All Forum Posts by: Justin Sloan

@Sharron Morrow first off, congratulations on getting into real estate investing! 

In regards to your question, since this is your first investment property I would suggest a lower deductible to help protect yourself against a large (unforeseen) out of pocket expense. A good deductible would be $1,000 to start with. Most insurance companies only have deductibles on the property coverage and NOT the liability coverage. So, for example, if you have a slip and fall at your property the insurance company will be pay first dollar and there is no deductible. 

As you do more investments you can probably bump that deductible up to $2,500 or $5,000 to maximize your potential savings. I wouldn't advise doing that on your first deal as that could tie up a lot of your money that can be better used elsewhere (like buying more properties)!

Contact me should you have any additional questions and good luck!

Thanks!

Justin Sloan

@Jacob Compton, yes you should check and see if the proximate cause of loss was the same for both the roof and flooding in the basement (excessive rain / winds etc). Your independent insurance agent should be able to assist you with this process.

In regards to the second part of your question, it sounds like you bought a DP3 policy from Travelers (this is for 1 to 4 family properties). If that is the case, some insurance companies will be able to run a report called CLUE which shows past claims and losses. CLUE stands for comprehensive loss underwriting exchange. It's basically a repository of all insurance companies claims - so anything you file with Travelers will show up in that report. 

The best way to go about this is to review your deductible and then have someone come out to your property and provide you with an estimate on damages. Feel free to contact me should you have any questions.

Regards,

Justin Sloan

@Cory Cook first you should buy an umbrella insurance policy. Based on what you’re saying I would recommend starting with at least a $5,000,000 commercial umbrella policy. The next is you should review your rental / lease agreement to ensure there is an insurance clause in it requiring the tenant to carry renters insurance and name you as an additional insured on the policy (as a landlord). Recommend a minimum of $500,000 personal liability for your tenants to carry. Best of luck!

@Dave Lin thanks! Let’s connect!

@Albert Gutierrez we have a national insurance program for landlords. Let’s connect!

@Ryan Ingram congrats Ryan! I am also an independent insurance agent located in CT and have offer a niche program for the real estate investor industry. Would love to connect!

Justin Sloan

BSP Insurance

www.BSPinsurance.com

@Bruce Hewlett I own an insurance agency, BSP Insurance and we insure several contractors like yourself. If you want to connect shoot me an email at [email protected] or call me at the office 203-237-7923

Thanks!

Justin Sloan

www.BSPinsurance.com

ASSET PROTECTION WEBINAR

This online webinar will provide you with tips & tricks to properly protect your business and personal assets via proper insurance structure. 

Justin Sloan from BSP Insurance (located in Meriden, CT) has over 11 years commercial and personal insurance experience with an emphasis on real estate investing and structuring "bullet proof" insurance policies for investors of all sizes. He will go through everything you need to know about properly insuring your investment portfolio no matter how small or big it may seem!

This seminar will include / cover:

1) How to transfer risk back to the responsible party (i.e. your tenants, contractors etc)

2) Things not allowed by your tenants

3) Things to do as a real estate investor (insurance related)

4) Defining market value vs. replacement cost (this will save you thousands of dollars in the event of a property claim)

5) What are "perils" and how they effect your investments

6) Insuring properties in a LLC vs personal name

7) Personal / Commercial Umbrella policies

Hi Mat, thanks for your feedback. A personal umbrella is intended to add an extra layer of liability protection over your personal assets such as your home, auto, motorcycle, RV, etc. and a commercial umbrella is intended to extend liability over a business and it's liability policies (general liability, workers compensation etc).

If you own the investment properties, and they are under four units (per building), you could potentially add them to your personal umbrella (not recommended but possible). 

In my professional opinion I would be to put all of your properties in a LLC (or multiple LLCs ...one for each property) and then get a commercial umbrella to extend liability over all of the properties (LLCs). This is advantageous as the LLCs will protect your personal assets from being "pierced" and you will keep everything separate from your personal insurance portfolio - it's a lot cleaner this way and easier on your accountant (CPA) as well!

I would still also recommend you buying a personal umbrella as well. 

If you want to connect feel free to message me

Thanks!

Justin Sloan

BSP Insurance

When you are starting out your real estate investment business make sure you have the proper team in place to guide you through the process. One of the biggest issues I see, as a licensed insurance professional that focuses on the real estate investment insurance space, is that so many investors buy insurance from the same person who helped them with their auto, home or some type of insurance. This can be a catastrophic event waiting to happen you and you thought you were doing the right thing by getting the coverage but guess what, you bought the wrong coverage!

I recently spoke in front of 60 members of CTREIA (Connecticut Real Estate Investors Association) and the topic was "Asset Protection" - below are just some of the talking points you need to think about when getting into being a landlord or flipping properties!

FOR LANDLORDS

• Require Renters Insurance (for your tenants) in rental contract / lease agreement - you can use this as a tool to potentially evict a problematic tenant!!
• Minimum liability limits of $500,000 (we recommend also having them buy a personal umbrella!)
• Require that YOU (whatever the entity  / person(s) is that owns the building) are named as an additional insured (landlord)
• Create Google sheet document with a list of tenants names, insurance company, policy number, effective dates and request new certificate of insurance every year. You can even set this up as an automated email template and if you have a good insurance agent they can help you do this!

FOR LANDLORDS: THINGS NOT ALLOWED BY YOUR TENANTS

• No Pools
• No Hot Tubs
• No Trampolines
• No Grills On Decks - OK away from property
• No Hammocks on decks
• No Zip lines

THINGS TO DO AS A REAL ESTATE INVESTOR

• Always "Insure To Value" or Get Agreed Value Policy (don't insure your property based on what you bought it for / market value)
• Always Collect Certificates Of Insurance from Contractors (get named as an additional insured - ask your lawyer to draft up a subcontractor agreement with a section that has certain minimum requirements for insurance)
• Buy An Umbrella policy 
• Put Each Property In a LLC - this will protect any liability against your personal assets
• Have a Solid Risk Transfer Contract in place with both tenants as well as contractors. I can Send you a Free Contractor Agreement
• Make Contract for Subs to "Lock & Secure Premises after each day"
• If you Flip Properties - buy a General Contractor / Remodeler insurance policy called General Liability (GL)
• Also always buy General Liability (premises liability) for each Project
• Always purchase "Special Perils" - Basic and Broad perils are NOT GOOD!