Best way to track tenant renters insurance at scale? (AppFolio)

Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2016 · 162 posts · 125 votes

We manage a large number of single-family rentals and use AppFolio. One ongoing pain point is tracking which tenants currently have renters insurance and which do not, especially when policies lapse mid-lease.

Right now:
• Tenants are required to carry renters insurance per the lease
• Some upload proof at move-in, some don’t
• Policies expire, cancel, or change carriers
• At scale, manual follow-ups are becoming unmanageable

For those managing a large portfolio:
• How are you tracking renters insurance compliance long-term?
• Are you using AppFolio tools, third-party integrations, or forced-placed options?
• Has anyone successfully automated lapse notifications?

1 Reply

497 views

6 Replies

Jump to latestLatest

Sort by

Michael Garofalo
Rental Property Investor · Washington, DC · Member since 2018 · 198 posts · 169 votes
8mo
@Scott Esmail maybe this isn't the answer you want to hear but I use Buildium for management of my portfolio (30 units) and it's very easy to track who has insurance vs who does not. Each tenant profile has a place for them (or me) to add in all policy info along with when it expires etc. There are visualizations/canned reports that be run to see who has expired insurance, who is missing insurance, and who has current insurance. Also, there is a nice feature now where you can opt tenants into "liability-only" coverage (offered by a Buildium-affiliated company) and automatically bill them back monthly. This covers you/owner for liability in the event they cause damage or do something stupid (but obviously won't cover their personal belongings) and provides a buffer before owner insurance would need to kick in. I require all tenants to carry renters insurance and since that is part of their lease agreement, I now tell them if they fail to renew coverage or drop coverage they will be automatically enrolled in the liability-only policy and billed back each month until they can provide proof of their policy.
This has been working out quite well and is very easy to manage. I know there is a lot of debate on the forums about Appfolio vs Buildium, but my background is in data & analytics and I always felt Buildium was a superior product (at least for what I need/want it to do as far as my management is concerned).
0 Reply
Melanie ThomasBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · San Antonio · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 491 votes
8mo
Hi Scott, we require our tenants to list the company as an additional interested party on their insurance policy so we are notified if there is any lapse in coverage.
[email protected]
RentWerx Property Management4.73215 Reviews
Website View Page
0 Reply
Joel Miller
Member since 2011 · 152 posts · 113 votes
8mo
Being listed on the policy AT MOVE IN as Additional Interest (not Additional Insured, but that is another discussion) is key. Then, when you get a notice from the insurance company that the policy is going to lapse for whatever reason (even if the tenant is just not renewing the policy), then you act. In PA the carriers must give 30 days notice before the policy actually cancels, so there is plenty of time to get the tenant back on track. So, there's no need to be tracking what's going on with the policy unless we get a notice from the carrier.
0 Reply
Bo SmithPro Member
Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 1k+ posts · 375 votes
8mo
One thing that saved me headaches: make tenants send YOU renewal notices 30 days before expiry, right in the lease addendum. Most of us play insurance police but flipping it makes them own compliance. You tracking everything yourself or making tenants handle renewals?
0 Reply
Mohammed Rahman
Real Estate Broker · New York, NY · Member since 2020 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8mo
From what I've seen work well at scale: make proof of insurance a hard move-in requirement, store policy details in one AppFolio field, and set reminders off expiration dates (not just lease dates). Most go with AppFolio's FolioGuard for direct insurance tracking/compliance, or integrate Second Nature's RBP—it bundles insurance with perks and auto-enrolls lapsed tenants so you're not chasing certificates forever.
0 Reply
Michael Norris
Specialist · Strongsville, OH · Member since 2016 · 304 posts · 217 votes
8mo
Sort of off topic but related in my opinion - for those allowing pets I suggest making your renters insurance requirement also say something along the lines of requiring coverage from a carrier that does not have a dog bite or dog breed exclusion.
You as the property owner will be sued if the tenant's dog bites someone even if off the property like at a park. Not picking on them but companies like Geico and Progressive outsource their home and rentes policies to other carriers - in a given state they may have more than one carrier that they will offer renters insurance from and one may have a dog bite or breed exclusion and the other will not.
In one case the breed exclusion read something like - will not cover bites if the dog breed is banned in a given municipality or nearby municipality. So if the city next to your city has a breed ban then the policy could exclude dog bites. Also define nearby... Is that a municipality that borders yours, in the same state? It's vague.
The carrier rep said yeah we won't enforce that and I asked them to put it in writing... guess how that turned out.
It's a real pain finding out which carriers have the dog bite / breed exclusions but in my opinion it's a top 5 for the potential causes of you getting sued as a landlord. You literally will have to get a copy of the policy and read it yourself - once you learn what the exclusion looks like you will get faster at reading the policy. Don't expect the tenants to be able to figure this out for you just save your breath on that one.
As an insurance agent (and investor) I insure the properties and will not insure the tenants as I don't want to be forced into the representing both parties if something goes sideways. I went to that party once and never again.

0 Reply

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.