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Landlord insurance vs home insurance
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Home insurance protects your home against damage or accidents. Landlord insurance covers you for the same things, but a comprehensive policy can also protect you against a host of other problems.
What’s the difference between landlord insurance and home insurance?
A typical home insurance policy won’t cover you if you rent the house or apartment out. A landlord policy will cover renters, and it covers everything normal home insurance does along with extra protection for problems unique to landlords.
Like home insurance, landlord insurance covers damage to your building. If you choose to add personal property coverage, it’ll also cover any belongings you keep in the home — but it won’t cover your tenants’ belongings.
What will landlord insurance cover?
Most landlord insurance policies offer protection against:
- Loss of rental income if your home is damaged and you can’t rent it out
- Medical and legal expenses if someone is injured on your property
You may also be able to add on additional coverage for:
- Loss of rental income if a tenant doesn’t pay their rent
- Legal costs for wrongful eviction and unlawful entry lawsuits
- Repair costs if a tenant or someone else vandalizes the property
Features included in landlord insurance vs home insurance
Coverage will vary from policy to policy, and a lot of insurance options are add-ons. But a premium policy can cover:
| Type of damage or loss | Landlord insurance | Home insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Fire | ||
| Storm | ||
| Flood | ||
| Water | ||
| Impact | ||
| Liability for injuries | ||
| Liability for wrongful eviction or unlawful entry | ||
| Loss of rental income | ||
| Malicious damage by tenant |
How to choose the right landlord insurance
As a landlord, there are three areas you need to protect: your building, the belongings that you keep in the building and your rental income from that investment. Here’s how to make sure you have the best landlord coverage:
- Decide what needs to be protected. If you don’t keep much inside the property or if losing its contents won’t break the bank, you may be able to get away with just dwelling coverage.
- Decide what type of dwelling coverage you want. Choose whether you want to insure your building for its replacement cost, which covers repairing or rebuilding the home after a covered event, or its market value, which is what you’d pay to buy it in current market conditions. Market value generally offers less comprehensive coverage, but is also less expensive.
- Read and re-read the exclusions in your policy documents. These are the situations where you won’t be covered. For example, you won’t be covered for floods unless you buy a separate flood insurance policy, and you likely have a cap on liability costs. If you’re not familiar with your policy’s exclusions, it can be easy to overlook a key piece of information.
Compare home and landlord insurance policies
Bottom line
If you rent a home or apartment out to tenants, a home insurance policy won’t cover you. Compare landlord insurance policies to find one that offers coverage that fits your needs and budget.
Frequently asked questions about home and landlord insurance
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