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.