Can damage from renters be claimed under homeowners’ insurance?
Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at
3:38 am
Erin B asked:
We are considering renting out our home. If damages to the property greatly exceed the renter’s deposit, can it be claimed under the owner’s homeowners’ insurance?
We are considering renting out our home. If damages to the property greatly exceed the renter’s deposit, can it be claimed under the owner’s homeowners’ insurance?
Tagged with: Homeowners Insurance • Insurance • Renters Insurance
Filed under: Homeowners Insurance
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
thats why you need to get them to sign a lease and that way they will be held responsible for damages…renters insurance is offered to them that way and its less than $10 a month through alfa
I doubt it, but you can pursue the tenant through the court system to collect the amount if it is greater than the deposit. You should contact your insurance provider to be sure.
no, the act of renting out your house will limit the coverage you have. in fact, you should let your insurance agent know you will be renting the house out, because you will need additional liability coverage so if the tenants are harmed in the house you will be covered sufficiently. Be sure to do this, or you can really get burned.
don’t think so
Probably if under vandalism. I don’t think you can claim it under regular insurance.
Call your insurance company and ask for the price of a policy. Make sure you tell them what you want. It will probably be high.
You will need to MODIFY your insurance coverage if you convert an owner-occupied house to a rental.
Well, first of all, the HOMEOWNERS policy is conditional on the house being occupied by the owner. So if you rent it out, you need a dwelling fire policy – a whole different kind of policy.
Yes, I HAVE seen tenant damage covered under a dwelling fire policy. There’s normal wear and tear, and then there’s, well, I’ve seen some pretty bad ones. One thing to keep in mind, if you have more than two claims in three years – for the house you live in, or for any rental properties – it’s going to make you effectively uninsurable. The policy with the claims will get cancelled, and you will have a VERY hard time finding replacement coverage at three times the rate. It comes back to bite you, if you’re buying a new house for YOU to live in – then YOUR prior claims, for other residences, will keep you from being able to get homeowners insurance.
So you have to factor that in, as well.
**Contrary to what the other person said, their renters insurance does NOT cover the damage to the residence they live in. So you won’t be able to collect under their renters insurance.**
Arggg….Here’s an answer from an insurance adjuster:
First – there are two types of damage -
A) Normal wear and tear due to renting
B) Intentional damage from a renter
Normal wear and tear from renting will be considered your “business”. You are in the “business” of renting property, and this type of loss comes with the “business” or being in the rental business.
B) Intentional damage will normally be considered a vandalism or malicious mischief cause of loss. This would most likely be covered under a homeowners policy; HOWEVER, it would be more correct to change your policy to a dwelling policy as opposed to a homeowners policy declaring it is used as a rental.
If you have a “better” insurance company, they would most likely may for item “B” damage from above under a homeowners policy; if you have a “more poor” insurance company, they would most likely try to deny the coverage as the property is used as a rental.
Again, the best thing to do is declare it’s a rental, and have the policy changed.
Regardless of what you do, you will still be responsible for type “A” damages.
Maybe You should try to google it first ,nonetheless, if you prefer some direct resource ,here might be helpful.
It will depend from your insurance provider. You can easily compare different plans in internet, for example here: homeinsurance.awardspace.us