All Forum Posts by: Jared Townsend

You need to be 100% clear that your policy allows for short term rental (STR) use. If you file a claim with a carrier that doesn't allow for STR and they see your postings on Airbnb you can almost guarantee a claim denial. Don't be penny wise and pound foolish!

Some carriers write short term rental on a commercial form, some on the homeowners form (odd, I know), and most are on the DP3 (dwelling fire) form. You will generally find the most favorable rates on the DP3 form but it all depends on the location and characteristics of your home. 

@Barclay Chan, I'll send you a DM.

There are fewer standard carriers than ever in FL. Thankfully we are able to place may homes with Excess & Surplus carriers. They are not as strictly regulated and often times have more affordable coverage options for short term & long term rental homes. Unfortunately most all carriers will want to see a roof 15 years or newer still. 

@Scott Voytko It will take a while (3+ months IMO) to see the results of that legislation. It was just passed two weeks ago so the carriers will still need to make the changes to their policy forms and submit them to the State for approval, all of which takes time. 

I have recently seen some carriers offering a roof replacement schedule which functionally pays out actual cash value on roofs over 10 years old. I've seen it cut rates by as much as 25% of the wind premium. Worth a shot!

Trusted Choice is a resource to help find independent agents in an area. May be helpful if you're still looking for one! Independent Insurance Agents for Home, Auto & More | Trusted Choice

@Feng Ye Insurance costs are rising every year here in FL. I have moved my policies to excess and surplus carriers that bundle all my properties onto a single policy. I pay about $800 per concrete house and $1200 per frame house (ranging between $75k-150k coverage limits) with $1mil liability. 

The catch is that they want to see that the houses are updated nicely. Its great for BRRR houses where you need to replace everything anyways. Hope this helps!

@Sue Chen Yes, our agency does provide landlord insurance in FL. I'll send you a message to see if we can help. 

@Sue Chen Many carriers will provide coverage an LLC owned investment property if the LLC is used only for real estate and owned by family only.

If however you have other partners in the LLC or the LLC is used for other business activities you can simply remove liability from the landlord policy and write a separate commercial liability policy. 

The short of it is that you are best served to find a reputable insurance agency that has experience working with investors. 

@Jibu V.

Most carriers require you to have at least $300k liability coverage before they will offer an umbrella. You would have to buy a gap policy (coverage from 100k -300k) and then you would be eligible for the umbrella. Just some extra hoops (and cost) to get you there. 

@Jibu V. One issue is that Citizens coverage limits are often lower/more restrictive (only $100k liability). We have seen a lot of properties go to Excess & Surplus carriers instead of Citizens. They are less regulated than admitted carriers (like Universal) and are willing to accept different risks. For example some will offer Actual Cash Value (ACV) coverage for older roofs. While not ideal, it is often better than writing with Citizens or getting a new roof.