Insanely high Landlord Insurance ($7,000) for a $310K 3 Family?

[Ryan M.]

I am looking to purchase a 3 Family, 9 Bedroom Triple Decker in the city of New Bedford Massachusetts for around $310,000. The numbers look solid but I decided to get actual Landlord Insurance quotes to confirm my estimates and got a staggeringly high premium quotes from each and every insurance company I contacted (Liberty, American Modern, Allstate etc). So high that it's pushing the numbers of the deal into No Go territory....They are all coming back with DP-3 policies in the neighborhood of $7,000. RCV ranges between the policies are $650,000 - $750,000. 

I know this is a rough neighborhood, but this seems absolutely unbelievable. I've Tried to get quotes for ACV (Agreed/Actual Cost Value) but have so far not found anyone willing to write that policy. They say to keep asking around but offer no guidance. Can someone chime in as to whether or not this seems like a normal premium price for the area? Has anyone had success getting an ACV policy in this part of Massachusetts? If I do find an insurer willing to do ACV, is the move to document all systems and agree that they are within 5 years old (they are) as I understand ACV has depreciation implications when dealing with a partial loss and set the ACV to around $350,000? Anything I'm missing here? Thanks so much. I've been a lurker for a long time, but finally just jumped in. Ryan

[Ian Shinnick]

I am a commercial insurance agent and have clients all over the country. It is hard to give you a definitive answer without knowing more details on the property (square footage, construction type, etc.) but that does seem high. I would recommend reaching out to a local agent and asking for a quote from an excess & surplus carrier. I won't bore you with all the insurance jargon but those carriers file their rates differently. This gives them the ability to quote Actual Cash Value and be a little more aggressive on the rate. Carrier would be someone like Lloyd's of London.