I also had to change insurance companies. The company I had said sure you can leave for the winter. When I asked them to send a short letter to me stating so, they said they couldn't do it. I then started contacting other companies who said it was not a problems but wouldn't give it to me in writing. I wonder if there aren't actually a lot of people around me in our snow belt who aren't protected because they are snowed in. Some policies state that the home has to be occupied or it falls under a much more expensive type of coverage.
It's been 3 years of coverage so i can't remember how the other policy was worded but some of the companies that I did check into stated that it had to be occupied. Too much to remember but I have the paper work with me and saved emails of our conversations.