I know that I can require rental insurance from tenants when the initial lease is being signed. How about if the lease has been converted to a month-to-month. Can I send them a notice asking to carry rental insurance at this point? What is the suggested liability coverage I should ask for....is there a magic formula? Thank you.
Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
4y
They should always have renters insurance. Otherwise if their property is destroyed by flood or fire, water damage or storm, they’ll have nothing. You simply say you want yourself named as an additional insured and you will get a notice if they cancel it.
Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
4y
They should always have renters insurance. Otherwise if their property is destroyed by flood or fire, water damage or storm, they’ll have nothing. You simply say you want yourself named as an additional insured and you will get a notice if they cancel it.
Property Manager · San Bernardino, CA · Member since 2014 · 473 posts · 238 votes
3y
You could send them a notice requesting it and they could choose to ignore it. At that point you would probably have grounds to send them notice to vacate, but it depends on your state and city.
Real Estate Agent · Southern California · Member since 2019 · 681 posts · 281 votes
3y
@Deepa Gorajia I would send notice them and inform them that they need to carry it. I have never asked them to carry a certain liability coverage but I suggest they need a policy that would cover all of their stuff in the home.
Insurance Agent · all 50 states · Member since 2022 · 184 posts · 122 votes
3y
According to a study done by State Farm and the Insurance Information Institute the average cost of a dog related injury claim is $49,000. Yes that is just shy of $50K.
State Farm recommends tenants have at least $100K in liability coverage but to adjust that value up if you regularly host people at the house, or have things like pools, dogs, basketball hoops, etc. As a landlord I don't know if you are allowed to require a specific amount of liability coverage but you can require the tenant to carry renters insurance.
Insurance Agent · Norwalk, CT · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
3y
Deepa,
Most Insurance companies will provide coverage up to $500,000 for Liability. I would recommend that limit for most renters. The common requirement however, is $300,000. The reason I recommend the higher limit is that it does not cost much more and it almost doubles the coverage.
You could send them a notice requesting it and they could choose to ignore it. At that point you would probably have grounds to send them notice to vacate, but it depends on your state and city.
OR depending on your local real estate rules and your lease terms you could "force place" them into a policy and bill them for it.
Rental Property Investor · San Mateo, CA · Member since 2017 · 108 posts · 49 votes
3y
$100K and include pet coverage. The average cost here is about $7 per month. If you don't require it, the tenant's personal property damage claims against the landlord can be very costly. Trust me on this.