Reinforce your investment property or second vacation home with the right insurance

Vacation home/second home

If your property is a second home or vacation home for you and your family, you need homeowners insurance with pretty much the same coverages you would get for a primary home. 

But there are some differences, or additional requirements you may need to navigate throughout the process of insuring your second home. For instance, you may be required to winterize, or get a separate flood insurance policy.

Small, tenant occupied home

If you are renting out a one- or two-unit property, you will need to insure it with a dwelling fire policy.

A dwelling fire policy is very similar to a homeowners insurance policy, but is more catered to the risks of a rental property.

It includes the following coverages: dwelling, other structures, personal property, medical payments to others, personal liability, fair rental value, and optional coverages including water backup, equipment breakdown and service line.

Vacant property (not under renovation)

If you’re buying a property that will remain vacant for a period of time you will need to insure it with an unoccupied or vacant home policy.

Because vacant buildings are more susceptible to vandalism, it needs this specific policy designed to protect it from these risks.

Since nobody is occupying the property, a vacant home policy has less coverages than a standard homeowners insurance policy, or the dwelling fire policy we mentioned above.

These policies generally only include dwelling and liability coverages.

Vacant property (under renovation)

If your vacant property is under renovation, then there is a different type of policy you will need: a builders risk policy.

Builder's risk insurance is an individualized type of property insurance, formulated specially for buildings under construction.

Also known as “course of construction" insurance, builder's risk insurance protects the property and homeowner from financial loss resulting from damage or loss of the project’s structure and materials during the course of construction.

Multi-unit property

If you are insuring a multi-unit property (with usually four or more units), you would actually need a commercial insurance policy.

Insurance companies will see larger multi-family homes as a business generator for the owner, so they will not insure the property under a personal insurance policy.

So if you are in this situation, you will need a business owners policy or a package policy to provide property coverage and general liability coverage.