Landlord insurance is a policy for anyone who rents out the home they own. This type of insurance typically includes two different types of coverage: property coverage and liability protection.
Both types of coverage are intended to help protect you, the landlord, from financial losses and potential claims.
The good news is this: landlord insurance offers a lot of protection for you and your property. It’s also tax-deductible when you’re renting out a home.
If you’re not sure what exactly it covers, we’re talking about landlord insurance in today’s blog.
Switch Your Insurance if You Lived in Your Orlando Rental Home
Perhaps you’re renting out a home you once lived in yourself. If that’s your situation, you need to contact your insurance agent and make a switch.
The main difference between your landlord insurance policy and the homeowner’s insurance policy you have on the home you live in is that your landlord policy covers the structure of the home and the costs to repair and replace it. However, it doesn’t cover any personal belongings that aren’t yours. When you live in a home, your insurance covers the structure and all your belongings. But, with a landlord policy your home is covered, but not the tenant’s personal items.
The property coverage depends on the amount your home is worth and what it would cost to rebuild it.
Landlord Insurance Protects You Against Liability
A good landlord insurance policy will provide plenty of liability coverage. This is important, because anything can happen when tenants are living in your property. You don’t want to face a lawsuit alone if someone gets hurt at your property or you’re sued for negligence.
Talk to your insurance agent about the required or recommended liability limits. If a tenant’s dog bites a neighbor or your garage collapses onto a tenant’s car, you want to be protected.
Include Loss of Rent Coverage
It’s important to cover yourself in case you have to move your tenant out of the property. Suppose there’s an intense rain storm that tears the roof off your home or termites are discovered and the entire house needs to be tented and treated.
Your tenants will not be able to stay in the home, which means you may have to put them in a hotel.
If they can’t live in the property for an extended time, you’ll lose a lot of rental income in addition to paying out of pocket for costs like hotel bills. If your landlord policy doesn’t already include loss of rent coverage, consider adding it. This is an important protection that you don’t realize you need until you actually need it.
We recommend two things when we talk about landlord insurance. First, require renter’s insurance of your tenants. It’s for their protection as well as yours. Second, talk to an insurance agent to ensure you’re fully covered. With home values changing rapidly in the current Orlando market, you want to be sure that you have enough coverage in place. Re-building the home today may come at a different price point than five years ago.
If you have insurance questions, we’d be happy to answer them from the perspective of Orlando property managers. Please contact us at Park Avenue Property Management. We work in Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, Kissimmee, Celebration, Maitland, Altamonte Springs, West Palm Beach, Tampa Bay, and throughout central Florida.