Insurance

[Tony Colquett]

Just got an $85K insurance policy for a quadplex for ~$1400 annually (300k liability + 2500 deductible) from Farmers.  Has anyone had better rates than this on their quadplexes?  If so, what insurance agent did you use?

Thanks,

Tony

[Parker Cox]

@Anne Wallace I am an independent insurance agent in California and I specialize with investors (500+ properties of buy and hold all shapes and sizes insured currently).  

Rates between carriers will be different on each property depending on location, age, rental income, structure type...etc

I don't disagree that you should have adequate liability to manage your exposure, but it seems to me that with 26 doors, and thinking about now a commercial policy and likely scaling further--you should have an agent quote your total portfolio.  

You will likely be able to consolidate your properties into between 1-3 policies (depending on property types and carrier options) and that will give you at least 2 major benefits:

1. Consolidation will provide maximum efficiency for you with insurance payments turning multiple renewal dates over the course of a year into just a couple.  And, on top of that adding new properties is a breeze.  

2. Consolidation with most carriers gives you the option of a shared liability limit. You will have, for example, 5 properties sharing a single 1mil/2mil liability policy instead of each property with a single limit.  Insurance carriers offer this because the likelihood statistically of a single liability claim is minimal and the likelihood of a claim at multiple locations is ridiculously tiny. Then, to cover your extra liability exposure get a single umbrella policy equaling the total value of your net worth (or your companies assets depending on ownership).  You will save a ton of money and provide equal coverage.  

Best of luck and don't hesitate to ask if you have any other questions.