In some ways, owning a building as a landlord or owning a house as a homeowner have a lot in common. For example, both investments require some form of insurance, and while homeowners’ policies and landlord insurance policies share similar types of coverage, there also are some significant ways in which the two types of policies are incredibly different.
Here at Insurance by Castle, our professionals specialize in making sure the owners of all types of dwellings have exactly the type of coverage they need. For those who don’t know the difference between homeowners’ policies and landlord policies, the following should serve as a good primer for getting the correct apartment building insurance policy.
Personal Property Coverage
Both types of insurance are going to cover the structure itself and other structures on the property should any of it end up damaged as a result of fire, lightning, wind, hail, or any other covered loss. However, while homeowner’s insurance covers several types of belongings within the dwelling (furniture, electronics, clothing, appliances), landlord insurance will only cover items used to service the property, such as lawnmowers, snow blowers, and other things of that nature.
Individual renter’s policies will cover your tenants’ personal items, but if a landlord leaves anything personal at their rental property, it may not be covered in a claim.
Liability Insurance
Another major difference comes in the form of liability insurance. If a tenant is injured at your property and you are found legally responsible, a landlord policy may cover the legal and medical expenses that come as a result of the accident A homeowner’s policy, meanwhile, only covers the homeowner and relatives who live in the home.
How to Get the Right Coverage for Your Rental
As is the case with homeowners’ policies, no two landlord insurance policies are exactly the same because no two buildings are exactly the same. There are a number of factors that will determine what type of policy you may need for the building you’re renting out, including the number of tenants, the size of the building, the location of the building, the age of the building, and the variety of natural disasters that your property may be exposed to.
The only way to make sure you’ve got the exact coverage you need is to speak with a professional, and thankfully there are experts available at Insurance by Castle if you live in or near Redwood City. More than anything, we want to make sure landlords are covered and tenants are safe in whatever building they may call home. Between their renters’ policies and your landlord policy, both you and your tenants should have enough apartment insurance to cover their tracks in the wake of something tragic happening to a building. As always, we hope nothing catastrophic ever happens, but if it does, it’s important to have the right insurance coverage to protect your tenants and your investment.
