This is NOT a Columbus Ohio phenomenon. There are vacant homes everywhere. There are more vacant homes NOW than most years.
There are vandals everywhere, always.
On the news this morning from NBC4i.com a Columbus home that is on the market was vandalized the weekend before Christmas. The images on the news were horrible, graffiti, holes in walls. The owner who is trying to sell her childhood home assumed the property damage was covered by her homeowners insurance.
House Vandalized, Not Covered by Insurance.
Your insurance does not cover your home if it is vacant more than 30 days. That is not new.
According to the story by Angie Hissong on NBC4i.com:
The Ohio Department of Insurance says that is a standard clause and advises homeowners to read the fine print carefully and to never sign a contract until you have read and understand every portion of it.
In many cases the homeowner signed their insurance contract years earlier and are unaware that by leaving the house vacant they have no insurance. Sellers move out for a job in another city, because their new house is completed, because they go into assisted living or many other reasons. Properties vacant over 30 days are not covered by insurance.
The vandalized home is in the city, the NBC4i.com story says “Columbus Police.”
The Ohio Department of Insurance
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Can one buy an insurance rider to cover it?
I understand you can. People don’t realize they need to??