investment SFR / Townhome / Condo : insurance options

[Miki M.]

Dear BP,

I am in the process of purchasing my 3rd investment SFR, and I am starting to experience some problems finding good landlord insurance deals. The quotes I am receiving feel kind of rigid, the appear expensive compared to the price and age of the actual home (I purchase relatively young properties, max 20 years old). In addition, when I use "independent insurance agents", they amend a yearly service fee which I find kind of steep for just 15 minutes of clicking on a computer KB; to be specific, around $150 extra is added to my bottom line... This makes it difficult for me to actually make any money from my modest investments, after mortgage and the tax expenses which have grown substantially in recent years. So my deal is a bit sour. A lot of management work, and no income!...

So I like to ask the following questions to the much more experienced Gurus of Real Estate Investing who participate daily on BP:

1. INSURANCE OPTIONS / RECOMMENDATIONS: Would you be willing to support the newbie, and suggest some decent insurance options suitable for investors, which would make more financial sense, and have reasonable deductibles + coverages, and no fees or low fees to setup? By the way, I am located in Cypress, Houston metro area, Texas.

2. COMMERCIAL OR BUSINESS POLICIES: I have setup my LLC already; since I now have a few investment properties in it, there must be a "commercial" or "business" insurance option I can consider for my rental real estate? I imagine if I can setup a single policy covering all of my existing rentals, and just add other future investments to that same policy. That would be really GREAT- hope such options exist. I searched BP forums and couldn't find references.

I'd like to say one thing in advance: I much prefer recommendations from the investors themselves, and please do not drown me in solicitations from actual insurance agents disguised as investors. It is a conflict of interest... right?

Thanks in advance for your help. Please provide info and contacts, so I can get in touch.

Regards,
Miki M.