Properties that are 100 percent vacant
The program is written for homes and commercial buildings that are entirely unoccupied, between a sale, a tenant, an estate or a renovation. A property with anyone living in it needs a different policy.
Vacant Property Insurance in California
Vacant property owners, covered in days, not weeks. Start a quote in minutes and a licensed California broker shops the vacancy markets for you.
We shop the market for you, no broker fees
Green Shield
Vacant dwellings and commercial buildings
Aegis
Vacant structures and dwelling fire
Zurich
Vacant structure owners program via US Assure
Kinsale
Vacant buildings, hard to place
Markel
Hard to place dwellings
Blitz
Vacant commercial buildings to $5M
Great American
Specialty property programs
QBE
Specialty real estate programs
What the vacant property market writes in California
Building values up to $4 million
Coverage on the building itself, written with an 80 percent coinsurance condition, so the insured value has to track the real building cost. Up to 6 locations can share one policy.
The property's condition decides eligibility
The market does not write unsecured buildings, condemned or scheduled-for-demolition properties, wood shake roofing, existing structural damage, or homes previously occupied as a hotel, motel, church, golf club or school. The broker checks all of this from a few questions before quoting.
DP1 and DP3 forms, with the options that matter
The basic DP1 form or the broader DP3 form, with vandalism and malicious mischief, theft of building materials, and liability up to $1 million per occurrence. Cosmetic renovation is allowed while the building sits empty, up to half the building value.
How it works
10 minute form
A few questions about your business or home.
We shop the market
We compare carriers and read the forms line by line.
Pick the best policy
We explain what is covered, what is not, and what it costs.
Why an empty house is its own insurance problem
Most homeowners policies restrict or drop coverage once a home has been vacant for an extended period, which is exactly when pipes freeze, squatters arrive and no one notices a small fire. A vacant property policy is written for that gap, and whether one can be written at all is decided by the property's condition, not the price.
Vacancy changes the risk, and the paperwork
An empty building burns longer, floods wider and is burgled more often, and standard carriers price that by declining. Vacancy coverage is written on specialty paper by markets that underwrite emptiness for a living, in 3, 6, 9 and 12 month terms.
The coinsurance clause punishes low valuations
The policy carries an 80 percent coinsurance condition: insure a building for less than 80 percent of its value and a partial loss is paid at the same ratio. Getting the building value right before binding is the difference between a paid claim and a painful one.
Eligibility questions are the quote
Prior cancellations, an open claim, bankruptcy, foreclosure filings, evictions in progress, the roof's material and how often someone checks the building all decide whether a policy can bind. An online rater that skips them is quoting a property it has never accepted.
Written for California owners of empty property, including:
- Vacant single family and multifamily dwellings
- Vacant commercial buildings
- Vacant condominium units
- Farm and other property types, with review
- Up to 6 locations on one policy
- Terms of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months
What changes your premium
There is no flat rate for this coverage. These are the inputs a carrier prices against, and they are the same things the quote form asks you for.
- Vacancy period, from months empty to over three years
- Construction type, age of the building and number of floors
- Protection class and the roof's age
- How often the building is inspected and whether it is alarmed
- Which utilities are operational
- Liability limit and all other peril deductible
Text us. We're by your side.
Questions we get asked
What counts as a vacant property?
A building that is 100 percent unoccupied. That includes a house between owners, a rental waiting for a tenant, an estate property and a building waiting out a renovation. A property with any occupant, even short term, is a different risk and needs a different policy.
Will my homeowners policy cover an empty house?
Usually not for long. Most homeowners policies restrict or drop coverage after a house has been vacant for an extended period, commonly 30 to 60 days. Vacancy coverage exists precisely because the standard policy steps away when the house empties.
What is the difference between a DP1 and a DP3 form?
The DP1 is the basic form and covers a named list of perils like fire and lightning. The DP3 is the broader form and opens the door to options the basic form does not carry, including theft coverage. The broker matches the form to the property and what is in it.
How long can a vacant property policy run?
Terms of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. A property that sits longer renews, and one that sells or fills up ends its term early, so the term is matched to how long you expect the emptiness to last.
Can I insure more than one vacant property?
Yes. Up to 6 locations can share one policy, which matters for investors and estates holding several empty buildings at once.
What makes a vacant property ineligible?
A building that is not secured against entry, one that is condemned or scheduled for demolition, wood shake roofing, existing structural damage, a prior use as a hotel, motel, church, golf club or school, prior insurance that was refused, cancelled or non renewed in the last three years, an open claim, bankruptcy, foreclosure filings or evictions in progress. The broker checks these before quoting.
Can you write this where my business is?
We are licensed in California, Texas, Pennsylvania and New York, and applications in Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan are with those states now. We do not quote a state before its license is issued. Start a quote and we will tell you where you stand before you spend time on it.
What actually happens after I start a quote?
You answer a short set of questions, and a licensed broker at Menlo reads them, maps your operation to a class, and shops it with the carriers we are appointed with. There is no instant bind and no black box. You talk to a person before anything is quoted.
Get it placed by someone who reads the fine print
Start a quote and a licensed broker takes it from there, or talk to one now.