All Forum Posts by: Jason Bott

@Kim Hopkins I would be happy to review and see if there are any solutions we have that the other 2 don't have access too.  I'll send you a DM.

@Kim Hopkins the standard market (Travelers, Nationwide, State Farm, etc.) may not want it, but the nonstandard market (Lloyds of London) would have options.  

I don't know the details of the property, but if there are some risks that are just a "No Go", such as frying food without proper exhaust and fire suppression systems, that could make it uninsurable in this market.  We can get past the age issues.

@Kim Hopkins Unfortunately that is the state of the market, but there are still options out there.

To efficiently find alternative quotes, have your broker give you a complete list of carriers they approached.  You can give that list to other agents and ask if they have any insurance carrier not on that list who they can try.

As an example, we have 15 or so carriers interested in these buildings, but your broker probably only approached 5-10 of them.

The last thing you want to do is have 5 agents submitting your business to the same underwriters.  Agents and underwriters get frustrated and give up on the account.

 Yuzi, your tenant is confused.  The insurance carrier is asking for the Tenant's Homeowners policy (if they are home owners) or Renters insurance if they are renters.  Your Landlord policy will not give them what they need.

@Matt Eklund Increased cost of construction could be viewed as the main cause for all of the rate increases.  Example - A kitchen fire in 2020 may have cost $50k, while that same fire in 2023 costs $100k-$150k.  I have heard this from several of the insurance carrier executives.

This increased cost forces the carriers to take large increase or exit the market.  Problem is, when you have more insurance carriers exiting the market, that creates less capacity, hence another force pushing premiums up.

Industry reports are showing 2024 Property premiums to continue to rise, but at a lesser % rate than 2023.

@John C. as @John Mocker states there are commercial programs that can allow you to report activity for the month.  These are a much more efficient way to manage your insurance program.  

In today's market, the pricing is probably slightly higher than your incumbent carriers, but the time savings can be worth the extra cost.  2 years ago these programs would be less expensive than stand alone policies 90% of the time.  It will probably be another year or so until that is the case.

As for E&O on yourself, sorry, there is not a stand alone product that would cover you for not putting a carrier on notice.

 Joel, all of the best options for a 5U in OH will be with independent agents, not the direct writers.

I'll DM you the list of companies we use for our OH investors. 

@Sandy Sandy @Bhavya P.

At a minimum, you want your policy to include General Liability, Property coverage & Loss of Rents.

Here are very brief explanations of each and what to look for.

General Liability – This covers you against claims of Bodily Injury and Property Damage.  Ideally $1,000,000 per Occurrence.

*Bodily Injury – This is the most common coverage everyone is concerned about and rightfully so. These are the most common types of claims. It can be anything from a tenant tripping on a step, falling from a balcony, a guest or passerby slipping/falling on the sidewalk.

*Property Damage – Example, your building starts on fire, and causes damage to your neighbor. Your ceiling comes down on tenant’s property.

Property – This protects the building from certain causes of loss such as fire, wind, water, etc.

Loss of Rents/Business Income – This coverage replaces your rental income if the building is damaged by a covered loss.

Property coverage highlights,

1) Ideally have Replacement Cost, not Actual Cash Value (ACV). Sometimes on older rentals, ACV may be the only option.

2) Special Form, if they don't offer that, then Broad Form. If they only offer Basic coverage, be aware water and theft claims are excluded

3) Loss of Rents equal to 12 months of income

This is not a complete list, but are generally the most impactful at the time of a claim.

@Matt Pennetti I'll DM you the names of the carriers my investor clients are using in those states.

Katie, many of the independent agents/brokers on this site (including myself) will have many options.

We have direct appointments with companies like Travelers, Liberty Mutual, Farmers, etc. 

But in addition to that, we get appointed with the always evolving online platforms that @Greg Downey mentions like Obie and Steadily.

 I'll send you a DM listing who the competitive carriers are for each of the states you have properties in.