What Type Of Insurance Policy Do I Need For A Rental Property?

June 13, 2011 by 1 Comment

Rental property’s can provide great residual incomes, and right now with the rental market in demand, a lot of people are putting their house’s up for rent or buying investment properties. Before you do this, your insurance policy must be written correctly, or else you could have some major gaps in coverage.

First of all lest highlight some of the most common types of properties.

  • Apartment Building
  • Condo
  • Dwelling

Apartment Building Insurance

This policy is designed for a building that houses multiple units, usually more than 3.  The policy includes building coverage, a general liability, business personal property coverage, loss of use, crime coverage and more.  This policy is strictly designed for apartments.

We usually write these policies through Travelers, Philadelphia or Middle Oak.

Landlord Condo Insurance

This policy is built for someone who owns a condominium and rents it out. It includes interior dwelling coverage, loss of rent, medical payments, and landlord liability. You can add things such as extended liability coverage, and loss assessment. This policy is usually written under Dwelling Fire Policy Form 8.

Landlord Dwelling Insurance

Investment houses are either written under a DP-1 or a DP-3. Or known as a dwelling fire policy. Most policies are written under a dp-3, because it gives you replacement cost coverage on the dwelling, which is better than the dp-1 actual cash value coverage on a dwelling. Always make sure you have the following coverages on your dwelling rental property.

  • replacement cost on dwelling(dp-3)
  • extended dwelling coverage, at least 120 percent
  • landlord business property(stove top, dishwasher, fridge, washer dryer, etc)
  • other structure coverage
  • loss of use, for at least 12 months
  • landlord liability
  • sewer back up
  • Ordinance & Code Coverage

If you have any questions or want a quote contact us.

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What Is A Personal Umbrella Liability Insurance Policy?

June 8, 2011 by Leave a comment

When watching television we see lots of lawsuits taking place which could even involve you.  These lawsuits and advertisements thereof,  pay for a lot of airtime.  You have “Henry the Hammer” telling you how much money you can get for your car accident.  Unfortunately, you have a ton of frivolous lawsuits that are going against the insurance companies at which at the end,  drives up the premium for your vehicle insurance.  Unfortunately, it is the attorneys making the most money from this.  It is not the victim that wins, it is the attorney that wins.  This is why if you have assets, your life savings, money in bank, properties, you have to make sure you are protecting yourself from these attorneys because they will go after these assets.

Let us explain how an umbrella works.  First of all, umbrellas are purchased in increments of one million.  Our agency can sell a ten million dollar umbrella, but the average is one million.  Umbrellas protect you above and beyond your auto and home insurance liability.  Do keep in mind to qualify for an umbrella, you have to maintain certain underlying limits.  The United States average for these requirements is $250,000 per person, $500,00o for the total accident, and $100,000 for property damage for auto insurance liability.  For home insurance liability, it is a $300,000 minimum, this can include your renters, homeowners, landlord, or investment property.

Examples of how an umbrella will work:

1.  An auto insurance example:  you get into an at fault accident and there is one person in the car.  That person sues you managing to get a $500,000 judgement against you including fees.  At this point your limits have been exhausted on your auto insurance policy.  But you have wisely purchased an umbrella, so the one million dollars is more than enough to cover the judgement.  If you had not purchased an umbrella, your personal assets and estate would be jeopardized.

2.  A Homeowners example:  someone comes to your home and visits, slips and falls and sues you for $700,000 including fees.  That person wins and your $300,000 homeowners policy limits are exhausted.  Again, since you have purchased an umbrella, you are protected because you have at least one million to cover the judgement.

DO I NEED AN UMBRELLA?

A simple answer is, if you have money in the bank, own stocks, are a CEO, an athlete, a business owner or make an average income, you need one.  One easy way to figure this out, “how well established in life am I right now?”  You need one, but if you are a college student and don’t have a penny in the bank, you don’t need one.  A college student is usually lucky just to buy an auto policy covering the mandatory legal liability limits.

How much is an Umbrella?

The average price of an umbrella is $260.00 per year at our agency which includes two vehicles and one home.

Our Companies Claims Process Is Excellent

We only write insurance with companies that have an excellent claims process. A claim can be complicated, but our companies will treat you fair and keep the process as simple as possible.

Personalized Service

Our agency is family based and understands insurance. You will work one-one-one with an experienced agent who will find a policy that best fits your business needs. We believe in “good old-fashioned customer service”.

Get A Free Umbrella Insurance Quote!

We offer up to 6 personal lines companies for umbrella insurance. To get a insurance quote, please use our quick form, or contact us during normal business hours at (888)-270-0995. We will counsel you into how to receive the best price, for the most coverage. We will also advise on how to maximize discounts.

Filed under Auto Insurance, Boat Insurance, Car Insurance, Condo Insurance, General Insurance, Home Insurance, Homeowners Insurance, Landlord Insurance, Renters Insurance Tagged with , , , , , ,

So What is a DP-3 Property Policy and Why Should I Purchase One?

June 7, 2011 by Leave a comment

Why should one carry a DP-3 Policy?  First of all, for those unfamiliar with a dwelling policy, the Dwelling Policy 3 is a policy used to insure private dwelling residential property. Occupation could include a homeowner who doesn’t qualify for an HO-3 or HO-5 policy, or if the property is being rented to tenants. A DP-3 is not designed for vacant properties.

The dwelling is insured under a replacement cost basis. DP-3’s vary company to company. Most companies include other structures coverage, of 10 percent of what the dwelling is insured for. Other coverages that can be endorsed and added to the policy include personal property, personal property full replacement cost, extended dwelling coverage, loss of use, law and ordinance, sewer back up, liability, medical payments and more.

For more information on insuring and buying a landlord insurance policy from us, please click here.

Filed under Home Insurance, Homeowners Insurance, Landlord Insurance Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Why have my home insurance rates gone up?

May 15, 2011 by Leave a comment

In Colorado in July 2009, we had a major hail storm come through Denver and surrounding area’s. It came through and caused a little bit of property damage to homeowners roof’s. Now depending on the roof condition, a lot of homeowners filed a claim due to hail damage to their roof’s. Not only did I have a lot of clients who got new roof’s, but also I saw a lot of neighbors and people I didn’t know, by driving around the neighborhood and seeing these new roof’s getting replaced. A lot of roofer’s were going door to door, trying to sell people new roof’s paid by the insurance company. I knew a lot of people who were incredibly happy about their new roof’s and how the insurance companies, with no haggle, replaced their roof.

So what is the unintended consequences of all these roof’s being replaced? Well lets face it, the insurance company makes money off of your premiums you pay each year. So what happened when homeowners got their insurance re-newels? Well, a lot of them experienced sticker shock. Lets face it, the insurance company has to make it up those losses some how. So what they do is raise insurance premiums all across the board. This very unfair to the consumers who didn’t file a claim, but premiums are based off of loss experience.

So next time you get an insurance re-newel and your unhappy about the premium increase, don’t forget the insurance company just bought you a new roof. And if your one of those consumers who got hit with a premium increase and didn’t get a new roof. Maybe next time you should consider, because people will always take advantage of a new roof paid by the insurance company.

Loss experience + return on investment = Insurance premium rates.

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Filed under Condo Insurance, Home Insurance, Homeowners Insurance, Landlord Insurance Tagged with ,

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