Yes, that exists as a commercial product with insurance agents (versus a residential product). We looked into it for our portfolio of rentals. The rate was higher than all the individual policies combined, so we opted not to go that way…
Another thing to watch out for on them… if your deductible is a percentage, keep in mind it may be a percentage of a very large number… so say you had a $100,000 fire claim and you are insuring $3 million in property with a 5% deductible… your portion would be the first $150,000 on a claim - potentially - depending on how the policy was set up. Some policies treat each unit on its own - which would be the better way to go… but heaven help you if you have a claim - if your premium is linked to all 20 properties it could get tricky / expensive at renewal time. just make sure you understand your exposure if you need to file a claim. Also - liability insurance wasn’t included I don’t think with the commercial policies like it is with residential - so you would have to cover that separately. There was other things not included as well… all the niceties of a residential policy don’t always apply to commercial policies… so be sure to get clarification - ask specifically “How will this policy differ from my current policies?” Think detached structures, pool cages, animal bite insurance, sewer backup, etc.
Yes, that exists as a commercial product with insurance agents (versus a residential product). We looked into it for our portfolio of rentals. The rate was higher than all the individual policies combined, so we opted not to go that way…
Another thing to watch out for on them… if your deductible is a percentage, keep in mind it may be a percentage of a very large number… so say you had a $100,000 fire claim and you are insuring $3 million in property with a 5% deductible… your portion would be the first $150,000 on a claim - potentially - depending on how the policy was set up. Some policies treat each unit on its own - which would be the better way to go… but heaven help you if you have a claim - if your premium is linked to all 20 properties it could get tricky / expensive at renewal time. just make sure you understand your exposure if you need to file a claim. Also - liability insurance wasn’t included I don’t think with the commercial policies like it is with residential - so you would have to cover that separately. There was other things not included as well… all the niceties of a residential policy don’t always apply to commercial policies… so be sure to get clarification - ask specifically “How will this policy differ from my current policies?” Think detached structures, pool cages, animal bite insurance, sewer backup, etc.
Yes, There are several carriers that offer great portfolio master policies. With a commercial policy you can have all of your properties on one policy and one bill. The right commercial portfolio policy is like bundling all of your residential policies into one flexible policy that can be customized per each property. One great advantage is the pricing is not calculated the same way as residential policies. Portfolio policies allow all of the following to be done,
Agreed Replacement Cost(you decide on dwelling coverage amount not a calculator) Multiple People, LLC's, Trusts, IRA's all on one policy, Add Properties in Multiple States, Allows Multiple Lenders, different Loss Settlement Types ie Replacement cost or Actual Cash Value, different coverage type per property ie Vacant Policy or Occupied Policy. Many of the carriers I work with offer a fix deductible that is typically $5,000.
Reach out for more information and hopefully some other agents will jump in with their opinions
@Andrew Garber a commercial policy is what will make the most sense if you continue to scale. The larger your portfolio gets, the better chance the blanket policy will give you the best rate. Not to mention savings admin costs by no longer needing to track so many policies.