Vacation Home Insurance

Family on a beachVacation homes and properties can come in many different shapes, locations and sizes. A 500 square foot hunting cabin in the woods, a mobile home located on some land near a national preserve, a waterfront condo, or an old Victorian located in a small community—the options for vacation and part-time residences are endless.

The need for home insurance on any of these locations, however, is static. Every residence you own—whether it is lived in part-time, full-time or just one month out of every year—needs to have the right insurance coverage protecting it from financial adversity caused by insurable events.

Covering the Dwelling

When you purchased your vacation property, you didn’t just purchase the land—you also purchased the building that resides on it. Should that building be damaged in a fire, hurricane, tornado or other disaster, home insurance coverage can help you rebuild and enjoy time in the location once again.

Without home insurance, damage to the building on your vacation property must be paid for exclusively out of your own pocket, which could mean you are forced to either camp out on the property during future vacations or that you must sell rather than replace your lost dwelling. In the event that you have a condo or townhouse, your association likely has a policy that covers the dwelling.

If you rent the property to other vacationers, then you need to let your insurance company know this. You may even want to look into an umbrella policy for additional liability coverage in the event that there is an accident on the property. You may also consider adding loss of use coverage to your policy in the event that a tenant causes an insurable incident that renders the property uninhabitable.

Finally, consider the climate of the location in which you own your vacation property. The area might be exposed to different insurable risks than your permanent residence and you need to consider these risks when buying insurance.

Coverage for Personal Property

Many people with vacation properties attempt to keep some furniture, kitchen supplies, clothes, electronics and other property in the vacation home year-round so they can pack lightly when taking a trip there. This personal property needs home insurance coverage in order to limit the financial risk you face should a fire, theft or other incident damage any of it.

If your vacation home is filled with less property than your residence, or with property of lower value, then you can get by with a very low limit for home insurance contents coverage. But having even that low limit at least means that you can replace some of what’s lost after an insurable incident and keep vacations enjoyable.

Discounts on Vacation Home Insurance

Just as you must have insurance on your vacation home dwelling and contents, you can also take steps to get discounts as you do in your main residence. Anti-theft devices such as alarms, smoke detectors and sprinkler systems, and windows and doors that meet new construction codes can all help to get you a discount on your policy.

Your property is valuable, whether you are in it all the time or for just one week every year. Protecting everything that you own with the right insurance coverage helps ensure that you guard your investments and conserve your savings for accomplishing other goals, rather than replacing property that wasn’t properly insured.

For more information on home insurance, give Breathe Easy Insurance a call at 866.822.7755

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