A retired couple from Montreal closes up their condo in Sunny Isles Beach at the end of April and flies home. They come back the first week of November. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, so their Florida home sits empty for almost exactly the months it is most at risk. That one fact shapes how a seasonal home should be insured and looked after, and most of the problems seasonal owners run into come from a policy written as if someone lived there all year.
Miami-Dade and Broward are full of seasonal owners, from Canadians in the oceanfront condos of Sunny Isles, Hallandale and Aventura to northerners with houses in Coral Gables and Pinecrest and Latin American owners who spend part of the year abroad. The insurance questions are the same for all of them: what the policy says about an empty home, who takes care of it during a storm and how to keep a small problem from becoming a large claim while nobody is there.
The Vacancy Clock Starts When You Leave
Most homeowners and condo policies restrict coverage once a home has been unoccupied for a stated period, commonly around sixty days, though it varies by form. After that point, coverage for vandalism, glass breakage, water damage and theft may be suspended or reduced, which is exactly what happens to empty homes. A seasonal owner gone from April to November passes that point every year without anything unusual happening. The policy stays in force, but the coverage quietly narrows.
Policies also distinguish between unoccupied, where nobody is living there but the furnishings remain, and vacant, where the home is empty of both. A seasonal home is usually unoccupied, which is treated less severely, but the restrictions can still apply. The fix is a conversation, not a discovery. Tell your carrier the home sits empty part of the year and roughly for how long, so the policy is written for that use, whether through an endorsement, a policy designed for seasonal homes or confirmation that your form already allows for it. Our article on why more Florida homes are sitting vacant longer explains how carriers treat empty homes.
Water Is a Bigger Threat Than Wind
More seasonal-home claims come from plumbing than from hurricanes, and the reason is time. A supply line that fails in an occupied home makes a mess, while the same failure in an empty home can run for weeks. By the time anyone opens the door, the water has soaked the floors, the cabinets and the walls, and mold has had a Miami summer to grow. Worse, slow or repeated leakage is generally excluded, so the version that does the most damage is the version least likely to be covered.
Shut the water off at the main when you leave, which eliminates the most common seasonal-home claim at no cost. If you have irrigation or need water for an ice maker, isolate those lines instead of leaving the whole system pressurized, or install an automatic leak detector with a shutoff valve, which some carriers credit. In a condo, water that escapes your unit can damage the units below, so many associations have their own rules about shutting off water and leaving a key, and following them protects you from a liability claim as well as a property one. Our article on water damage claims in Florida condos explains how those claims are handled.
Keep the Air Conditioning Running
A closed Miami home without air conditioning develops humidity damage and mold within weeks, and carriers treat that as maintenance, not a covered loss. Set the system to hold a reasonable temperature and humidity instead of turning it off, and have someone confirm it is still running, because a compressor that fails in July in an empty home produces the same result as never having left it on.
Someone Needs to Look at the House, and Write It Down
Regular inspection is the most valuable habit a seasonal owner can have, and the record matters as much as the visits. Weekly is ideal and every two weeks is workable. Whoever checks should look for water, confirm the air conditioning is running, check for any sign of entry and look at the roof, windows and doors after any storm. Keep a log of the dates, who visited and what they found, because when a slow loss is finally discovered, being able to show when the home was last confirmed in good condition is often the difference between a paid claim and an argument.
Who Secures the Home Before a Storm
This is the question most seasonal owners have never answered. A named storm forms in late August, the shutters need to go up and the patio furniture needs to come in, and you are fifteen hundred miles away. Arrange it in advance with a property manager, a neighbor, a home watch service or a shutter company, with a written agreement about who does what and how they are paid, and make sure they have keys, codes and gate or building access. Condo owners should know what the association handles and what falls to the unit owner, such as balcony furniture and unit shutters.
Every policy also requires you to take reasonable steps to prevent further damage after a loss, and that duty does not pause because you are out of state. A roof or window opened by a storm in September and found in November has let two months of rain into the home, and a carrier may treat that added damage differently from the storm itself. Someone with eyes on the property and authority to call a tarp crew or a water mitigation company is what meets that duty when you cannot.
Flood and the Timing Problem
Flood is excluded from every homeowners and condo policy and needs its own. Federal flood policies generally take effect 30 days after purchase, and private carriers usually stop binding once a storm is being tracked, so a seasonal owner who thinks about flood coverage in the fall has missed that year’s window. Arrange it before you close up in the spring. For condo owners, the association’s flood policy covers the building but not your interior finishes or belongings, as our articles on whether Florida condo owners need flood insurance and NFIP versus private flood explain.
Two Homes and the Coverage Between Them
Belongings in your Florida home are covered under the Florida policy, and seasonal homes often hold more than owners remember, from furnishings and electronics to a second set of everything. Your policy at home generally covers property away from that address only on a limited basis, so the Florida contents should be insured at a realistic value. A personal umbrella should sit above both homes and all of your vehicles, because a household with property in two places is exactly what an umbrella is built for, as our umbrella insurance page explains. A car left in Florida for part of the year raises its own questions about where it is garaged and how it is insured, so mention it to your agent too.
If You Rent It While You Are Away
Some seasonal owners offset their costs by renting the home while they are gone. That is business use, which a standard homeowners or condo policy generally excludes, and renting without telling the carrier can defeat coverage for the rental and give the carrier grounds to question unrelated claims. A long-term, seasonal or short-term rental each needs a policy written for that use, and a short-term rental has to be disclosed when the policy is written. Many Miami condo buildings also restrict rentals, so check the association’s rules first. Our article on whether homeowners insurance covers Airbnb covers the options.
What Seasonal Owners Should Confirm
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Does your carrier know the home sits empty part of the year, and for how long?
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Is the water shut off and the air conditioning running while you are away?
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Who inspects the home, how often, and is it logged?
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Who secures the home before a storm, and is the arrangement in writing?
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Do you carry flood coverage, and was it arranged before the season?
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Are your Florida contents insured at a realistic value, and does an umbrella cover both homes?
Seasonal Home Insurance in Miami With Prestige Insurance Group
Prestige Insurance Group writes homeowners and condo coverage for seasonal owners across Miami, Sunny Isles Beach, Aventura, Key Biscayne, Coral Gables and the rest of South Florida, as well as in Orlando and across our nine-state footprint for clients who own homes in more than one state. With access to over twenty homeowners carriers in Florida, we can place a seasonal home with a carrier that writes it for how you actually use it. If your Florida home sits empty part of the year and nobody has told the carrier, send us your declarations page and the months you are usually away. Learn more on our secondary home insurance and condo insurance pages, or see our article on condo insurance for seasonal residents. Call the office nearest you. Se habla español.
Miami: 305-969-8776 Orlando: 407-993-2331
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my homeowners insurance cover my Florida home while I’m away for the summer?
It can, but many policies restrict coverage for theft, vandalism, glass and water damage after a home has been unoccupied for a set period. Tell your carrier the home is used seasonally so it is written for that use.
What is the difference between unoccupied and vacant?
An unoccupied home still has furniture and belongings but nobody living in it. A vacant home is empty of both. Seasonal homes are usually unoccupied, which policies treat less strictly.
Should I shut off the water when I leave my Florida home?
Yes. Shutting off the water at the main is the simplest way to prevent the most common seasonal-home claim, and slow leaks found weeks later are often not covered.
Who is responsible for securing my home before a hurricane if I’m out of state?
You are, through whoever you arrange to do it. Set up a written agreement with a property manager, neighbor or home watch service before the season, and make sure they have access.
General information only, not legal advice. Vacancy and unoccupancy provisions, coverage forms, policy conditions, endorsements, association rules and flood program terms vary and change over time. Refer to your actual policy and your association’s governing documents for the terms that apply to your home.
