Okay, so you’ve got this house. And the thing is, you’re not living in it. You want to rent it out to tenants on a year-long basis so that it’ll actually earn its keep as opposed to just sitting there. But how do you insure the rental home? We’ll explain.
How to insure a rental home.
You’re going to have to consider a dwelling fire policy. It’s similar to a home insurance policy, but different.
The reason that a home insurance policy won’t work is that having a tenant in the home is different than you living in the home. Let’s face it – people stink sometimes. They don’t take care of other people’s possessions the same way they would take care of their own.
Have questions? Chat with us now.Anyways, your dwelling fire policy can help you protect the structure of the home itself from loss – for example, it can cover fire, wind, hail, and so on. It can also provide liability insurance to help you out if someone sues you because they got hurt on your property or something. (BUT – as always – read the darned policy to find out what your specific plan does and doesn’t cover.)
Pro tip: Consider umbrella insurance to provide limits of liability that go above and beyond what your insurance policy provides. It basically sits on top of your other policy and chills out there.
What if I can’t find a tenant?
You’ll usually have a period of 30 days or so that the home can be vacant. (Check your policy to see the time limit it allows.) So, you’ve got some time to get a new tenant into the house, but don’t dawdle about it.
Bring up renters insurance with your tenants.
Okay, here’s the catch – your tenants’ personal belongings won’t be protected by your dwelling fire insurance. So, talk to them about getting a renters insurance policy. Renters insurance protects your tenant’s personal belongings, and it can also provide them with their own liability coverage. That way if there’s a fire or something, they won’t come to you asking you to make your insurance cover their stuff. (Which it probably just won’t do, no matter how much they want it to.)
Dislike boring forms? Get a quote over chat right now.Get quotes to insure your rental home by filling out our online form, giving us a call, or messaging us on LiveChat.