Landlord insurance is one of the most important things you need to be concerned about as a landlord. Remember that as a landlord, you have many responsibilities, and one of those responsibilities is making sure that you have the proper amount of insurance. There are a few different types of insurance that all landlords should have in order to protect themselves from any number of things that can happen. When you are renting to someone, there are all kinds of things that can happen, and you need to be sure that you are protected so that you don't end up having to spend a whole lot of money.
Having landlord insurance will give you that protection you need, and if you are going to become a landlord or you are already one but don't have enough or any insurance, then it is time that you start getting some quotes and get yourself some protection as soon as possible.
Insurance All Landlords Need
Unfortunately, having tenants often means having damages to your rental units, and having insurance will make sure that you can afford to replace or repair things that are broken or otherwise damaged. For instance, if you are renting out a furnished apartment, and the tenants caused damage to the furniture, your insurance will help you with the cost to replace or repair that furniture. This type of insurance is known as a limited contents policy or full contents policy.
If you have a limited contents policy, it will be for apartments that are not furnished, and it covers things such as window treatments, lighting fixtures, carpeting and flooring, and appliances. If you do supply appliances, you should make sure that you have liability insurance as well, just in case there are any accidents due to faulty appliance wiring, or even because of problems with lighting fixtures or broken stairs (basically, anything that a tenant or one of their guests can injure themselves on). Other types of insurance landlords should have include:
Loss of Rental Income Coverage – There are some things that we just can't do anything about, such as natural disasters, but things like these can leave you with buildings that you cannot rent, and they are just sitting there without helping you collect income. When you have loss of income coverage, you don't have to worry about this, because you will receive the income you lost as long as you are making repairs to the building. This gives you the time you need to make sure that everything is properly repaired, and depending on what happened to the building in the first place, your building or property insurance may cover a lot of those expenses as well. Some of the things that can happen that cause damages loss of rental income coverage pays for include fires, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Landlord Liability Insurance – If someone, such as a tenant or one of their guests, were to injure themselves while on your property and the injury was caused by something on the property, that person could sue you for damages. This can get pretty expensive, and you could end up having to pay for medical expenses, time missed from work and more. Let's say a tenant trips and falls over a broken stair. That tenant breaks his leg and is unable to work. He is going to expect you to not only fix the broken step, but to also pay for his medical bills and his salary while he is unable to work. When you have landlord liability insurance, these costs will be covered, so you do not have to worry about trying to pay for everything on your own.
Here is something else that you should know about landlord liability insurance. Sadly, at one time or another, most landlords will experience this: tenants who skip out without paying the rent or simply cannot pay their rent for any number of reasons. In order to get this money, landlords must take their former tenants to court, which of course involves expenses such as court and legal fees. These are expenses that will be covered by landlord liability insurance. You would be surprised at how pricey legal fees and other related expenses can get, and if you do end up in a situation where this happens, you will be relieved to know that your insurance is going to cover these expenses for you.
How To Get the Best Landlord Insurance Rates
You may hear a lot of other landlords complain about the price they are paying for their landlord insurance. Yes, there are costs involved, but it shouldn't be so much that someone needs to really complain about it, and maybe it is time that you suggest they look elsewhere for better rates on their coverage. When you are looking for your own landlord insurance, there are a few avenues you can take. You can get advice from others, which may or may not be the best idea. Or you can get a number of quotes and choose the best products at the best rates.
Getting free quotes is easy, and it only takes a couple of minutes. All you have to do is answer a few simple questions, and in no time at all, you will have all of the quotes you need to get just the right amount of landlord insurance, at rates you can afford and won't complain about.
What If You Already Have Insurance?
You may be thinking, “I already have insurance, so there is nothing here I don't already know about”. Well, even if you do have insurance already, it is still a good idea to look around and make sure that you really are getting the best rates. Often, people get insurance coverage, and their policies remain the same, or their rates increase throughout the years. These same people can get quotes from other insurance companies and find that they would be able to save money by switching. It can't hurt to request your free quotes and just see if you may be paying too much for your landlord insurance. If you are, there really is no reason why you can't make the switch to start saving money.
When Should You Get Landlord Insurance?
If you are already a landlord, but you do not have the proper amount of landlord insurance, or you do not have any insurance at all, then it is time to get your free quotes. You have been really lucky so far, but you don't really need to push your luck any more than you absolutely have to. If you have just purchased your first rental property, you should make getting insurance one of your first priorities. As we already said, even if you do have insurance, it never hurts to get quotes to see if you can get better deals elsewhere.
Getting quotes for landlord insurance is easy, and it doesn't take any time at all. Most often, all you have to do is enter your zip code, and you will be on your way to getting quotes from a number of insurance companies. Then, all you have to do is sit back and study each one to see which is the best for you. Compare the various products and rates, figure out exactly what you need, and come up with a policy that is going to suit your needs, as well as your budget. Because you can get all of your quotes online, you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home to get the information you need about landlord insurance products and their rates.
Having a rental property is a really great way to bring in extra income, but remember, there are all kinds of responsibilities that go along with being a landlord. Your property must always be in tip-top condition, and if anything needs repair, the repairs must be made in a reasonable amount of time. For example, if a tenant calls and says that the oven is not working properly, you need to have an electrician come in as soon as possible to repair it, or if it is too old, you may even have to replace it. If there are loose stairs, you need to fix them. Any problems are your problems, not your tenants' problems, and you must take care of them. If you do not take care of these problems, things can happen, and unless you have the proper landlord insurance, you may have to pay a lot of money for repairs and compensation.
You can get a number of quotes easily when you fill out our simple form, and you don't have to waste time calling individual insurance companies to get quotes, which may take a few days if agents are busy and ask to get back to you later. When you can get the same information in a matter of minutes, it doesn't really make sense to do it any other way. Get your landlord insurance quotes today, and get the insurance you need to protect you when you are renting your property out to others.
No comments:
Post a Comment