As a Weston landlord, one of your most important obligations is to provide a safe and habitable home for your tenants. Once you know you’re doing that, you need to start thinking about another important obligation: protecting your investment and yourself. The best way to do this is with a comprehensive insurance policy.
Landlord Insurance vs. Homeowner’s Insurance
If you’re renting out a home that you once lived in yourself, you’ll need to switch from a homeowner policy to a landlord policy. The main difference is that your landlord policy covers the structure of the home and the costs to repair and replace it. However, it doesn’t cover any personal belongings that aren’t yours. Your tenants will need their own coverage.
For this reason, we strongly recommend you require renter’s insurance of your tenants. While your landlord policy will protect your structure and defend you against liability claims, it won’t pay to replace any of the tenant’s personal belongings. Therefore, you should require renter’s insurance from your tenants. This will protect them and it will also give you an extra layer of protection. If your tenant starts a fire by leaving a stove on, their insurance will cover the claim before your policy is used. It’s very inexpensive for tenants, and a good way to keep the value of their belongings safe.
Weston Landlord Insurance and Liability
A good landlord insurance policy will also have higher liability coverage than your average homeowner policy. This is important because anything can happen when tenants are living in your property. If a resident or a resident’s guests gets injured in your home, you’ll need to be covered. Talk to your insurance agent about the required or recommended liability limits. If something happens and you’re sued, you want to be protected.
Check Your Hurricane and Storm Policies
Make sure your insurance policy includes as much
protection as possible against the threat of weather. You want to be sure you’ll have the coverage necessary to completely rebuild your home if the worst happens. You’ll also want to make sure you’re covered for any liability if your tenants stay in the home during a bad storm. Make sure you have flood insurance and enough coverage for loss of rent in case your tenants need to move out while repairs are made.
Loss of Rent Coverage in Boca Raton
It’s important to cover yourself in case you have to move your tenant out of the property. Suppose there’s a tropical storm that tears the roof off of your home or the air conditioning dies during a south Florida summer and there’s a delay in getting the new system installed. Your tenants will not be able to stay in the home, which means you may have to put them in a hotel. If they can’t live in the property for an extended time, you’ll lose a lot of rental income in addition to paying out of pocket for costs like hotel bills. If your landlord policy doesn’t already include loss of rent coverage, consider adding it.
