Miami area vacant property insurance

5 years ago

We need to insure a condominium in Miami which is vacant. We are out of state, without contacts in Florida. Can anyone recommend an insurance company that writes vacant property insurance, or can recommend an agent for that purpose?

If it matters, the utilities are on, and the furniture and personal property is inside, but it has been unoccupied for about a year, and probably will continue to be unoccupied for another year. The building is a high rise with 24/7 security, plus a family friend checks on the unit once a week.

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Denita

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

State Farm for sure doesn't write homeowners insurance. They haven't for many years. What they write in the way of contents insurance (they will write a contents policy AFAIK) is sold to Citizens immediately. I strongly suggest either going with the same co that has the master policy for the building or an insurance broker.

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Comments (6)

maifleur03
5 years ago
Just a suggestion but ask your family friend for a list of insurance companies. You could also do a search for companies in Florida. Give them the situation and see if they would insure it. Most will assign and agent to you.
mjlb thanked maifleur03
mjlb
Original Author
5 years ago
That's a good suggestion re: family friend, but there's a language barrier on my end, unfortunately.
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maifleur03
5 years ago
If you have any type of insurance check with your own company to see if they issue insurance in Florida. Not all companies issue in all states but I just looked at Miami insurance companies and found several major companies.
Denita
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
You need an insurance broker to sort though the available companies for you. We have limited insurance choices here in S Florida and many of those companies won't write insurance for vacant property. It is especially difficult during hurricane season.

maifleur03, naturally we have all the major insurance companies but many don't write homeowners insurance at all. They write all the other types of insurance, but homeowners is the tricky one.

OP, since you have a condo, the building is insured (SOP for condos here) but your contents, including your kitchen cabinets and interior finishes, aren't insured. Check the master policy for the building and get a quote for the interior contents. If you don't have a copy of the master policy, get it from your condo association board or property manager.
mjlb thanked Denita
mjlb
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Thank you, Denita. I'm plugging along with Google and will make calls on Monday. So far, I THINK State Farm, Farmers Insurance, and Geico are possible insurers. American Integrity Insurance writes vacant home policies in Florida, but not for Miami-Dade County. If you can think of any other likely insurers, please comment.

At least I've learned a lesson re: unoccupied and vacant home insurance. Considering the number of people with second homes, I'm surprised I haven't run into this before. Denita, since you are in South Florida, can you recommend an insurance broker?