Insuring my first rental property

[Hunter Turner]

Hi everyone! I am closing on my first rental property tomorrow and trying to decide which insurance company I should go with. This is a 2 unit duplex with each unit having 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. I got several quotes from big companies such as Allstate, State Farm, and American Modern. I was wondering what insurance companies you have had the best experiences with? Thank you in advance! 

[Jim Rivell]

We had trouble getting insurance for our student rentals. Most agencies turned away or jacked up premium once we stated what the use of the property was. We were able to get hooked up with a local State Farm agent who was a recommendation from another local investor in the area, the power of networking. SF has been great, we did have some troubles getting hooked up on an online portal since we were an LLC, but besides that, no issues.

[Andrew Freed]

@Hunter Turner - Definitely work with an investor focused insurance broker. Getting the cheapest policy is high priority, but you also want to make sure you are sufficiently covered. Hence, when do you get quotes, make sure you are comparing apples to applies and they have all the same items including replacement costs, liability coverage, deductible etc.

Additionally, I highly recommend that you have at least a mil liability coverage on the home owners policy if its residential. It's a small increase in price but a ton more coverage. Lastly, if you have decent reserves and don 't plan on filing small claims, increase your deductible. That is another way to get good cost savings and still have sufficient coverage. Good luck on the search! 

[Sarah Downey]

Have you all looked into OBIE or Steadily? They focus on policies for investors, and their pricing/customer service/coverage all seem to be great from my experience with them.