Documentation
Your policy has conditions about an empty house.
Most seasonal owners have never been told what they are. Here is the actual law, the actual policy language, and what we do about both — along with the claim the rest of this industry makes that is not true.
In short
- NY statute suspends standard fire coverage after 60 consecutive days vacant or unoccupied
- The freeze exclusion does not apply where reasonable care was documented
- Some carriers apply a vacant-house deductible absent written notice
- No US carrier requires 7–14 day inspections. That claim is imported from the UK
- Discounts exist for shut-off hardware, not for watch services
New York Insurance Law § 3404
Section 3404 of the New York Insurance Law prescribes the standard fire policy — the statutory floor beneath every fire policy issued in the state. Among its conditions suspending or restricting insurance, the insurer is not liable for loss occurring
“while a described building, whether intended for occupancy by owner or tenant, is vacant or unoccupied beyond a period of sixty consecutive days” — unless otherwise provided in writing added to the policy.
The conjunction is the whole point. The standard ISO homeowners form applies its vandalism and glass-breakage exclusions to a vacant dwelling — empty of contents. New York’s statutory language reaches a building that is vacant or unoccupied.
A fully furnished house in Sagaponack, closed in November and opened in April, is unoccupied for roughly one hundred and fifty consecutive days. It is not vacant. It crosses the statutory line anyway.
Two honest qualifications. This is the statutory minimum policy, and high-value carriers routinely broaden it by endorsement — many seasonal owners are already covered. And the clause is suspensive, not void from inception, and it yields to anything “otherwise provided in writing added to the policy.”
Which is precisely the operative point: written notice to the carrier is the mechanism that resolves it. Giving that notice, and keeping a record that it was given, is a five-minute task that almost nobody performs.
The freeze exclusion is conditional
The standard homeowners form excludes loss caused by freezing of a plumbing, heating, air conditioning or sprinkler system, or by discharge from those systems caused by freezing. Owners read that and assume they are uncovered. They are reading half of it.
“This provision does not apply if you have used reasonable care to (a) Maintain heat in the building; or (b) Shut off the water supply and drain all systems and appliances of water.”
The exclusion turns entirely on reasonable care. And reasonable care is not a state of mind — it is an evidentiary question, answered months later, by whatever record exists.
A dated, timestamped, photographed log showing interior temperature held above 55°F across the winter is that record. An assurance that someone was keeping an eye on the place is not.
The vacant-house deductible
Some high-value carriers apply a special deductible to a house left substantially empty of furnishings — Chubb’s Masterpiece programme uses 5% of the dwelling limit where the house has been substantially empty for more than thirty consecutive days and the carrier was not notified.
On a ten-million-dollar dwelling limit, that is a five hundred thousand dollar deductible. The trigger is furnishings removed rather than nobody home, so a furnished seasonal house does not trip it — but a house being emptied for renovation absolutely can, and notification avoids it entirely.
What this industry says that is not true
Search for home watch in this market and you will be told, repeatedly and with confidence, that your carrier requires an inspection every seven to fourteen days.
No US carrier publishes such a requirement. Not Chubb, not AIG, not PURE, not Cincinnati, not Berkley One, not Vault, not Nationwide. The seven-day interval is a real standard — in the United Kingdom, where unoccupied-home policies commonly require weekly inspections backed by written reports. It has been carried across the Atlantic and into American marketing copy without attribution or basis.
The National Home Watch Association, the industry’s own body, makes no claim that carriers require, credit, or accept home watch for insurance purposes. It defines the service as a visual inspection looking for obvious issues, which is an honest description.
We raise this because you are going to hear it from someone else, and because a firm that will repeat an unverified claim to win your business will repeat one to keep it.
Where the savings actually are
No carrier discounts a watch service. Several discount hardware. PURE publishes up to 5% for an automatic water shut-off with low-temperature monitoring; industry-typical figures run 8 to 12% for a qualifying device.
The qualifying distinction is consistent: whole-home flow monitors with automatic shutoff generally qualify, point-of-use leak sensors generally do not, and proof of professional installation is often required.
Specifying the right device, coordinating its installation, monitoring it, and producing the documentation your carrier wants is a service that produces a measurable reduction in what you pay. It is the only mechanism in this category that does.
What we do
- Written notice to your carrier of extended unoccupancy, with a record that it was given
- A dated, photographed condition report after every visit, retained and indexed
- Continuous interior temperature documentation through the heating season
- Specification and installation coordination of shut-off and leak-detection hardware
- Certificates of insurance collected from every vendor entering the property
- Incident documentation — photographs, timeline, vendor records — assembled for any claim
Questions
Does homeowners insurance cover an empty house in New York?
Not without qualification. New York Insurance Law § 3404, which prescribes the standard fire policy for the state, provides that the insurer is not liable for loss occurring while a described building is vacant or unoccupied beyond a period of sixty consecutive days, unless otherwise provided in writing added to the policy. High-value carriers routinely broaden this by endorsement, and the clause is suspensive rather than void — but written notice to the carrier is the mechanism that resolves it, and many seasonal owners have never given it.
What is the difference between a vacant and an unoccupied house?
In general industry usage, vacant means empty of both people and contents. Unoccupied means without occupants but with furniture and personal effects still present. The distinction matters because the standard ISO homeowners form applies its vandalism and glass exclusions only to a vacant dwelling, while New York's statutory fire policy language reaches a building that is vacant OR unoccupied. A furnished Hamptons house closed for the winter is unoccupied, not vacant.
Is frozen pipe damage covered by homeowners insurance?
The standard homeowners form excludes loss caused by freezing of a plumbing, heating, air conditioning or automatic fire protective sprinkler system, or by discharge from those systems caused by freezing. The exclusion is conditional: in the policy's own words, it does not apply if the insured used reasonable care to maintain heat in the building, or to shut off the water supply and drain all systems and appliances. Whether reasonable care was used is an evidentiary question, which is why documentation matters.
Do insurers require home watch inspections every 7 to 14 days?
No US carrier publishes such a requirement. This claim is widespread in American home watch marketing but is not supported by any carrier document from Chubb, AIG, PURE, Cincinnati, Berkley One, Vault or Nationwide. The seven-day inspection standard is genuine in the United Kingdom's unoccupied-home insurance market, where it is commonly required and backed by inspection reports. It has been imported into US marketing without attribution. The National Home Watch Association makes no claim that carriers require or credit home watch.
Does home watch reduce your insurance premium?
No carrier has been found that offers a premium discount for a home watch or property check service. Discounts in this area are device-based, not service-based: PURE offers up to 5% for an automatic water shut-off with low-temperature monitoring, and industry-typical discounts run 8 to 12% for a qualifying device. Whole-home flow monitors with automatic shutoff generally qualify; point-of-use sensors generally do not, and professional installation is often required.
What temperature should an empty house be kept at in winter?
55°F is the standard minimum cited by carriers and practitioners for an unoccupied home, and it is the figure used by East End operators. The alternative permitted by the standard policy language is to shut off the water supply and fully drain all systems and appliances — which eliminates the need for heat maintenance entirely, and is the correct approach for some properties.
Sources. NY Insurance Law § 3404 (standard fire policy). ISO Homeowners 3 — Special Form HO 00 03, Section I Perils Insured Against. Chubb Masterpiece homeowners coverage summary. PURE Insurance published device-discount guidance. National Home Watch Association published definitions. This page is general information about policy and statutory language, not legal or insurance advice; your own policy governs, and its endorsements may differ materially from the statutory minimum. Read it, or ask us and we will read it with you.