Despite a basic understanding of homeowners policies and continuing insurance if a home, property, or dwelling becomes vacant, 95% of anticipated expatriate homeowners do not fully understand the un-occupancy provision in their homeowners policy, according to a recent survey by Vacant Home Insurance Now.
An expatriate is typically defined an American working one year or more outside of the U.S. for a multinational employer. Expatriates are also frequently international school teachers and those on a religious mission. At any one time, there are tens of thousands of Americans working around the world for various reasons, and this does not include U.S. government employees.
20% of the American expatriates respondents stated they were planning on keeping their home while they are living abroad as an expatriate. Of those 20% that were keeping the home while working overseas, 60% will attempt to find a renter or boarder to live in the house while the owners are away. However, 95% of the anticipated expatriate homeowner respondents did not understand the vacancy provision of their existing homeowners insurance policy and the risks of their home being considered vacant and thus un-insurable in case of incident.
If an expatriate has kept a home while working internationally, about 80% of the time the home will become what is considered vacant, from the insurance companies perspective. "If expatriates don't understand the vacancy provision of their existing insurance policy and, if at some point, the home is destined to become "vacant," this sets up a situation where coverage can be lost and the home can be exposed," says Matthew McKinley, President of Vacant Home Insurance Now. "Just because the homeowners insurance bill is paid in full with the insurance company, it does not mean a vacant or empty home has full coverage and the insurer will honor a claim."
Unfortunately, Americans that go overseas to live don't understand these basic issues and it is estimated that thousands of home are sitting empty right now without the proper insurance coverage. In these cases, the owners believe they have coverage, but no coverage actually exists.
Vacant Home Insurance Now is using the data acquired from the survey to help government agencies, colleges, and large corporations who commonly have long term overseas employees educate and properly insure their employees homes or properties while they remain vacant.
