I have been using Centennial's office in Jacksonville, AR for flip and rentals. It was started by an old high school friend as Insurance Mart and was recently acquired by Centennial. I can call Jessica from the courthouse and have coverage in place before the locksmith meets me at the property to change the locks. https://www.my100bank.com/investing-and-insurance/insurance-services/centennial-insurance-agency
What is a good way to estimate what a property will cost to insure there in Little Rock before purchasing and without calling to get quotes? Is there a general rule of thumb?
What @Hadar Orkibi said. Plus it depends on what type of coverage you buy, replacement vs. ACV, etc. I've gotten enough estimates on my properties to know that for me it costs less than $50/month, typically, but YMMV depending on your properties and preferences.
@Hadar Orkibi - We're saying about the same thing using different words. < $50/month = about $550/yr. I get billed monthly though, so I tend to think of it more that way. My duplexes are a little more than $50, my SFHs usually a little less.
@Hadar Orkibi & @Rachel Fazio - I owe you two a BIG thank you for the NREIG recommendation. You just saved me a few thousand dollars. The roof on our latest rental isn't pretty, but it's in decent shape, and our roofer recommended that we repair instead of replace it when we bought the property last month. Our insurance carrier sent someone to view the property last week and decided that they were going to drop our coverage, unless we replaced the roof. I checked with NREIG, and they are insuring it for about the same price and without requiring a new roof.
We didn't get an estimate, but even for a small house and 3-tab, it still probably would have run over $3,500. Disclaimer: my wife handles the rehabs, so my estimates are suspect :) I owe both you and Rachel dinner.
@Mark Rogers - You're welcome! I actually had a similar situation happen. I have some of my properties with Allstate (up to their limit of 4) and some with NREIG. Allstate has given me crap about a roof a few times (um, a good 3 years of life left, thank you!) so I've switched those properties to NREIG.
Thanks for the NREIG tip as well guys! Been shopping for new insurance while trying to close the deal on my first multi-family and I'm going to check them out next.
Also, for the newbie over here, @Hadar Orkibi what does this mean:
"I usually take the Landlord cover option, it is good cover in case that you have a loss of rent. Business interpolation cover."
@Josh Crockett it means that if, for example) you have fire in the property and the place burnt down the insurance company pay you the "rent loss" you you suffered because of it. Usually they only cover for 6 month dough.
@Hadar Orkibi I had not heard of that yet. Thank you for the info I will make that a part of my questioning when interviewing insurance agencies. Very appreciative of the knowledge base here in BP!
@Jason Carter - do you mind sharing who you ended up going with for your LR properties and how your experience has been? I'm starting to invest in this area and also in need of an insurance provider. Thank you in advance!
@Jennifer Figueroa I entered escrow on a handful of houses in Little Rock but no deals worked out for a variety of reasons - liens, excessive mold/fungus, sellers changing their mind, etc. It was bizarre. I soon realized I was stretching myself too thin by trying to expand into another market so soon and returned my focus to Birmingham AL.
I use NREIG for insurance on all my rentals and flips in Birmingham AL and am happy with them.
@Jason Carter - thanks for the reply and feedback on NREIG. I will definitely check them out. Birmingham is on my list to look at in the future. Hope it continues to serve you well. :)
@Mark Rogers I filed two claims on properties back in March, but didn’t follow through or receive any money from the insurance company which was Safe Auto on either one. Since I started the claim they said they couldn’t write me for three years from this past March. I’m in the process of buying additional properties and will obviously need insurance. How would you handle this situation? I spoke with State Farm which I have my auto insurance with and they basically said the same.