Rental Insurance

[Bob Collett]

I just inherited property management client, whose tenant has a big dog. The city has put the owner on notice that this dog is a potential liability. This got me thinking about renter's insurance. (this post is not about dogs)

So, I put a requirement in every lease, that the tenant must purchase renter's insurance. But frankly, I have not been checking to see if they actually get a renter's policy, and I doubt that all of them do. When I spoke to my homeowner insurance agent, he advised me that the renter's insurance should have a substantial liability protection naming the owner and the property manger as named insured.

My thinking is that to ensure that my tenants all follow through with renter's insurance, I want to find a good company that offers good renters insurance at a reasonable price. I do not want this to be a burden for my tenants. I want to make it easy for them... like "sign here" or "call this number for renter's insurance". I have no problem if they get it somewhere else, but I have decided that I want to make sure they have it, and if they do not, I want to make it easy for them to get a good policy. I am going to have them send me the cover page to make sure we have acceptable liability coverage, and named insured.

I am looking for recommendations on rental insurance providers, not so much specific agencies. However, I would be happy to hear from agents in Ohio, or specifically the Cleveland area who have an attractive renter insurance policy. I have seen some advertisers, but when I followed up, they seemed to be offering mostly for apartment buildings.

Thanks in advance.

[Bryan O.]

Hi @Bob Collett. You want them to name you as additional interest, not named insured or additional insured. @Matt Motil this is how you prevent them from cancelling the next day. As additional interest you get notifications for the policy. If you are additional insured, then that can cause issues so be specific.

Also consider adding the mandate in your pet addendum to add the pet rider to their policy. Normal renter's policies do not cover pet issues. I specify for my tenants that I do not prohibit certain types of dog (the "aggressive" breeds) but I do require them to have the pet rider in their policy. If their insurance will not cover their breed, then it is not authorized in my unit.