Landlord Insurance and preparing for winter

[Tony Wilcox]

Hello! My name is Tony Wilcox, and I am an insurance broker located in Indianapolis (licensed in all 50 states). Today I wanted to share a few pointers for things to look out for on future, and past investment properties. These are things I have noticed with my current clients buying properties across the country. 

A great item to consider adding to your policy for the winter is equipment breakdown. This endorsement can help offset costs of replacing a furnace during the winter if there is a breakdown. The next item would be coverage for service lines. Many times this is not covered, or even offered. This essentially covers service lines that run from the house to the city hookup. These typically run under the yard and require digging up the yard to replace the damaged line. Costs can run up to $10,000. The next item I highly recommend, but don't see many people do, that aren't my clients, is requiring renters insurance for your tenants ($10/month). Also require them to list you as the additional insured. This helps with any liability claim, and payment, to you. If a tenant causes some sort of damage and is at fault you can file a liability claim against the tenant, and it will not effect your insurance position as it goes against their renters claim. The money will go directly to you since you are listed as an additional insured.

I hope some of this is helpful. Of course if anyone additional questions I can write insurance in any state and have experience with all different client types. I am well equipped to answer and landlord question you might have.