require_files undesirable behavior

I have a number of users that have protected home directories. I
also check for .procmailrc with require_files. Mail for those
users is deferred because require_files cannot determine if the
.procmailrc file exists. Presumably, this is because the check for
the .procmailrc is done as the exim userid. Be that as it may, I
do not want to require my users to have world searchable home
directories. Any suggestions?