The post 9 Best Landlord Insurances to Protect Your Rental appeared first on Avail.
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If you intend to rent out your home, apartment, or condo, it’s essential to have landlord insurance coverage. But with a multitude of providers and policies to choose from, finding the right one can be daunting.
That’s why we reviewed the 9 best insurance companies for landlords to help make your search easier.
What Is Landlord Insurance?
Landlord insurance is an insurance policy designed to protect those who rent their property to tenants, unlike homeowner’s insurance designed to protect the policyholder’s primary residence. Generally, landlord insurance focuses on three major categories:
- Property damage: Landlord insurance can cover structural damage caused by severe weather conditions, fire, vandalism, and other damages claimable under your policy.
- Liability: Liability protection can help cover legal fees, medical expenses, and other associated expenses if deemed as liable in certain cases. Examples include when a tenant sustains an injury due to negligent maintenance, a break-in due to insufficient security, or if you deny a lease and the applicant tries to sue.
- Loss of income: Loss of income coverage can help you avoid lost revenue when a tenant stops paying rent due to financial reasons, your property is unexpectedly abandoned, or if tenants have to live elsewhere while the property is being repaired.
Other examples of protection that may be worth purchasing are:
- Builder’s risk insurance: If you plan to renovate your rental, builder’s risk insurance can cover your property if it’s damaged or destroyed by fire, wind, vandalism, vehicle collisions, or other accidents.
- Emergency coverage: This coverage can mitigate the costs of services provided by third parties. If there’s an electrical issue at your rental and you can’t get there in time to resolve the issue, you can dispatch a contractor to assist your tenants as quickly as possible.
- Workers’ compensation insurance: Landlords who employ property managers and contractors, or have tenants complete tasks in exchange for reduced rent can have workers’ compensation insurance if someone is injured while carrying out their responsibilities.
- Security deposit insurance: Security deposit insurance helps cover unexpected costs during the lease term, such as property damage and unpaid rental fees. This type of insurance reduces upfront costs for tenants while still giving landlords coverage through an insurer.
What Is the Best Insurance for Landlords?
1. State Farm
Whether you’re renting out a single-family home, a multifamily home, or a duplex, State Farm offers comprehensive landlord insurance policies to protect your property. In addition to the main rental property, your State Farm policy can cover attached structures like fences and swimming pools in case they get damaged. Plus, landlords can expect general liability coverage, loss of income insurance, equipment breakdown protection, and more.
State Farm also makes it easy to customize your insurance policy to your needs, but you’ll have to contact an agent to learn more about coverage limits and pricing.
2. Liberty Mutual
While you may not find the same automatic add-ons with a basic policy from Liberty Mutual, you’ll have plenty of flexibility to customize your coverage. You’ll need to speak with an agent to get a free quote to learn more about pricing and coverage plans.
Liberty Mutual also offers convenient discounts and bundling opportunities for landlords who live in the rental property and those who are claim-free for five years. If your insurance plan with another provider ends soon, Liberty Mutual may present additional discounts to purchase insurance with them when requesting a quote.
3. Steady
Steady provides a selection of financial and insurance products to property managers and owners of single-family rental homes. One of their primary offerings is the Owner Benefit Package
which provides rent default insurance, insights on quarterly reports, market updates, and real-time legislative updates. You can also protect your income for up to two months with Rent Protection and access up to 12 months of rent upfront with Steady’s Rent Advance program.
Avail has partnered with Steady to make it easier to purchase rent guarantee insurance through the platform. If your tenant stops paying rent for any reason, simply file a claim and collect the amount owed based on the terms of the original lease agreement. Landlords can choose coverage for as few as six weeks or as many as six months. With proper planning, you won’t have to worry about your income stream being interrupted during an eviction or while you search for a new tenant.
Owners can contact a Steady representative through their website for more information on pricing or purchase rent guarantee insurance coverage through the Avail platform.
4. Allstate
If you’re a landlord that owns multiple properties, you may consider turning to Allstate for your needs. Allstate offers discounts for bundling a landlord policy with additional coverage such as automotive coverage or homeowner’s insurance, so consider taking advantage of this benefit.
In addition to property protection and liability insurance, you can opt into plans that include premise medical coverage to help cover medical costs and expenses should a tenant be injured on your property. Other available add-ons are vandalism coverage if your rental is vandalized, burglary coverage in the event of a burglary, and rental property under construction coverage if you’re renovating your rental.
5. GEICO
While GEICO is well-known for its auto insurance, they also offer landlord coverage options. GEICO offers affordable coverage that covers property damage, liability, and lost rent scenarios — making it an excellent option for first-time and seasoned landlords. Add-ons are also available, such as coverage for vandalism, but you may want to contact an agent for an accurate breakdown of your policy costs and needs.
6. Travelers
If you’re looking for the best landlord insurance for a property of one to four units, you may want to consider Travelers. Their property coverage policy can protect the main unit, additional buildings like a storage shed or garage, and landlord-owned belongings used to maintain the rental like a lawnmower or tools. Plans also include liability insurance with limits of $100,000 or higher.
A portion of this amount can go towards medical payments if you’re found liable for an injury sustained by a person who doesn’t live on the property. A Travelers policy also includes loss of use coverage, which provides coverage for the fair rental value of the unit if your rental requires repairs due to a covered loss and isn’t fit to live in by tenants.
7. Obie
Obie is a landlord insurance provider available in all 50 states that lets you protect your rental with a customizable policy. Their policies cover property damage caused by severe weather, rent loss, and liability. Obie also offers risk assessment based on geographic location. Users can access a virtual map to visualize the potential for natural disasters like floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes to get the necessary coverage. Furthermore, this coverage is available for various property types, including single-family homes, multifamily properties, duplexes, and condos.
Landlords can even insure entirely vacant rental properties, short-term rentals, or those in the process of being flipped or renovated with Obie. Getting an estimated quote online is easy, and a data-driven approach results in competitive pricing for your custom plan.
8. Farmers
Farmers landlord policies provide standard coverage for property damage caused by extreme weather or a burst pipe that leads to extensive water damage. You’ll also get standard liability coverage, which can kick in if someone is injured on your property and needs medical care. Loss of rent coverage is available as an add-on, as is protection for structures attached to the building like a garage or driveway.
Farmers is also one of the best insurance options for landlords who own multiunit properties or an entire apartment building. You can find a convenient broad-coverage policy by reaching out to a representative for a price quote.
9. USAA
USAA is insurance available to military members and their families only. While access is somewhat exclusive, it can still be a valuable resource for eligible landlords.
USAA home insurance policies for rental properties can cover up to 10 of your tenant-occupied rentals. Policies provide coverage for the building itself, personal liability, and rental income. You can also opt into less common insurances, like home-sharing coverage for landlords who live on site. To help keep costs low, you can bundle a landlord policy with other plans for a 10% discount.
Is Landlord Insurance Different From Renters Insurance?
Renters insurance is intended to protect a tenant’s personal belongings from damage or theft, as well as damage or injury accidentally caused to others. Landlords require tenants to purchase renters insurance before moving in since landlord insurance does not protect the tenants, only the rental property.
If you want to encourage your tenants to purchase renters insurance, Avail has partnered with Lemonade to allow tenants to easily request a quote within the platform after signing a lease. If the property is in a state where Lemonade operates, your tenant can apply for a plan that best suits their coverage needs. Lemonade allows them to file claims, add a spouse or significant other to their policy, and opt into additional coverage from the convenient Lemonade app.
Plans start as low as $5/per month for Lemonade renters insurance, though annual payment plans are available at a discounted rate. Your tenants won’t have to worry about fluctuating fees, and claims are frequently paid out quickly after filing. Furthermore, Lemonade’s Giveback policy donates unused claims funds to a charitable organization of your tenant’s choosing. Options include The Humane Society, the Born This Way Foundation, March For Our Lives, and more.
Manage Your Rental Property With Avail
When finding the best landlord insurance, you’ll want to ensure all your needs are sufficiently met and protect your rental properties. Once you’ve purchased landlord insurance, you can also purchase additional coverage with Steady through the Avail platform and streamline the renting process for your properties.
Create an account or log in to easily manage your rental, collect rent payments, track rental property accounting, manage maintenance requests, and more with Avail.
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Between eight and 10 million landlords manage their investment properties in the U.S. — and unsurprisingly, one of their greatest concerns is whether their tenants will pay the rent. Avail has partnered with Steady Marketplace to address this concern and bring landlords the best financial protection for their investment properties: rent guarantee insurance. Steady is backed by a Fortune 100 insurance company and provides landlords access to rent guarantee insurance for their rental properties.
The partnership with Steady provides Avail landlords across the country with rent reimbursement options should a tenant stop paying rent. Keep reading to learn more about rent guarantee insurance and how it can benefit you.
What Is Rent Guarantee Insurance?
Tenants stop paying their rent for many reasons — job loss, cash flow issues, relationship turmoil, military deployment — and so on. Landlords are often left to swallow the cost of unpaid rent, sometimes until the eviction process is complete, which can be a long and costly process on its own.
Rental guarantee insurance acts as a safety net in the event a tenant stops paying rent. Steady’s rent guarantee insurance will cover six weeks to six months of lost rent per year, allowing landlords to start the eviction process (if necessary) without giving up months of rental income.
How Does Rent Guarantee Insurance Work?
Rent guarantee insurance through Steady covers any type of residence, from single-family rentals to multi-unit properties. Landlords simply select the rent guarantee insurance they need, choosing a period of coverage between six weeks and six months per year. If a tenant stops paying rent, the landlord can file a claim and collect the amount of rent owed under the lease agreement.
Each policy covers a single lease agreement for a single residential rental unit. If you have multiple rental properties, you can purchase a separate policy for each one. If your property has 2 or more units, then you must purchase insurance for all units simultaneously. Insurance costs are paid annually, but monthly payment options will be available in the coming months.
You can apply for Steady rent guarantee insurance directly through your Avail account. If you’re finishing up a new lease, you’ll have the option to sign up for rent guarantee insurance as you’re guided through the set-up process. If you already have an active lease or are setting up a lease, you can sign up for rent guarantee insurance separately within your account.
For more information on signing up for rent guarantee insurance, check out our step-by-step instructional guide.
What Does Rent Guarantee Insurance Cover?
Rent guarantee insurance covers nonpayment of rent if a tenant defaults on any rent payments they’ve agreed to in their lease. Remember that it’s separate from landlord insurance, which covers damage to a property but not loss of rent. There are a few instances where rent guarantee insurance won’t cover unpaid rent — including a landlord’s failure to comply with the lease or keep the rental property habitable.
How Do You Qualify for Coverage?
To qualify for coverage, an eligible lease must:
- Be on residential property that is the tenant’s primary residence
- Have a minimum term of six months
- Have a minimum remaining term of six months at the time of purchase
- Have already commenced at the time of purchase of the policy or commence within 30 days from the policy start date
- Have a minimum rent amount of $800 and a maximum rent amount of $5,000
Why Do Landlords Need Rent Guarantee Insurance?
While the screening tools Avail offers help landlords select quality tenants that will pay their rent on time each month, even the best screening can’t guarantee certain life changes won’t happen. Tenants can experience a loss of income from a recession, divorce, or a medical emergency.
Landlords concerned about falling behind on mortgage or tax payments, savings, or other bills paid using income from their rental properties often purchase rent guarantee insurance as a safety net, ensuring that their income-producing asset doesn’t become a costly liability — or worse, result in a foreclosure or ruined credit.
Get Rent Guarantee insurance Through Avail
Investing in rent guarantee insurance can be a great way to protect yourself against unpaid rent. To sign up for rent guarantee insurance, log in or create your Avail account today.
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