Rental Property Insurance Checklist

THE MUST-HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR INSURANCE AGENT!

RENTAL PROPERTY INSURANCE –

PROPETY COVERAGE
Proper Investment Valuation:  __________
The Coverage Form – DP3- What’s Covered:  __________
Loss Settlement Option for Home:  __________
Deductible:  __________
Water Backup of Sewer or Drains Coverage:  __________
Earthquake:  __________
Flood:  __________
Building Code Upgrade Coverage (Ordinance and Law):  __________

OTHER STRUCTURES
Value of Other Structures (Garages, Fences, and other structures):  __________

LANDLORD FURNISHINGS
Value of landlord contents (Appliances, Furnishing)  __________
Loss Settlement Option for Property  __________

LOSS OF USE/LOSS OF RENTAL INCOME COVERAGE

  __________

RENTAL PROPERTY INSURANCE-

LIABILITY COVERAGE
Liability Insurance sufficient to cover your assets:  __________
Premise Liability:  __________
Personal Injury Coverage:  __________
Medical Payments:  __________
Umbrella:  __________
Loss Assessment:  __________

ANNUAL PREMIUM

  __________

Why we use a Rental Property Insurance Checklist

Insurance can be mystifying. Many people have described it as a completely different language. Insurance is really just a complicated legal contract between you and the insurance company. The insurance company is bound to respond per the contractual terms, but because it is explained in legal terms it really is a different language, which is why many people fail to even put for the effort in understanding their insurance policy. While it is true that insurance policies are complicated, we at Gila Insurance believe there are some core things that every customer should understand, which is why we have created this checklist.

This checklist is designed to help you have the conversations with your insurance agent that will allow you to know what is covered BEFORE you have a claim. No checklist is fully comprehensive, these are things we believe are important that you understand, but please read your policy to ensure there are other questions that you have. The best time to understand your policy is BEFORE YOU HAVE A CLAIM.

If you are shopping for landlord insurance start your quote now, and let us quote several companies for you or check out some of our other landlord specific content.

Gila Insurance Group LLC specializes in insuring rental properties, Fix & Flips, Manufactured Homes, and Vacation Rentals, if this is what you do, give us a shot and get a quote today!

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Rental Home Insurance Coverage Simplified

Insurance is complicated but understandable if broken down into small portions. That’s what we try to do. It’s rental home insurance coverage simplified, really!

RENTAL HOME INSURANCE COVERAGE SIMPLIFIED… REALLY

Let’s be real about the insurance purchasing process for investors. You know you need it or more likely your lender requires it, so you buy it. You work through the process with an agent that asks way too many questions, half of which you’re not sure of (you just bought the property, you don’t know when the roof was replaced, or plumbing and electrical was updated), you muddle through only to get a big stack of papers which you may or may not intend on reading, but is seemingly complicated and convoluted. Look, what I am about to write doesn’t apply to every policy. The best way to know what is insured is to read your policy. This doesn’t replace that, but hopefully, it can demystify things and make your insurance policy understandable.

While there are MANY parts to a policy, there are only two sections. Hopefully, we can break it down into understandable bite-sized pieces, and not bore you to death in the process. I hope it’s not too late for some of you. I know some are visual learners, so let me break down a policy visually.

Rental Home Insurance in Safford, AZ

That’s it… kind of… two sections; 6 coverage parts, plus a bunch of extras. For example, there’s the declarations page, the insuring agreement, definitions, perils insured against, exclusions, and conditions… for both sections. Simple right? RIGHT! Baby steps. If you can understand this diagram, you are well on your way to understanding the coverage that you have.

To get an incredible quote these coverage sections start our online quote form. To talk to a licensed agent about this coverage call us at 1-877-784-6787.

This coverage explanation is for illustration purposes only and is general in nature. Coverage explained here may not apply to your policy, State, company, or situation. For more information about how your policy would respond in the event of a loss, please refer to the terms and conditions and declarations page of your policy.

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Understanding Debris Removal

Debris Removal Insurance Coverage in Safford, AZSome coverage is hard to explain, it’s much easier to just say see! That is exactly the case with debris removal. Debris removal isn’t difficult to explain, it’s just the cost to remove the pile of trash your insurance claim just left. If there is a fire, it’s going to be the ashes and rubble, but also the mess the fire department caused while putting it out. Let’s be real they are great a putting out fires, but they aren’t exactly tidy. If there is a flood, we might be looking at all the damaged drywall and installation. Some of it might be moldy or muddy. The point is there is a cost to haul it away. But there is also going to be a cost for the demolition, which can get pretty costly.

Recently near my office there have been two fires. The first was in a second level apartment. The second was in a single-family home rented to a young couple. It was on one of my many strategy walks that I decided to explain debris removal through picture.

Debris removal is usually included in most property insurance policies, but like most things with an insurance policy there are limits. Depending on where it is commercial insurance or a homeowner’s policy it can vary, but here are some things to consider when it comes to debris removal.  How unique is your building? How old is your building? How much space is around your building. All of these and more can cause additional costs in removing debris from your property. Another consideration is building materials. Is there any asbestos in the building? The cost of asbestos disposal adds additional cost to debris removal.

As is not unusual, insurance policies provide coverage for a number of different situations that you probably hadn’t even considered. While we may often complain about insurance the truth is that the benefits provided by our insurance policies are amazing.

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Why You Should Require Your Tenants to Have Renters Insurance

Renters Insurance Safford, AZDo you require your tenants to carry renters insurance? If not, you should. Why? Because it matters. I have a cousin that is a defense lawyer for a large insurance company. He defends them for liability cases. He has seen ALL sorts of crazy situations, and has a way of telling the story. The other day, he was explaining a situation that caught my attention. Landlords rents to a family. Tenants have a dog that would “never bite anyone.” Dog bites a kid. Takes a chunk out of his calf. The landlord was smart, and required his tenants to carry renters insurance. The limits the renters had weren’t high, but the hospital bill was covered. Good for the landlord, right? Wrong. Landlord also gets sued. Why, because while the hospital bills were covered there was some pain and suffering that wasn’t. So, naturally it would be the landlord’s responsibility for having allowed such a vicious dog to be on the premise. The verdict in this case was still pending when I spoke with him. But the outcome is irrelevant. He was their defending the insured, which brings up 3 things we can learn.

  1. The Defense costs provided by your landlord insurance policy are extremely important, without it, this poor landlord would have been footing the bill for this case.
  2. It would appear this landlord would have been on the hook whether or not the tenant had insurance, but because the tenant had insurance, the loss to the landlord was less that what it could have otherwise been.
  3. Ask about them, screen them, maybe don’t rent to people with them, and if you do, please remember Inspector Clouseau (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg0CQKQWLJI). Simply asking if their dog bites, may not be sufficient. If you do rent to people with dogs remember there are certain dog breeds that should be excluded in all cases. These include Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Chows, Akitas, and other aggressive breeds. Yes, theirs might be the gentlest dog ever, but statistics show the bad liability claims are related to these types of breeds. Insurance companies don’t want to take the chance, and neither should you.

For a quote on renters insurance, contact us today.

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Home Insurance – Section 1 Exclusions

Home Insurance Exclusions in Safford, AZUnderstanding what’s not covered on your insurance policy lets you know what other insurance coverage you might need. Here are some of the BIG Exclusions.

Section I Exclusions – A Soap Box

What! Not everything’s covered?

Not everything is covered. That’s the bottom-line. Something’s we can find coverage for, while for other things, we are just out of luck. That said, regardless of whether you buy a special policy or not, you need to understand the exclusions, in order to truly understand your policy. Here are some of the most important exclusions found in section one… Why do I say it that way? Because there is a whole other section, just for exclusions. I know, not easy.

  1. Land – insurance doesn’t cover land. Why? ‘Cause you can’t hurt, dirt. This is an important point when you get into the idea of how to value your home.
  2. Ordinance or Law – So, if your local elected officials decide that every new building has to have a statue of Big Bird, but old buildings don’t, and your rental property burns to the ground and you have to rebuild… Guess what? You have to get that statue of Big Bird. Guess what else? The insurance company won’t pay for that. While no one requires Big Bird statues, there are other things, like sprinkler systems, where this happens all the time.
  3. Earth Movement – Now, depending on the state, you may or may not find earthquake coverage available. Even when earthquake coverage is available, things like, landslide, mine cave-ins, mudflow, sinkholes, etc. may not be covered. Can you get this coverage? You can in some states with a separate policy. Learn more about our catastrophic coverage policy here.
  4. Water – We all know Flood, tidal waves, etc. are not covered. What about overflows from drains, sump-pumps or sewers? Nope. Water is a tough one.
  5. Intentional Loss – For investors, this is big. It means there is no coverage for damage your tenants cause…. Which means it’s important to screen your tenants, so as to hopefully avoid the tenant that steals the copper and skates.

There are more, but these are the most important ones, in MY opinion. So, read the policy and find out what else might be important.

To get an incredible quote these coverage sections start our online quote form. To talk to a licensed agent about this coverage call us at 1-877-784-6787.

This coverage explanation is for illustration purposes only and is general in nature. Coverage explained here may not apply to your policy, State, company, or situation. For more information about how your policy would respond in the event of a loss, please refer to the terms and conditions and declarations page of your policy.
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Breaking Down Your Rental Home Insurance

Rental Home Insurance Safford, AZInsurance policies have their own dictionaries? Yes it’s called the definitions and there is a reason they define things, so there are no questions later.

Rental Home Insurance Definitions

Demystifying your insurance policy

The definitions of any insurance policy are super important, especially for Rental property coverage,  and unfortunately they are usually clear as mud. But, they make a HUGE difference in how things are covered. So while you might have an idea of what a given word means, it is important to understand how the insurance company defines things.

For example, there are a few basic definitions that anyone looking at a policy should understand.

  1. You: You’ll want to always be a “you” in policy. Why? Because the named insured gets the best coverage. Period. What do I mean? Remember that thing I said about the declarations page “driving” the policy. Well, the policy contract, that big stack of stuff that comes in the mail, doesn’t have your name on it, as it is general in nature.  Instead, it says things like “you” will be covered. In the definitions it says things like, “you” and ”your” to refer to the named insured, which is shown in the declarations. See why being a “you” is so important? I know, I know, clear as mud.
  1. Bodily Injury: You might also see a definition for bodily injury that will say something like, “Bodily harm, sickness or disease including death.” Notice that there is no coverage for personal injury, which includes things like libel, slander, false arrest, wrongful eviction, and invasion of privacy. This can be a big hole in an insurance policy and underscores the need for you to be a wise investor and landlord, NOT someone shooting from the hip. In fact, many companies covering rental properties will define their liability as “premises liability” to ensure there is no confusion about their lack of coverage for personal injury. Now, some companies will have an endorsement where you can add personal injury coverage, but not all so be sure you know what you are buying.

Alright, alright, I will step down from my soap box, but these are important things to know, because it could affect your decision making. Make sure you are a “you” in your policy, make sure purchase coverage for personal injury, and make sure you have a risk management strategy for avoiding personal injury claims, due to a wrongfully evicted a tenant, or crossed a privacy line. See, definitions matter.

Start your quote online now, or contact with questions about the definitions. Our licensed agents can walk you through the process, just call 1-877-784-6787.

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