
• No restriction on the length of vacancy
• Flexibility of product (able to write buildings with renovations, partially vacant buildings, vacant condominium units and vacant leased space)
• Policy terms of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months are available

Claim Example for Vacant Building

Property: Vandals broke into a house, which was recently vacated. There was $15,000 in building damage.

Property: The building owner has just signed a lease with his new tenant to rent his building for a year. Two days before the tenant moves in, there was a lightning strike damaging the HVAC system. It took 4 weeks to repair the damage and the tenant could not move in until all repairs were made. The owner suffered a property loss to the building of $4,000 and loss of rental income of $1,200.

Property: Vagrants broke into the insured’s vacant building during an ice storm. They started a fire to keep warm. The fire soon became hostile and resulted in a $300,000 loss. The insured was indemnified under the policy for this loss.

Property: Wind tore off sections of our insured’s vacant building. Water damage resulted causing $138,000 in property damage. The insured was paid under the policy for the damage sustained by the building.

Property: Extensive vandalism was caused by a break-in at the insured’s premises with evidence of forced entry. Most of the damage was to the walls and occurred during the theft of copper piping. The damage resulted in a loss of $116,000. The policy indemnified the insured for his claim.

General Liability: A child tripped and fell while walking on the cracked sidewalk in front of the insured’s property. The child sustained a broken ankle and $4,500 in medical expenses.

General Liability: A trip and fall loss occurred on a cracked sidewalk in front of the insured’s premises. The man sustained injuries to his knee and elbow which required surgery. This resulted in medical costs of $185,000. A claim was presented and the claim was settled for pain and suffering including medical expenses.

General Liability: A vacant building owner kept a German Shepherd on his premises for security reasons during construction. The dog escaped from the yard and bit a nine year old boy who was riding his bicycle past the property. The boy had lacerations to his face which required medical treatment. The boy sustained damages of $103,000 and his parents filed a lawsuit against the insured. The policy responded to the claim and the suit was settled. An additional $7,000 was paid in defense expenses.

General Liability: A piece of metal roofing material fell from our insured’s vacant building and injured a person walking below. The claimant sustained serious back and neck injuries and was unable to work. He hired an attorney who filed suit against the policyholder. The loss was $300,000 for medical expenses and lost wages and an additional $40,000 in expenses. The claim was settled prior to trial and $40,000 was paid in defense expense.

Equipment Breakdown: A cast iron boiler experienced a low water condition and was destroyed causing $12,760 in property damage.