Good renter's insurance company?

Question

Hi! We're thing about requiring that tenants buy renter's insurance in order to rent one of the 300 homes that we own. Does anyone know of a good insurance carrier that we could recommend to tenants? I'm specifically looking for a carrier that is used to working with landlords and might even have a portal for us (the landlord) to log in to where we can verify that tenants are paying their insurance dues on time and that coverage is still valid.

Thanks!

M. Ian Colville · Answer

Stephen - Good point about how to get an agent interested!

Jim Adrian · Answer

excuse my double post...

Stephen Haynes · Answer

The Agent's see it as only a small renters policy, but when he informed me about that I explained over nintey percent of them drive and some will be future homeowners and his eyes lit up like a roman candle on the fourth of July. This could tremendously help out an Ins. agent as it gives them access to over three hundred clients where they might want to switch their auto and other policies at the same time. So when you speak with the agents lt them know this.

Stephen Haynes · Answer

The company I work for Manages Approximately 500 homes I have been talking with a an agent from Nationwide Ins. they didn't have a portal for the owners to log into but he did explain that the owner can be named as additionally insured and they will inform you if the tenant doesn't pay so you can make the payment and bill the tenant back for the missed payment on the policy. I hope this helps I have talked to many different Ins. Carriers lately and they had the best solutions for my needs. I hope this helped.

Jim Adrian · Answer

Your lease should state the tenant is required to provide proof of rental insurance prior to taking possession.

I seen in a forum within the last 2 weeks about having the landlord listed in the renters policy as well in the event there is a claim.  I'm not 100% clear on this or if I am using the right wording here.  The intent was to allow the landlord proof of insurance on a long term tenants.  This also allowed the landlord to get paid in the event the policy was cancelled if there was a claim.

M. Ian Colville · Answer

Jason - What you are describing sounds like exactly (or very close) to what I need.  I'll send you a direct email so we can discuss.  Thank you!

Jason Bott · Answer

@M. Ian Colville There are products in the marketplace address your issue, but they are not delivered through a retail agent channel.  It's actually a policy that your company purchases that gives the tenant their own set of Liability limits and Personal Property limits while they rent from you.  This avoids all of administrative burden of confirming correct coverage limits, different effective dates, lapse/cancel, etc.  You would need a full time staff person just to manage this task.

With this product you have 1 policy you manage and renewal on an annual basis.  Every tenant of yours is automatically included on the policy once they enter into a lease agreement with you.  The lease termination is the trigger to remove them from the policy.

Cost is dependent on the limits you want each tenant to have, but $100 per year per tenant is a good estimate.  Minimum premium for this type of policy is $15k per year, so it is not a product most are familiar with.

Lastly, most landlords will build this cost back into the rent and sell it as a "Benefit".

I will PM you with additional details.

Ken Quagliata · Answer

you might want to call insurance companies yourself and work with them to assure your interest and theirs. Maybe something in it for you to bring that many clients. A discount for your tenants and a finders fee for you or perhaps a discount on your insurance? Make a lot of calls. Maybe someone will work close to your terms.