What happens to your insurance rates if your house is vacant or you start renting to someone? Do the rates go up?

If you rent the house out, you should get a landlord policy. I believe that the premium will be less than a regular homeowner's policy because only the structure is insured, not the contents. Also you get a certain amount of liability coverage that protects you as the landlord. If a home sits vacant for too long, the insurance company may considered it to be abandoned, and refuse coverage in the event of a loss. I hope that an insurance agent chimes in to confirm this.:)

Rental house insurance in very expensive. I have rental units and homes and without claims it has gone up 10% per year for the last 5 years. Get prices from two or three different companies. Also be sure to check with you principle residence insurance company.

I don't know about rental but I can attest to my house having been for sale and vacant for about 6 months after we moved to the new location. My insurance company got nervous very quickly and I had been insured by them for everything for 40+ years. They covered me but I didn't know from one day to the next if they were going to continue to insure me.
I did some searching with other companies (most wanted no part of it) and companies that specialize in vacant house insurance. The specialists (if they decided to insure us) were talking about $ 1,000 or more per MONTH premium. If we hadn't gotten lucky and found a buyer, this would have become a primary problem.

Non primary residence insurance is higher than your home but the coverage can affect the premeium a great deal. If you increase your deductible or lower your liability you can get a better rate but its always more than your primary home insurance.