Vacant Home Checks and Ontario Insurance

Insurers generally distinguish between a home that is unoccupied (still furnished, owner away) and one that is vacant (emptied, no intent to return). The wording matters, and so does telling your insurer when the status changes.

Conditions commonly attached to unoccupied dwellings include a required inspection interval, heat maintained above a set temperature, or the water supply shut off and the system drained. Some policies limit or exclude water damage during vacancy entirely.

A usable inspection report carries the date and time of the visit, interior and exterior photographs, confirmation of heat and water status, notes on locks, doors and windows, and any flagged observation. That is what a broker or adjuster wants to see, and it is what we produce after every visit.

Ask your broker directly: how does my policy define vacancy, what inspection interval is required, what are the heat and water conditions, and what documentation would you want in a claim? We are property managers, not insurance advisors — your broker owns those answers, and we build our reporting to satisfy them.