Flipper · California, CA · Member since 2017 · 17 posts · 4 votes
The property is 3 buildings each with 2 Townhomes. I received a quote from my primary insurance broker at State Farm. He carries my auto, home, umbrella, etc. He underwrote it as 3 residential buildings. Any reason not to go this direction? Can anyone suggest some good commercial carriers/Brokers in Northern California? Is there any good guidelines on cost per unit for small apartment buildings in California?
I also want to include EQ insurance.
Thanks!!
Insurance Agent · Norwalk, CT · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Kurt,
We represent many companies for personal Insurance. Not many will insure multiple buildings on the same property. I have a homeowners policy that has two houses. We had to do a dwelling fire policy on the extra house. I did not insure Liability on that dwelling fire policy. Rather, we were able to extend the Liability from the homeowners policy to cover that house as well. My experience with that leads me to two cautions:
1. Get in writing from the agent that state farm knows that it is insuring 6 units on one property. In case the agent has not cleared it with State Farm it will help you in suing him/her later if State Farm denies coverage. If they have cleared it with State Farm, the letter or email should not be a big issue.
2. Do not have more than one company on the Liability. If later some other company offers a better price to insure one of the units don't move the coverage until you know how the policies will handle the liability (suppose someone falls on the property and sues you, which company responds?.)
I would check with Independent agents that represent multiple companies and that write both Commercial and Personal policies in your area. That may point out other areas of concern with how to insure this property
Insurance Agent · Norwalk, CT · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Kurt,
We represent many companies for personal Insurance. Not many will insure multiple buildings on the same property. I have a homeowners policy that has two houses. We had to do a dwelling fire policy on the extra house. I did not insure Liability on that dwelling fire policy. Rather, we were able to extend the Liability from the homeowners policy to cover that house as well. My experience with that leads me to two cautions:
1. Get in writing from the agent that state farm knows that it is insuring 6 units on one property. In case the agent has not cleared it with State Farm it will help you in suing him/her later if State Farm denies coverage. If they have cleared it with State Farm, the letter or email should not be a big issue.
2. Do not have more than one company on the Liability. If later some other company offers a better price to insure one of the units don't move the coverage until you know how the policies will handle the liability (suppose someone falls on the property and sues you, which company responds?.)
I would check with Independent agents that represent multiple companies and that write both Commercial and Personal policies in your area. That may point out other areas of concern with how to insure this property
Insurance Agent · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 63 posts · 27 votes
9y
@Kurt Z.@John Mocker John has a great point! Kurt you are on the right path by looking to a commercial broker. Finding an agent that does both personal and commercial is ideal. This way they have a snap shot of what you own and how to protect you. Make sure they know you are an investor. This will force them to look at you as a business owner vs. a homeowner who has a couple of rentals.
Insurance Agent · Seattle, WA · Member since 2010 · 63 posts · 27 votes
9y
@Kurt Z. Found @Naveed Q's post from another forum and thought it might help and copied it here. Enter Naveed...Try contacting Xavier Quan from David Quan Insurance Brokers. I use them for my single family rentals and flips and they have been great. They are based out of Oakland. Gotta luv Bigger Pockets. Good stuff everywhere. Best of luck.
Real Estate Investor · Encinitas, CA · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
@Kurt Z. Not to "pass the buck" but I've had the best experience working through recommendations from whatever lender I'm working with. Odds are they have an "insurance guy" either in their bank or somewhere else that they can point you towards. The other benefit to that is that there are times a commercial lender will have specifics on what they require in an insurance policy. The broker they work with (especially if it's inside of the same institution) knows those requirements. It works especially well if it's a community/regional bank as odds are that if they fund commercial loans for similar properties in a similar area they know off of the top of their head the 3 insurers they should reach out to.