On the homeowners form HO 00 03 10 00 A. Definitions Item 6. "Insured location" means: e. vacant land, other than farm land, owned by or rented to an "insured'; What is considered "vacant land"? Is having any man-made structure on the property such as a fence make it not vacant?

Hawaii Subscriber

Vacancy, whether related to the dwelling itself or the land, is often confusing. When terms aren't directly defined in the policy courts turn to a standard desk reference since that is what most people have access to. Merriam Webster online defines vacant as : "not occupied by an incumbent, possessor, or officer; being without content or occupant"; and most importantly "not put to use" such as vacant land. Put to use is defined as "to use something in an effective way". Having a fence on the land does put it to use – there is a structure on the property that serves a purpose, whether it's simply marking the property line, designed to keep animals in or out of the property, or for some other reason. Therefore the land with a fence on it is no longer vacant. The coverage that extends to vacant land is liability coverage – not much property damage happens to vacant land. When looked at from an underwriting perspective, land with anything on it, be it a fence, shed, or something else, can add an opportunity for an injury or damage to another party, something any carrier would want to be made aware of. So coverage exists for vacant land, which is land without anything on it. This limits the liability greatly, as there are few hazards other than naturally occurring unevenness of the ground or holes dug by animals.