Your thoughts on Zillow "Rental Protection"?

[Michael R.]

I recently found this new service from Zillow, called "Zillow Rental Protection". I won't post a link so you think I'm spamming, but you can google it. 

For $45/month, you get $5,000 in rental coverage for things like missed rent, excessive damage, excessive cleaning, pet damage, and eviction costs. Or so they say. Only available in 3 states currently, and I happen to be in one of them. (NC)

I have a vacant house to fill and I'm thinking about using this. I already use Zillow for payments and applications. Theoretically, I could advertise "no deposit" and charge something like a $500 move in fee, which is non refundable. This fee pays for the insurance. Problem is I don't want this attracting tenants who cannot pay, or making them think "who cares, I don't have a deposit to lose".

What do you think about using this in lieu of a standard deposit? Perhaps just collect a standard deposit AND buy the insurance? ($5,000 coverage is way more than my deposit would be) Or, will they be impossible to work with and try to deny any claims? I have a bit of a problem trusting Zillow fully...

[Ricardo R.]

@Michael R. how do you file or how do you collect? what's the fine print and exclusions? how long does it take? do you still have to pay and is mostly a reimbursement? etc., etc. etc. ---- For $5,000??? ... Just save your $45/mo. and save for this yourself... trust me... you'll be better off.