Loss of Rent Insurance when property is vacant??

[Alex Odom]

Hi,

 After few months of rehab on a duplex I was ready to rent both units, and just a few days after I listed each unit for rent my pipes burst due to the cold weather leaving both units significantly damaged. I was wondering if the "loss of rent" insurance applies here? As I would have been able rent them out and receive income and now it's going to be at least another couple months of construction..

Any insight would be great.

Thanks,

[Bill B.]

Yeah, and assuming the heat wasn’t turned off for some reason you have a possible lawsuit against the rehabber. There is zero chance pipes should burst in a freshly remodeled property if the heat is on. If you’re lucky your insurance company will go after them for you (as they caused the loss) and reimburse your deductible. (Allstate has done this twice for me against 2 different toilet supply line manufacturers.). Hopefully they pulled permits and built to code or have their own insurance to cover themselves. Otherwise some cities have funds that all contractors have to pay in to cover bad jobs. Good luck. 

Ps. After I finished my post I remembered you also need to make sure your insurance is valid if the property is vacant more than 30-60-90 days. Some insurance companies don’t cover vacant properties and make you buy a specific empty property insurance which is much more expensive as they’re afraid water leaks  in an empty property will do extra damage before being discovered. Check your policy declarations.