Landlord Insurance in Class C Neighborhood

[Cesar Egas]

We have just purchased our first buy and hold. We are in process of completing renovations and will put it up for rent soon. I saw that several others recommend Replacement Cost Coverage vs Actual Cash Value Coverage, however, our property value is around 55k and we most likely would not rebuild. It is in a class C neighborhood. One insurance agent I spoke to said to get the highest possible liability coverage ($500k.) Another quoted me for $25k and said via email, "I would not let this worry you. In 20 years of selling insurance we have never paid a single liability claim on a policy. I am the largest independent insurance agency in Oklahoma too and never once have they paid a claim. To pay a liability claim you have to be found at fault or liability for a tenant's loss. The burden of proof is so high that this never happens."

Any feedback is appreciated. Thank you!

[Tracy Streich]

I operate in Tulsa and OKC.   We have policies on our homes with $1M in liability per house.  We also require renters insurance from our tenants which adds another layer of $100K liability for certain tenant caused damages such as they start a fire.