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Go to your current homeowner's agent and get it insured.
1} if someone has an accident, even if tresspassing, you never know what liability you can incur.
2} You will have satisfied the requirement to have the property insured.
3}what if a landslide, earthquake, tornado or other such tore through your area and you experienced loss of land and loss of land value, what then? Stupider things have happened!
4} a tree would fall on someone, a sinkhole could open up and injure someone, someone could fall into a gopher hole, etc, you never know and they may sue you. Better to be insured than not.
5}if/when you do build, a builder may NOT want to work on your property for your lack of insurance, just like you don't want a construction team working on your property without insurance either.
Since there is no structures on the property, it should be CHEAP.
If you do start to build, it could go up, or they may require a construction rider on it.
I would never own any piece of land without insurance.
I would never own any piece of land without insurance.
And I would never buy insurance for vacant land. Despite insurance company scare tactics, the risks are negligible--especially since Michigan has a decent Recreational Trespass Act, requiring someone to prove gross negligence in the event of an accident. Don't tamper with the natural condition of the land and that is a very difficult hurdle for anyone to overcome.
And I would never buy insurance for vacant land. Despite insurance company scare tactics, the risks are negligible--especially since Michigan has a decent Recreational Trespass Act, requiring someone to prove gross negligence in the event of an accident. Don't tamper with the natural condition of the land and that is a very difficult hurdle for anyone to overcome.
I agree. I own a waterfront lot with a custom shed on it. I have the shed insured but not the lot. There are plenty of "No Trespassing" signs on both the lot and the shed, so if someone hurts themselves going on the property, it's all on them. They shouldn't have been there in the first place.
Yes, get it fast. Even before anyone built nearby,you have been exposed to liability if someone got injured on the property. Even if they were trespassing.
This exactly! They are looking at it from a liability stand point! If you're lender requires it then there's no way around it. BTW, depending on your state laws, even a trespasser can sue if they get hurt on your property.
The OP is not asking whether or not he should have it. It is really none of the underwriter's business as to why he doesn't have insurance on bare land. Even if there was a full fledged home on the property, if it were owned free and clear insurance would not be required and should be of no interest to an underwriter or a bank.
The bank/underwriter should only be concerned that the property is insured by closing day.
what if the OP already has a substantial umbrella policy?
He might be ok then but I'd check with my insurance agent about that one, who knows what the fine print might say in a case like that and state laws vary.
Hate to say he'd be fine and then see in the fine print he's required to have insurance in place and winds up being on the hook for the minimum insurance amount he should have had in place or something like that.
My guess would be the underwriter wants to know if the OP doesn't have insurance on the lot because he can't get it. In other words, is there a reason no insurer will insure the lot. I doubt it has as much to do with personal liability as with environmental liability. Did the lot use to be the location of a gas station? If so, there is a high possibility that there is fuel contamination in the ground that could cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to clean up.
The OP should be truthful and simply say he saw no reason to get insurance for the lot given its location and the current use of adjacent lots.
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