All Forum Posts by: Rebecca Ford

Hi Rogelio!

I work with an independent agency that specializes in landlord, dwelling, and homeowners policies. We do business in 9 states including Pennsylvania! I don't think I can give you a phone number in the forums, but if you want to PM me I can give you all of our information. We have access to a TON of companies that will write all types of investment properties. And, we're passionate about making sure our client's investments are insured correctly. Give me a shout and we'd love to help you!

Hi Emily!

I work with an independent agency that specializes in landlord, dwelling, and homeowners policies. We do business in 9 states including Texas! I don't think I can give you a phone number in the forums, but if you want to PM me I can give you all of our information. We have access to a TON of companies that will write all types of investment properties. And, we're passionate about making sure our client's investments are insured correctly. Give me a shout and we'd love to help you and your husband.

Hi Rena!

I know of a few companies who will write homes that aren't in great shape. But, some of them will only write homeowners policies instead of a landlord or dwelling policy. What do you intend to do with your duplex? Will you fix it up and rent out both halves? Or occupy one half and rent out the other side? Or are you just going to fix it and sell it?

I've been working as an independent agent for a while and we've had to insure many homes that were in ruins. Let me know what you plan to do with your property and I'll be able to suggest some companies that might be helpful.

@Leah C.

Yes, you've got it!

A typical deductible on a dwelling is $500-$1000. Usually, a "high" deductible is between $1500 and $2500. On some companies, you can even get a deductible as high as $5000. Choosing a deductible is always a matter of how much risk you want to take on. If you suspect that you won't have many claims, or that you will take care of small claims yourself, you might want to go with a higher deductible. Choosing a higher deductible will also bring your rate down, like you mentioned, especially if you believe that you'll have the $2500 on hand to fix any small issues your property might have. Additionally, taking care of small problems yourself will also save you money in the long run. The less claims you report is always better because your rates will go up every time the insurance company pays you money. But, it's all a matter of opinion and how much risk you want to take on.

Personally, my family has a $2500 deductible on our home because we prefer to fix small issues ourselves instead of claiming them and making our insurance rates go up.

Also, I wanted to mention something else I thought of while reading your response. In the case that it is cheaper to insure your dwelling on a company other than State Farm, you can get an umbrella policy that will cover your dwelling on X company and your personal policies on Y company. I know RLI sells umbrella policies that can do that, and I'm sure there are others out there too. :)

@Kiera Underwood

As long as you have your investment property listed on your umbrella policy, that property will be covered under your extended umbrella liability limits. An umbrella policy simply raises the liability higher than a normal policy offers. And, on an umbrella policy, you can list any policies you have. The trick is, some umbrella policies only cover policies under the same company. For example, a State Farm umbrella policy might only cover your State Farm policies. But, there are some companies, like RLI, that will cover umbrella policies from multiple companies. So, if you had a home & auto policy on State Farm but your investment property with Farmers, you could list all those policies on RLI and get the extended liability coverage.

Bundling policies doesn't have anything to do with your umbrella policy. Bundling policies together on one company will simply give you a discount on all your policies since you have multiple. 

Technically, you're not just adding additional coverage. When you buy multiple homes, they all have to have their own separate policy, just as your home & auto policies are different. "Bundling" is simply having numerous policies on one company and getting a discount on all of them for having more than one.

Hey Leah!

Each of your investments should have a separate policy as @Kiera Underwood mentioned above. If they are on a different plot of land, you need to have a different policy. 

Most of the time, it is more cost effective to bundle your investment property with your personal home and auto policy. You will get a multi-policy discount if you insure your rental property on State Farm with your personal policies.

The only catch would be if your rental property is being bought under your business' name, if you have one. If so, you may not be able to bundle it with your current insurance. Instead, the policy would be listed under your business' name and you could bundle any additional investment properties with your current one.

I hope this helps!

Hi Stefan! I just looked over your question and it looks like you've got a lot of different things going on. 

Firstly, your rental properties will typically be looked at on a case by case basis. You definitely need a landlord policy on each of your rental dwellings. You'll want to make sure your homes are insured properly with enough building coverage. Typically, an agent will put in the specific details of each home into a replacement cost estimator. From that estimator, they can accurately determine how much coverage you need on the building. Some agents skip this step and keep the pre-filled defaults in your quote. Always ask how they determine the replacement cost of the home to make sure they are correctly assessing it. Also, you'll want to make sure that you have enough liability coverage on your policies to keep yourself out of hot water if anything ever went wrong.

When I look at a rental property, it is also important to make sure you get a DP3 (Dwelling Form 3) policy. With a DP3, you home will be covered at full replacement cost, instead of depreciated value. If you have a DP1 (Dwelling Form 1) or DP2 (Dwelling Form 2) your home is probably insured at depreciated value. DP3 policies are much more comprehensive as they also cover you with broad form coverage, instead of named perils. Basically, a DP3 policy is vital to making sure your properties are insured correctly. I see a lot of investors who carry DP1 or DP2 policies and don't realize the significant disadvantages of their policies.

On most insurance policies, the maximum liability coverage you can get it $500,000. I assume your net worth is above that number, which means an umbrella policy with liability limits of $1M or $2M might be what you're looking for. Umbrella policies are usually pretty inexpensive and can really help you in the long run. Bundling all your rental properties with your home & your auto is a great idea. But, I know of a couple carriers who sell umbrella that will cover policies on multiple companies. For example, If you have your personal auto & home with USAA but your rental dwellings with Farmers, there are companies that will sell you an umbrella policy to cover both USAA and Farmers. 

On the topic of your personal home, I don't think Lemonade is a very reliable place to put your insurance. I've heard horror stories of Lemonade denying claims, cancelling policies, raising premium, etc. Lemonade is very good at selling basic policies at a cheap rate. They don't offer a lot of specialized coverages. If you're looking for a plan that will cater to you, you might want to look elsewhere. 

Your auto insurance issue is something we see all the time. For you and your wife, it might be easiest if you both got a policy together with her car listed on the policy. Essentially, you have an auto policy with you, your wife, and her car. That policy will cover any car you rent since you have your wife's car listed on the policy. And, you'd be covered whenever your drive your wife's car.

I hope this helps you and answers some questions. I work with an agency based out of Indiana and we specialize in personal insurance and dwellings. I'd love to continue to talk if you have any additional questions.