Did you know that rental property insurance, also refereed to as landlord insurance, covers the risk that you take when renting out your home? In essence, the policy will cover you for any property damage that is caused by your tenants. It also covers liability related claims, and even loss of rental income. If you own and rent out a primary residences, investment property, or a vacation home you need rental property insurance. So what exactly does rental property insurance cover? Standard policies typically cover the structure of your property, the contents within the dwelling that belong to you, liability coverage, and loss of rental income.
Rental property insurance is similar to a homeowner’s insurance policy with the addition of some unique features that pertain to having tenants reside at your property. Dwelling coverage covers any physical damage to the structure of your property. For example, it coves any damage to the walls, floors, ceilings, and roof to name a few. However, the insurance will only cover the damages that are caused by a hazard that is included in the policy. For example, if your house is struck by lightning and catches on fire the damages are covered.
However, if the house floods you would typically need a separate flood insurance policy to cover any damages. Rental property insurance does not cover your tenants’ personal property. Your tenants are responsible for taking out their own renter’s insurance policy for that. However, the rental property insurance policy covers any personal property that the landlord has on the premises. For example, if you rent the property fully furnished and the furniture that you own is ruined by a fire, the furniture is covered under your rental property insurance policy.
The rental property insurance policy also includes liability coverage that protects you from both legal and medical costs if your tenant or a third party is injured at your rental property. Last but certainly not least, rental property insurance provides you with loss of rent coverage. In essence, it protects you against loss of rent payments if the property is not fit to live in due to a hazard that is covered under the policy. For example, if your house, rental property, or vacation home is damaged by a fire and cannot be rented until the property is fixed or replaced the insurance policy covers the rent income for the downtime.
For example, if you rent your house for $2,000 per month and the fire damage takes a month to fix, you will be reimbursed $2,000 for your rental income losses. It’s important it fully understand your rental property insurance policy.
In conclusion, if you own rental property in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, than you need to have the proper rental property insurance policy in place. Please consult with a professional insurance agent that specializes in providing rental property insurance. It is important to fully understand exactly what you are buying when it comes to insurance policies.
If you have any questions, please call (508) 831-0133 to contact an associate at Zawada Insurance. We are happy to walk you through the details of your insurance policies and explain your coverage options. We look fohttp://contactrward to helping you with all of your personal and or business related insurance needs now and in the future.