If you have investment properties and you are using them to rent out to tenants, the normal homeowners insurance will not be suitable for you. Landlord insurance policies are there to specifically cover problems related to having tenants in your home. Therefore, they could be a bit more expensive than a homeowners insurance. The insurance will cover aspects that are useful to you as a landlord, such as the buildings, personal belongings if you have rented out a furnished apartment, liability, and loss of rent.
As a landlord, you are not certain who the tenant is going to be and how they will treat your valuable assets. Therefore, when you will consider having a landlord insurance, you should first know the following factors for your own benefits:
You should protect yourself from any building damage that may happen due to natural disasters, such as floods or wildfires. Keep in mind flooding is not covered in a homeowners or landlord policy. If damages do happen to your properties, your insurance company will cover the rebuilding costs, which may include repairing the bathrooms or the kitchens. Some policies may also cover the outside of the buildings. Make sure that you have an evaluation done for the rebuilding costs so that you insure your properties for the right value.
If you are renting out a home which is partially or fully furnished, you should consider the possibility of having the landlord's insurance to cover the damage or loss to your personal property. Since you are renting out, try to include accidental damage so that if a mirror or piece of furniture gets spoiled for some reason, you can fix it without having to pay through your own funds.
If you are mortgaging the property and relying on the monthly rents to keep up with the payments, you should think about adding a loss of rent to the landlord's policy. This will give you the peace of mind that if the building becomes uninhabitable for some reason, the rent will be covered by the insurance and so you will still be able to make your mortgage payments.
Having a landlord insurance that will cover emergency repairs will be very useful for you. The reason behind this is that emergency repairs may require to be done any time and you would not like to delay due to financial constraints and any inconvenience to your tenants. This type of insurances generally covers for gas leak, water burst or even pest infestation.
We can advise you on the best policy we offer that might be suitable for your budget and rental rates. Getting help from experts who know the rental business well is the safest way to ensure that your property will be covered well. And our friendly staff is there 24/7 to assist you.
You should keep in mind that homeowners and landlord insurance policies are not the same. Moreover, if you do not live in your property and the insurance company finds this out, they may probably not compensate for the losses incurred.
Being a landlord, there could be some tenants that may want to sue you for some reasons. For instance, if they have been injured while in your property in some way, they could try to hold you liable for this. Having a landlord insurance, you can insure against that. Some insurance policies may even arrange legal representation for you. This would give you the comfort of knowing if such a situation occurs, you will not only be covered financially but the legal fees will also be settled for you.
Landlord insurance policies usually cover for the issues mentioned above. But if not, they may include them at discounted rates. Even though the cost may seem high, it could save you money in the long term, especially when dealing with tenants. Renting out properties has some costs related to them and you will surely not want to put a strain on that side of the business due to unexpected damage or loss of property.
Landlord Insurance Agency
Frank Medina Insurance
Texas
3663 N Sam Houston Pkwy E Ste 600
Houston, TX 77032
(713) 955-2559
Hours of business
Monday - Friday
9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday