INSURING VACANT PROPERT

[VIEWQUEST]

My wife and I purchased vacant land a couple of years ago to build a house upon in the future. Recently our insurance rate increased significantly to approximately $35.00 per acre. Presently we rent a house and therefore don't qualify for homeowners insurance regarding this property. Anyhow, we're looking for an insurance company that insures vacant property and would appreciate any helpful suggestions.

Thanks

 

[caddison]

Viewquest,

All you are really doing is extending liability to the vacant property as there is nothing to actually insure. You should be able to simply ad the land as an additional location to your current renters policy.

 

[MarkV]

I was thinking the same thing, liability is all you need for vacant land. A blanket liability policy is pretty reasonable. I believe we pay about $200 a year for 1 Mil of extra liability insurance.

MarkV

 

[edski]

$35 per acre...is that for fire and theft? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Soundguy]

Our insurance her ein florida is similar to what Caddison said.

We have a piece of property that we live on, and then own a pasture right down the road. We have homeowners on our 'residence and property, and then the vacant land is automatically covered under the liability limits of our policy.

If we 'improve' the pasture, then it needs it's own policy.

Check with your insurance agent.. .. ( I use Nationwide.. )

Soundguy

 

[Highbeam]

Varies state to state. You owe the three types of "people" that might be on your property different levels of protection. The utility people, invitees, and tresspassers from most to least. Meaning that if a tresspassers breaks his leg while riding his quad on your land that is posted as "no tresspassing" then you owe him very little compared to a power meter reader that falls into a hole and breaks his leg, he can sue your pants off.

You can't keep people off your land, you have some liability out there. My homeowner's extends to the land I own with certain conditions such as if I am making money off of it or if there is a residence type structure (cabin) out there. Without the homeowner's benefit, I would recommend an umbrella liability policy to protect yourself. The benefit is that this type of policy is pretty cheap and will extend to all areas of your life. Should you cause a traffic wreck and your auto liability coverage be exceeded, then the umbrella policy will kick in.

That umbrella policy is like saying you are a smart guy, won't do anything wrong in your life, but if the unexpected happens then you won't likely lose everything.

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Without the homeowner's benefit, I would recommend an umbrella liability policy to protect yourself )</font>

When we bought our homeowners policy, we also picked up an optional rider 'excess liability'.. pretty much doubled the liability value of our homeowners policy.. As stated.. was cheap too.. might have added less than 100$ a year to our homeowners policy, and the agent said it was a good idea.. for instance.. we have horses and horned cows.. if they got out and hurt someone.. or a car hit one, even off our property.. our homeowners policy would kick in.. same with an auto accident.. if the damage exceded the auto liability, the agent said in many cases, the plantiff's attorneys look toward your homeowners policy for more $$ ( Sad world huh... )

Soundguy

 

[RayH]

Personally I wouldnt even worry with insuring it. Post some no trespassing signs and dont worry about it. Unless youve got something that is unusually dangerous such as an old well, pond, old house or barn, and someone goes on your land illegally and without your knowledge and gets hurt, I cant see how any court would hold you responsible. Just see that its posted and there isnt anything out of ordinary that could be dangerous. Its tested around here almost every hunting season. Someone goes on someone elses land without specific permission, falls out of a tree and sues and walks away empty handed. Ive actually heard of an occasion where the land owner was the one who found an injured hunter on his land and not only did the injured hunter lose his suit but had to pay a fine for trespassing.
Your state may be different, WV tends to protect the rights of the land owner more than most states I think.

 

[TDiPatrick]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Personally I wouldnt even worry with insuring it. )</font>

That strikes me as extremely bad advice. At a minimum, insurance will cover your legal costs in the event you're sued. Even if a suit is groundless, you still have to defend yourself.

My $.02,
Patrick

 

[Highbeam]

A fool and his money are soon parted.... It's just a saying I heard once.

Legal costs to defend a million dollar suit can be ridiculous. No trespassing signs and even a fence are only factors. A criminal trespassing on your land has the right to sue. If this happens, it will be cheaper to settle the suit out of court than to fight the case and win. Even worse if you lose, which has certainly happened. Who do you think pays the settlement?