With fires, hurricanes and other storms raging across the United States, now is the perfect time for landlords in the Atlanta area, and across the United States, to do a landlord insurance check up.
Landlord insurance is important because it provides you with liability protection and will protect your property, and your best interests from financial losses should your rental property be damaged by a natural disaster.
Sadly, many landlords make the mistake of thinking that their home is covered because they have homeowners insurance when in reality homeowners insurance only covers an owner occupied home while landlord insurance covers a tenant occupied home.
Understanding Landlord Insurance
Depending on the insurance company you work with and the options you choose, your policy may consist of some or all these types of insurance coverage:
Dwelling Coverage – covers structural damage to the rental property from things like fire, vandalism, or a broken water heater. The more expensive dwelling coverage policies will also cover damage caused to appliances or equipment on the property and damaged inflicted by malicious tenants.
Liability Coverage – provides coverage for expenses associated with injuries that occurred on your rental property that you are found to be legally responsible for.
Personal Property Coverage – covers damage to your personal items on the property (not your tenants’) like curtains or light fixtures. This is especially important if you rent out a furnished home.
Loss of Income Coverage – if your property becomes unlivable due to damage and you can no longer collect rent from tenants, some policies allow you to receive the lost rental income for a limited amount of time until it is rentable again. However, most standard landlord policies won’t cover the lost rent due to an eviction or missed rent payments by tenants.
Flood Coverage – beyond dwelling coverage, specific flood coverage can protect you from water damage caused by things like negligent plumbing issues, rain, or busted pipes.
Acts of Nature Coverage – dwelling coverage has further limitations to structural damage or total loss as the result of tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes which is why acts of nature coverage is important to consider. Depending on your region you might need special protection to cover your property for instances like these.
Legal Fee Coverage – covers fees and costs of legal counsel if a tenant sues you or you need legal representation in court for owed rent money or ignored eviction notices.
Contact JD Homes
Do you need property management in the Atlanta GA area? If so, contact JD Homes today by calling us at (706) 506-2630 or click here to connect with us online.
